For the second week in a row, Coffee Trojans’ senior running back Fred Brown scored three touchdowns and the Trojans routed their opponent, this time beating the Statesboro Blue Devils 51-0 on a wet, nasty night in Statesboro. The #1 ranked Trojans are now 7-0 overall and 2-0 in region play.
As you might expect, the weather was a factor early on. In the first half, both teams had trouble at times handling snaps. Coffee, however, was able to limit the damage from their miscues. The Blue Devils weren’t as lucky. One such snap went through the end zone for a safety. On the ensuing kick, senior Anthony Paulk ran it back for a touchdown. The game was already over by that point but his return put an exclamation point on what was another dominant Coffee performance.
“It was ugly at times. It was hard to get into a rhythm with all the penalties. But I thought we calmed down and did a better job in the second quarter. We had a little flurry there. The good thing is our defense doesn’t break.It doesn’t matter what situation it is. They’re excited and they want to be out there playing football. And that’s what you want,” said head coach Mike Coe following the game. “Another goose egg. The first team defense has given up 30 points in seven games. You win championships with a defense like that.”
The first quarter was a weird one. There weren’t a lot of indicators pointing to the blowout that eventually resulted during that period. The Trojans did jump out to a quick lead, scoring just 18 seconds into the game. That momentum, however, didn’t last and Coffee didn’t score again until the second quarter.
The Trojans received the opening kick and Brown quickly broke a 53-yard run for the first touchdown of the night. With 11:42 on the clock, Coffee was up 7-0. Inconsistent play, bad snaps, and penalties plagued both teams for the remainder of the first quarter.
A few minutes into the second quarter, after a big run by Brown, junior running back Tyrese Hansley scored the Trojans’ second touchdown of the night on an eight-yard run. However, a series of personal foul calls on the Blue Devils had Coffee kicking off from the Statesboro 35. Coach Coe opted for an onside kick; James Jarrard and his teammates executed the kick perfectly and the Trojans recovered at the Blue Devils’ 19 yard line. Brown quickly found the end zone for the second time of the night. Just 15 seconds after Coffee went up 14-0, it was 21-0 and the Trojans had a firm grip on the game.
The Trojans scored one more time in the first half, this time on a 25-yard pass from Maurice Hansley to Range Robinson. With 4:01 left in the half Coffee had a commanding 28-0 lead. As the second quarter wound down, both teams traded turnovers — the Blue Devils picked off Hansley on a busted route then Lorenzo Harvey stripped Statesboro quarterback Kam Mikell and recovered the fumble himself. Neither turnover resulted in any points.
In the third quarter, an Anthony Paulk interception led to Brown’s third score of the night. With 9:22 remaining in the third quarter, the Trojans were up 35-0. Two minutes later, Paulk, playing offense this time, broke a 65-yard touchdown run to give Coffee a 42-0 advantage. The safety and Paulk’s kick return for a touchdown wrapped up the scoring for the Trojans. The score was 51-0 before the third quarter ended. A running clock kicked in for the fourth quarter and that effectively ended the Trojans’ scoring for the night.
Brown scored three touchdowns, Paulk scored two, and Tyrese Hansley and Robinson added one touchdown apiece. Kicker Jonah Saylor was a perfect seven for seven on extra points.
Next week, the Trojans face the Jenkins Warriors at Jardine Stadium for Homecoming. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday night, the Warriors (2-5) defeated the Greenbrier Wolfpack (0-7) 24-0.