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.”
Local Sports
Indians expecting ‘electric’ atmosphere at stadium opening against Fitzgerald
- Local Sports
-
-
Former Blue Devil hopes to be picked in MLB draft
In less than two weeks, from June 4-6, Major League Baseball will be holding its 2012 draft, fulfilling the dreams of several athletes who have worked for that moment most of their lives.
-
Mesoraco’s slam sends Reds over Braves 6-3
Rookie catcher Devin Mesoraco capped a series full of homers with his first career grand slam on Thursday night, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves.
The Reds completed their first four-game sweep of the Braves in Cincinnati since 1980 at Riverfront Stadium. They’ve won six straight, their longest winning streak since August 2010 when they started their push toward the NL Central title. -
Williams’ annual basketball camp coming up
The annual “Bouncing Through the Community with a Vision Fundamental Basketball Clinic" will be held June 23 at at the Tift County High Arena.
-
Barrentine does well on junior rodeo circuit
Brady Barrentine competed this past weekend in the Southern Junior Rodeo Finals in Ocala, Fla. This was his first year competing in the SJRA's rodeo season. He competed all year long in the breakaway roping, tie-down calf roping, team roping, ribbon roping and chute dogging.
- Local athletes compete in Special Olympics Georgia
- Purple Hurricanes wind up spring practice, hold spring game
-
Blazers win NCAA Division II national softball title
The Valdosta State Blazers are the 2012 NCAA Division II Softball National Champions after an impressive 4-1 victory over defending champion UC San Diego. The championship is Valdosta State’s sixth overall championship and first in softball. The win also marks the first softball national championship for the Gulf South Conference.
-
Blazers advance to final day of the season
-
Beachy throws shutout, Braves beat Marlins 7-0
Brandon Beachy threw a five-hit shutout, the first of his career, to improve the major leagues’ lowest ERA and the Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins 7-0 on Thursday night.
-
Courtney Albritton named All-American
Albritton took VSU and the entire Gulf South Conference by storm in just her freshman season. She was named the GSC's Freshman and Player of the Year while leading the conference in most categories. She is first on the VSU squad in runs scored (68), hits (91), doubles (19), triples (3), home runs (15), RBI (58), slugging percentage (.752) and stolen bases (13-13). - More Local Sports Headlines
-
