Confidence Builder
Eric Starling
Friday April 13, 2007
“Guys be with me!”
After the opening game performance against the Tennessee Valley Vipers two weeks ago, Kent said his confidence took a hit. “I knew I didn’t perform at the level I needed to be at, so tonight I just wanted to do my part to put together a great team effort and we succeeded,” stated Kent.
Even with the victory, Kent said he had room for improvement. On a couple of occasions he felt he may not have put the ball right where he should have, but his receivers stepped it up and made the necessary catches.
The Steeldogs held a 2-1 edge in time of possession in the first half yet found themselves trailing 35-23 at the break. South Georgia took the kickoff to start the game and on their very first play from scrimmage scored on a 44-yard pass from D. Bryant to James Robinson. The quick strike stunned the crowd as the Steeldog faithful were looking to start the 2007 home campaign better than the road trip. Kent finished the first half 12-21 for 110 yards and a touchdown which was a marked improvement over the season opener.
Alabama scored on the opening drive of the second half to pull within five of the Wildcats. One Steeldogs fan stated that they didn’t know if their heart could take the tension that was building on the field and in the stands. The tide turned and the tension eased a little with 7:21 left in the game. Cliff Browning had just taken the handoff from Kent and punched his way in from the 2-yard line to bring the Steeldogs to within four.
On the ensuing kickoff, the ball skipped off the net and bounced through the hands of Wildcat Chavis McCollister and right into the hands of Steeldogs special teams member Willie Smith. Smith scooped the ball up at the five and made his way to paydirt giving the Steeldogs their first lead of the game at 50-47.
According to Steeldogs Coach Ron Selesky, the special teams play was critical to changing the momentum of this game. “In our opening game, we gave up a kick for a touchdown and tonight, our kick coverage was 100 times better. All it takes is one play like the one in the fourth quarter to give the team the spark they need to pull out the win.”
The two teams traded scores after the special teams stand with the two coaches looking like chess masters as they played the clock and the game board to perfection. With just :35 seconds remaining, the Wildcats got the ball trailing 57-54. Starting deep in their own territory, they moved the ball down the field only to have the Steeldogs defense stop them at the 3-yard line when time ran out.
After the game, Coach Selesky said, “The key to getting this first win behind us was that these guys tonight learned how to play hard continually and to push and push and push.”
No doubt, this will be the building block that Coach Selesky and his staff start with this week as they prepare to face a struggling Louisville Fire team back here next Saturday night.
Eric is a District Manager with H&R Block and owner of Backstagebham.com dba Starling Photography. His love of sports and photography came together 20 years ago when he began covering high school and college sports and writing for the local paper in Cleveland, TN. In the late 80’s and 90’s, Eric covered the University of Tennessee Chattanooga as well as the Volunteers at UT Knoxville. As an Accounting graduate of UT, this was second nature. Currently, Eric and his wife of 22 years make their home in Alabaster, Alabama where they and their 3 children love to attend Alabama Steeldogs football games.
