TIFTON — The Tift County Blue Devils jumped out to an early lead, then ended up having to battle back without their starting quarterback, as they defeated the Fitzgerald Purple Hurricanes, 29-22, in the first game of the high school football season.

The game started with a moment of silence and prayer for the Fitzgerald football team and community, as they remember D.J. Searcy, a player who passed away this summer while the team was at a football camp in Florida. Searcy’s number 79 was also painted on the field in purple and gold.

Tift opened the game and was able to pick up one first down before having to punt the ball away. Tadric Jackson punted the ball, which was fielded right before it went into the Fitzgerald end zone. Jakevin Jackson was there to make the tackle immediately, giving the Hurricanes a first and 10 on their own one.

Fred Hooks took the first two carries for Fitzgerald, getting the ball to the seven yardline. On third down and four, Kaleb Nobles was unable to complete his pass, setting up a fourth down and a dangerous punting situation.

Tift County took full advantage.

A host of Blue Devils players broke through the line to block the Fitzgerald punt, which was almost recovered in the end zone, but rolled out the back for a safety and a 2-0 lead for the Blue Devils.

Tift County was unable to take advantage of the ensuing free kick though. On a drive that started on their own 37 they were unable to get things moving, setting up a fourth and 15. Tadric Jackson came in and booted a 51-yard punt which was not returned.

The Blue Devils defense held strong for a second straight series, forcing a three and out punting situation. Again, the Tift defense tore through the Fitzgerald special teams, causing the punter to rush his kick that went for 16 yards.

This time the Blue Devils’ offense took advantage of their good field position. Tadric Jackson took the snap under-center and fooled the Hurricane defense with play action, then calmly hit Donnel Tuff for a 37-yard touchdown pass. Josue Perez converted the extra point, to give the Blue Devils a 9-0 lead.

Fitzgerald’s special team woes continued on the resulting kick off, as Tolerance Shepherd was taken down by Joshua Banks at the 11 yardline. The offense found a rhythm though, and marched the ball down the field with a very balanced attack. Shepherd and Hooks carried the ball three times each, Nobles completed two passes, and Harold Summers carried once to set up a second and 6 on the Tift 31. Summers then exploded for a 31-yard touchdown run to bring the score to 9-6, and 9-7 after the point was converted by Irving Santos.

Rashad Daniels took the kick for the Blue Devils and returned it to the 23-yard line. After a short run and an incomplete pass on second down, Drew Davis caught a 75-yard pass from Tadric Jackson to score the second touchdown of the night for the home team, and extended the lead to 15-7 after a missed PAT.

After another balanced drive, the Hurricanes found themselves on the Tift 19-yard line facing a fourth and 2 situation. Nobles took the snap and found an open Manuel Chavez for a Fitzgerald touchdown. Down by two, the offense came back on the field. Fitzgerald converted the two-point play, as Hooks came around the outside corner and collected an easy pass from Nobles.

Summers took the Tift kick to open the second half and electrified the Fitzgerald crowd, returning it all the way to the Blue Devils’ 40. The excitement quickly faded though, as a holding penatly brought them back to their own 12.

On the first play of the drive, the ball was fumbled and kicked around the Fitzgerald backfield, before Summers picked the ball up on the outside and gained 51 yards. Jakevin Jackson, who was a stand out for the Tift defense all night, chased him down from behind to save the Blue Devil defense six points.  The Hurricane offense worked the ball down to the 20, where they once again faced a fourth down situation. On fourth and 11, the Hurricanes elected to go for it. Nobles dropped back and hit Shepherd for what looked like a Fitzgerald first down, but the ball was marked just short.

Tift took over on their own 10, where they not only were unable to move, but lost their starting quarterback Tadric Jackson to what appeared to be an ankle injury. After the game head coach Jay Walls said Jackson was okay and is not expected to miss any time.

After Tift punted the ball away, Fitzgerald took over with great field position at the Tift 43. The Fitzgerald offense continued to balance it’s attack, with four players getting runs, to set up a 1st and goal inside the Tift one. Fitzgerald capped off the nine play drive to take the lead with a quarterback sneak by Nobles. Fitzgerald took a 22-15 lead after the PAT conversion by Santos.

The Devils took over at their own 34 after a 16-yard return by Daniels. Kris Miller came in at quarterback, and quickly put any worries that the Tift crowd might have to rest. He took the Blue Devil offense down the field in just five plays, completing both passes he attempted for 63 yards, and ran the ball in from three yards out on the last play of the third quarter for a Blue Devil touchdown. Perez converted the extra point to tie the game up, 22-22.

Shepherd returned the ball for the Hurricanes to the 19-yard line. The Tift defense came up big, holding them to a three and out, and took the ball over at the Fitzgerald 48.

Miller took a quarterback draw for 16 yards to the Ftizgerald 32. On the play, Miller was hit after going out of bounds, for a 15-yard late hit penalty. Daniels took the ball to the 15 on the next play, which was followed by a fifteen yard touchdown pass from Miller to Tuff. Perez split the uprights to make the score 29-22 with less than nine minutes to go.

Fitzgerald and Tift both were unable to score on their next two positions, and Fitzgerald’s last possession ended as Ricky Sutton recovered a Hurricane fumble with less than 30 seconds on the clock.

“We are really proud of our kids, they had to battle four quarters to get this victory against a great football team. We worked hard all week and it payed off,” said Walls of his team’s performance.

Tift starts the season 1-0 and faces Locust Grove next Friday in Tifton. Fitzgerald looks to rebound, as they travel Friday to Worth County in their next contest.