| Slow starts on SF to-do list | By: Randy Cavin, Special to The Messenger
| Posted: Friday, August 12, 2011 10:03 pm
| | By RANDY CAVIN Messenger Correspondent Once again, Kelly Spivey liked the finish, but not the start. The South Fulton head coach watched his team begin a second scrimmage this fall with sluggish play Thursday night at Dresden, only to end up eventually edging the Lions 14-13. The Red Devils found themselves behind by two touchdowns before Taverious James found some daylight on the left side on a 37-yard, fourth-down play to pull within six in the second half of action. The Red Devils defense then stiffened on several occasions, forcing the Lions to turn the ball over on downs before tailback J.P. Fowler found a seam and took off on a 25-yard touchdown run. Turnovers were a big part of the game for both teams. The Red Devils were guilty of three, including a fumble that resulted in a touchdown for the Lions. South Fulton’s defense took the ball away three times from Dresden, twice on interceptions. SF’s Ryan Moore intercepted one deep pass, only to fumble it away after a long return. Spivey believes his squad faced a much better team than the Gibson County team they went up against in the first scrimmage. “We played a lot better football team, I felt, than the first week,” he said after the session. “We started out as slow as we did last week and they are a good football team and we gave them too many chances. We made so many mistakes, were sloppy with the football, wouldn’t block people and got out-hustled early on. “We started making some stands on defense and did well as the scrimmage wore on. Then, we finally got into an offensive groove and started blocking somebody. J.P. (Fowler) stepped up and did a good job, but we’ve got to get our passing game a little bit better than it was tonight. I don’t think our offensive line played very well at all. Our communication on the front was horrible.” Spivey complimented his big fullback Cody Tatum on the way he was able to bulldoze his way into the Lions defensive backfield. But he also said Tatum is a good defensive lineman. “He is not your typical fullback. He’s actually got good feet,” Spivey said. “He’s actually a really good defensive lineman and some colleges are taking a look at him.” Spivey will now work his squad in preparation for South Fulton’s season opener against Bruceton Aug. 19. Published in The Messenger 8.12.11 | | | | |
