Every successful football team wins at least one game a year it shouldn’t. The Coffee Trojans may have had theirs last night in Brunswick. After getting thoroughly thrashed by the Brunswick Pirates for three quarters, the Trojans finally snapped out of their funk and rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Pirates 21-20. Coffee is now 2-0 on the young season.
It’s hard to describe what actually happened on the field for the first three-fourths of the game. Yes, Coffee played a sloppy game. The Trojans turned the ball over, made silly mistakes, got penalized, missed assignments – you name it, they did it. At the same time, the Pirates are a good football team that punished the Trojans for their mistakes. Running back Brandon McMasters, who scored all three of the Pirates’ touchdowns, is a tremendous talent. The Brunswick offensive line was at times overpowering, their defense confounded Coffee’s new wide open offense, and the Trojans looked like they were just going through the motions.
And yet Coffee won.
It didn’t take long to see that the Trojans were in trouble. Coffee received the opening kick and couldn’t muster any offense. A bad punt led to great field position for the Pirates. McMasters put the first points on the board early in the first quarter. The point-after was good and Brunswick had an early 7-0 lead. On their next possession, the Trojans were driving but a fumble gave the Pirates the ball on their own 42 but couldn’t capitalize on the gift from Coffee. After trading possessions, McMasters struck again late in the first quarter. The extra point missed, which would prove to be the difference in the game. At the end of the period, Brunswick had a 13-0 lead.
Coffee didn’t score until late in the second quarter. With 36 seconds left in the half, junior running back Tywone Brewton scored on a one-yard run that had been set up by a big reception from Max Hughes to junior wingback Trey Mizell. Jose Rodriguez’s extra point was good. As the first half ended, the Trojans trailed 13-7. “We played like crap in the first half. We’ve got to make plays. It’s like we’re sleepwalking tonight,” said head coach Robby Pruitt at halftime.
The third quarter opened with more of the same. McMasters scored his third touchdown of the night on the Pirates’ opening drive. With just a few ticks off the clock, the Trojans were down 20-7. Coffee managed to keep Brunswick out of the end zone for the rest of the third quarter but things weren’t really getting any better. And the Trojans’ fortunes didn’t improve until the game was almost over.
With just over seven minutes left, Coffee finally capitalized on a Pirates’ miscue. After a bad punt left the Trojan offense with great field position, Hughes found junior receiver Dalrone Donaldson for a touchdown. Rodriguez’s foot was true once more and Coffee was within six. After forcing a Brunswick punt, Hughes and company went to work again. This time, Hughes connected with sophomore Milton Jackson for a 25-yard touchdown to tie the game. With about 3:20 left, Coffee had a chance to take the lead for the first time of the night – if Rodriguez could make the extra point. Rodriguez was perfect and the Trojans were finally on top 21-20. Brunswick had the ball one more time but the Coffee defense answered the call. When the Trojans got the ball back, there were only 70 seconds left in the game. The offense ran out the clock and Coffee slipped out of Brunswick with a 21-20 win.
“We played bad and we were fortunate to win the game. We didn’t quit. And if you don’t quit, you have a chance to win,” said Coach Pruitt following the game.
The Trojans play the Ware County Gators next Friday night in a non-region contest. The Gators are 0-1 after losing to Glynn Academy 17-10 last night.