TIFTON — The second round of the state high school football playoffs begin Friday around the state.
Some coaches will bring teams into unfamiliar territories, but you can’t say that about the head coach of the Swainsboro High Tigers, Scott Roberts.
Roberts will bring his Swainsboro team into Fitzgerald’s Jaycee Stadium Friday to face the homestanding Purple Hurricanes. With the trip to Fitzgerald, Roberts will be less than 10 miles from home, as he played at neighboring Irwin County High School.
“I have been there a few times,” Roberts said with a laugh Wednesday evening in a telephone interview.
While Roberts will have a lot of his family and friends from Ocilla there Friday, the Swainsboro head coach has something more important on his mind.
“We’re excited about being in the second round of the state playoffs, and getting a chance to play one of the top Class AA programs in the state of Georgia,” said Roberts. “It has been a lot of fun getting this far, and we want to see how we stack up against Fitzgerald. They have a great football team.”
Leading the way for the Tigers on the field will be senior quarterback Malcolm Eady.
He has posted impressive numbers on the year, as he has thrown for 1,273 yards, completing 76-of-145 of his passes. He has 14 touchdown passes, and only three interceptions on the year.
Eady has also rushed for 1,228 yards on 124 carries. He has scored 13 touchdowns on the year.
Cobie McCloud is the team’s second leading rusher with 469 yards on 79 carries, and four touchdowns.
Lynquez Blair has 38 catches for 698 yards, and seven touchdowns to lead Swainsboro in receiving, while Zach Jones has 17 catches for 200 yards.
Swainsboro (10-1 overall on the year) has rushed for 2,755 yards on the year, and has 1,291 yards passing.
“Malcolm is our leader. He has had a great year, and he has a great supporting cast around him,” said Roberts.
Tyson Hackett has 80 total tackles on the year to lead the Swainsboro defense, while Jaleel Johnson has added 70. Johnson also has 16 tackles for loss yardage.
“Our defense has done a really good job this year,” said Roberts. “We made some mistakes early in the year, but we have come back strong.”
Roberts added, “We have come a long way as a team. Our only loss this year at Jefferson County (18-14), and I don’t think we were as mature as we should be as a football team. I think what turned it around for us was the Dublin game (19-15 win). Our defense had to make several stands in that game, and I think we grew up a lot.”
The Swainsboro coach said he has not brought out his being familiar with Fitzgerald to his team this week.
“At this point in the season, if you need something like that to inspire your team, you shouldn’t be playing,” said Roberts.
The coach added, “Besides, everyone around knows about Fitzgerald, since we played them for state championship in 2000.”
Swainsboro won that game 6-0, way back on Dec. 16, 2000. The team’s only previous meeting was also in the state playoffs, a 21-13 Fitzgerald win in the state semifinals, way back in 1964.
No matter what happens Friday in Fitzgerald, Roberts said he was proud of his team’s efforts this season.
“We were 5-5 last year, and we are 10-1 this year. We have come a long way. And the best part is I like to think our kids play the right way,” said Roberts. “They go out there and lay it all on the line.”
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