GHS powers past Monroe
Published 12:32 am Saturday, September 13, 2008
Potential. In a word, that’s what head coach Ben Blackmon saw in his team against Monroe County.
The Tigers committed four turnovers but still managed to top Monroe County 50-13.
“I think they’re finally starting to understand that if we’ll play fundamentally sound, we’ve got a chance in any game we play,” Blackmon said. “We made a few changes on the offense and defense this week, and I think that helped as well.”
Greenville’s first possession of the night ended in a turnover, and the Tigers took it down the field on their next possession.
A run by Charleston Lyman got Greenville down to the one-yard line, and he punched it in two plays later.
However, a holding call negated that score and the Tigers were forced back to the 15-yard line.
On the next play, the Tigers fumbled on an option and Monroe County recovered.
Greenville finally got on the board as the first quarter expired when Ryan Smith hit Alex Phifer on a 35-yard pass down the left side.
Stuart Moody added the extra point, and the Tigers took a 7-0 lead.
From there, the game belonged to Greenville.
In the second quarter, Smith hooked up with Jeremy Robinson for a 15-yard pass following a six play, 79-yard drive to make it 14-0.
On the next possession, Daron Mack recovered a fumble and the Greenville offense capitalized on the opportunity with an eight-yard run from Smith.
Monroe County put up six points in the third quarter, but Greenville struck back with a 13-yard run from Lyman to put the score at 27-6 with 0:20 left in the third.
Cordez Peagler got in on the action in the fourth quarter with a four-yard run, and even the defense made a contribution.
Marcus Peters pressured the Monroe County quarterback deep in their territory, forcing a fumble and then securing the safety.
The Tigers added another score with Phifer at quarterback, and as the game wound down, Greenville’s Jamal Hamilton took a kickoff over 70 yards before being tackled inside the 10-yard line.
A few plays later, he finally got his touchdown with a five-yard run to make the score 50-13.
Despite the score, Blackmon saw a few areas for improvement.
“We’ve got to keep playing well in the kicking game,” he said. “We gave up at least one long return and we need to limit those. We’ve also got to keep working up front and not give up the big play.”
The win is the Tigers’ first of the season.
“It feels good,” Blackmon said. “A win is better than a loss any day.”