With the Coffee Trojans’ 56-7 win over the Greenbrier Wolfpack and the Ware County Gators’ 50-0 win over the Statesboro Blue Devils on Friday night, the stage is set for the final act of the Region 1-5A regular season.
And it’s exactly what people predicted as soon as the 2023 schedule was announced.
Next Friday night, the undefeated Trojans (4-0 in region play) will make the short trip to Memorial Stadium in Waycross to face the 7-2 Gators (also 4-0 in region) for the region championship. There was little doubt that this would be the ultimate outcome. Both teams made sure that there were no surprises.
“Now we’ve got to get ready for the one. We’re a different football team than last year. We’re a lot better. We’ve got to clean it up but we’ll be heavily prepared. Our guys know what’s at stake. They’ve been waiting on this one. This is why I came here. This is the one you want to coach in. To be the man you’ve got to beat the man. Right now, they’re the man. They’re the defending state champion and they’re playing really well right now. They played a heckuva schedule,” said Coffee head coach Mike Coe following the game.
In Coffee’s game against Greenbrier, there was never any uncertainty as to the outcome. The hapless (and winless) Wolfpack never really had a chance.
The Trojan offense was clicking on all cylinders and the defense did exactly what it’s been doing all year long — brutalizing opponents and keeping them off the scoreboard as much as possible. Had it not been for a Coffee mishap late in the game on a fumbled punt, the Trojan defense would have pitched its fifth shutout in the last six games.
Coffee set the tone early and scored on its first drive, a 79-yard march downfield capped by a 16 yard Fred Brown touchdown. An Anthony Paulk interception on Greenbrier’s ensuing possession led to a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Maurice Hansley to Pat McCall, who was back Friday after missing several weeks due to a knee injury. As the first quarter drew to a close, Coffee had a 14-0 lead.
A little over midway through the second quarter, the duo of Elgie Paulk and Lorenzo Harvey teamed up to force a Wolfpack turnover and set up another Coffee touchdown. Paulk made it into the backfield and hit sophomore quarterback Brayden Stephens, knocking the ball to the ground. Harvey was on his heels, picked it up, and headed for the end zone. He made it as far as the 20 yard line before he was brought down from behind. The Trojan offense took the field and, one play later, Hansley and McCall connected again for another score. Coffee added another touchdown at the end of the second quarter on an eight-yard run by Hansley. The Trojans went into the locker room with a 28-0 lead.
On Coffee’s opening drive of the third quarter, Brown scored from 13 yards out. Five minutes later, Travis Adams scored on a five-yard run. With the end of the third quarter — and a running clock in the fourth — in sight, the Trojans had the game in the bag with a 42-0 lead.
The Wolfpack, however, refused to be Coffee’s third consecutive shutout. The Trojans fumbled a punt with under a minute left in the third quarter and the Wolfpack recovered at the Coffee 25. On the next play, senior Nate Ames caught a short pass and raced into the end zone to put Greenbrier’s first points on the board. They weren’t going to catch the Trojans but they had spoiled the shutout.
Midway through the fourth quarter, quarterback Trey Ross found Terrell Mitchell for a 17-yard score. After the kick, the Wolfpack fumbled on their first play and Harvey was there to recover his second fumble of the night. That led to the Trojans’ final touchdown, a 13-yard run by junior Zean Preston with 2:30 left in the game.
Coffee came away with a 56-7 win and a 9-0 record. Kicker Jonah Saylor was perfect on all eight of his attempts.
The Trojans and the Gators have been on a crash course for the region championship and the #1 seed in the playoffs all season long. Next week, the two juggernauts will collide at Memorial Stadium in Waycross. Tickets are available online only at GoFan.com. They will go fast so don’t delay in picking yours up. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:30.