Clint Thompson/Thomasville Times-Enterprise
CNHI
CAIRO —
It may have been preseason but the Cairo Syrupmakers appeared in midseason form Friday night at West Thomas Stadium.
In their final tuneup before their season opener on Aug. 26, the Syrupmakers raced out to a 31-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 31-13 win over Tift County.
Cairo coach Tom Fallaw liked the execution his team displayed as his team scored on five of its six possessions in the first half.
“You come into a scrimmage game and execute like we did, I think we only had one penalty, I would say our offense was pretty sharp,” said Fallaw, whose varsity squad beat Tift’s 31-7 in three quarters. Tift’s junior varsity team scored a touchdown in the final period.?“You’ve got to remember too, Tift’s got a new defensive coordinator. They’ve got a new offensive coordinator, whereas our kids have been together now for three years and have a lot of game experience.
“I wouldn’t judge a lot of our success by what we looked like tonight. We’ve still got a long way to go.”
Cairo’s rushing attack churned out 288 yards in three quarters, led by Damein Edwards. Edwards ran for 156 yards on just seven attempts, including a touchdown run of 87 yards and another jaunt for 46 yards. Drake Robertson added a 78 yard touchdown jaunt, as the Syrupmakers displayed their plethora of talented running backs, which also includes Terrell Cason and P.J. Davis.
“We’ve said all along that we’ve got four guys back there that we feel pretty good about where any other year, any of those four guys would be our (No.) one guy,” Fallaw said.?“We feel good with the fact that we’ve got four that on any given night could start back there.”
Cairo quarterback Steven Bench was sharp in his first outing with the Syrupmakers, completing his first four passes. Cairo will host Drew in its season opener.
Tift’s offensive standout was Rashad Daniels. He tallied 86 yards rushing on 14 attempts. He also had 10 yard touchdown gallop in the third quarter.
The Blue Devils will return to action next Friday night when they host the Fitzgerald Purple Hurricanes.
