Indians expecting ‘electric’ atmosphere at stadium opening against Fitzgerald

TIFTON — The atmosphere couldn’t be better for a high school football game.

A long-standing rivalry, a new stadium and a standing-room-only crowd — that is all you can expect tomorrow night when the Irwin County Indians host the Fitzgerald Purple Hurricanes.

“It’s going to be an exciting time,” said Irwin head coach John Gamble. “The atmosphere is going to be electric.”

Fitzgerald head coach Robby Pruitt said that even with the new stadium and the fact Irwin has a new head coach in Gamble, he is expecting no changes to the atmosphere.

“Irwin County is going to be tough. I have never seen them come out flat against us. We know they will be pumped up with the new stadium and with their new coach, but we totally expect that out of them every year,” said Pruitt.

The Georgia High School Historians Association Web site has Fitzgerald leading the all-time series by a 34-16-2 margin. The Purple Hurricanes have won the last seven times over their southern rival. Before that, Irwin had won five in a row over Fitzgerald.

To get those streaks back into Irwin’s favor, Gamble said the Indians will “have to work hard just to find some way to stay in the ball game. We have a long way to go before we can catch up with them. Fitzgerald is always a good team.

“We just have to play solid football and play hard. That will hopefully give us a chance.”

Pruitt said Irwin has “a good club. They have good size and speed.”

Against Miller in Irwin’s preseason scrimmage, Gamble said his varsity got a 13-8 win in the three quarters it was on the field.

“They kept their varsity in the game during the fourth quarter, while we emptied our bench. They scored two touchdowns then,” said Gamble.

“We got out of it what we could.”

Fitzgerald faced off with Turner in its preseason scrimmage.

“We saw some good things and some bad things. Some of the things were OK, but there were a lot that were not OK,” said Pruitt. “We still have a long way to go.”

After worrying about his offensive line during the preseason, Gamble said that unit remains a concern. The line is having to learn new blocking schemes as Gamble as changed Irwin’s offense to the I-formation.

“We still have a long way to go, but that can be expected,” said Gamble. “We are hoping by the time the sub-region comes around, they will be good to go.”

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