TIFTON —
The Fitzgerald Purple Hurricanes will make the long trek to Columbus Friday night to face the Carver High Tigers in the state Class AA football quarterfinals.
To help make the trip back home seem less long, the Hurricanes will hope to avoid the same mistakes the Laney High Wildcats had against Carver in the second round.
That contest saw Laney fumble three times in the first half with two of the scores leading directly to touchdowns in the 35-12 Carver victory.
Besides the mistakes, Laney also did not have an answer for Tiger running back Marquez Holloway.
Even though Carver lost current Georgia freshman starter Isaiah Crowell to graduation, Holloway is one of the reasons the Tigers have not lost a beat this season. In the game against Laney, Holloway put up 182 yards rushing on 21 carries. He also scored on touchdown runs of 47 and 40 yards.
The Tigers also appear to be strong on defense as Carver held Laney to only seven first downs.
However, Carver may not have faced an offense as balanced as Fitzgerald’s.
Kaleb Nobles has completed nearly 67 percent of his passes this year — 100-151 — for 1,349 yards. He has 13 touchdown passes, and only two interceptions, on the year.
Tolerance Shepherd is the Hurricanes’ leading rusher. He has 1,466 yards on the year with 19 touchdowns. Fred Hooks could also go over 1,000 yards on the year with a big game against Carver. He currently has 911 yardso n the year with nine scores.
The Hurricanes have rushed for 3,463 yards as a team on the year.
Jaquadrian Lewis, Jerome Baker, Don Hill and Deion Bivens are among the leading tacklers on the year for the Fitzgerald team.
Friday’s game will be played in historic A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium in Columbus, which has hosted everything from the Georgia-Auburn football game, to the current Fountain City Classic pitting Albany State against Fort Valley State.
Game time is 7:30 p.m.
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Related Photos
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Columbus’ A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium hosted the Georgia-Auburn game up to 1958. The Fitzgerald Purple Hurricanes will face off against the Carver High Tigers at the stadium Friday night in the state Class AA football quarterfinals. Contributed Photo
Fitzgerald on the road against Carver
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