Game Day Part 2: South Georgia

Chris Yow
Friday April 13, 2007

Pre-game:  It was a warm day in the Magic City.  Not too hot, not too cold.  Perfect tailgating was abounding.  You can never argue with freshly grilled hamburgers and polish sausage, but top that all off with great friends tossing the ball around and you have first-rate af2 tailgating. 

The chatter was mostly about the way the contest at hand would turn out.  The general consensus was all that the Alabama Steeldogs would rebound and out play the South Georgia Wildcats.

While no visiting fans joined us for the rare Thursday night affair, it was filled with some friendly trash talk with the Wildcats front office man, Will Carter.

Carter was very nice during the preseason scrimmage as our group received tickets to the game.  After the exhibition game, Carter gave me a call and said, “That was a good game, but come April 12, we will win!”

Before the game, he let me know that he still felt the same and was even more confident than before.

It would become a hard fought game for both teams.

Steeldogs/Wildcats: To say that this was a huge win for the Alabama Steeldogs would be a great understatement.  The 57-54 victory over South division foe South Georgia Wildcats was enormous.

An old-fashioned af2 shootout was amongst the, we’ll generously and say, not quite the 4,916 announced attendance.

Opening the game was Alabama on the kicking end.  D. Bryant wasted absolutely no time in throwing his first touchdown of the night by hitting James Robinson streaking down the near sideline for a first-play touchdown.  On the first play for Alabama, Clifford Browning rumbled for 28 yards setting up his first touchdown run of the night.  The extra point was blocked, however, and returned for a two-point conversion, putting the Wildcats up 9-6 after the first possession for each team. 

Bryant and the Wildcats quickly got back on the board with another long touchdown strike, this time to Chavis McCollister.  Byung Yoon missed the first of several missed extra point attempts, and the Wildcats led 15-6. 

But the Steeldogs would answer just 2:48 later capping a 3-play 37-yard drive with a 29-yard strike to Mareno Philyaw—after the extra point, Alabama trailed by just two.  A fumble on the kickoff gave the ball back to the Steeldogs and Kent capitalized on second down racing to the end zone for his first of two rushing touchdowns on the night, giving the Steeldogs their first lead of the contest.

Tavaris Capers ran by everyone on his way to the end zone for a touchdown reception to put the Wildcats back on top by just one after another failed kick by Yoon.

All of this happened just in the first quarter!

The second stanza began with the Steeldogs settling for a field goal from Nick Hayes.

The rest of the half was dominated by South Georgia as Scott Cloman and Chavis McCollister each caught touchdown passes from Bryant to take a 35-23 lead into the locker rooms.

As per the coin toss, Alabama was given their choice of kicking or receiving, choosing to take the ball to open the half.

It was almost a mirror of the opening play of the game, except the Steeldogs Jon Olinger was on the receiving end of an opening play 23-yard touchdown catch.

Capers got in the end zone once again for the Wildcats, capping off a 7-play drive extending the lead back to 11 points after yet another failed Yoon kick.

Another rushing score for Kent was the end result of a Steeldogs 7-play drive, putting Alabama within just four points.

If Kent was having so much success running the ball, Bryant decided the get in on the act, rushing for a score on the ensuing possession, not surprisingly, Yoon missed another extra point.

Browning added to his totals with a 1-yard touchdown run, putting the Steeldogs within just a field goal.

The ensuing kick off was the turning point of the contest.  As South Georgia continued setting up in case of an onside kick—Hayes put the ball just above the iron bar and the ball rolled right through the returnee’s legs and right into the hands of a sprinting Willie Smith, who dove into the end zone for a touchdown, putting the Steeldogs on top again by three after a botched hold on the extra point.

However, the lead would be short lived with Robinson taking a 42-yard Bryant pass to pay dirt, and with Yoon’s kick, putting the Wildcats up by four again.

Alabama took their time on the next drive, taking 2:03 off the clock before Browning walked in to the end zone with just 35 seconds left in the game, giving the Steeldogs a four point lead.

The final drive for the Wildcats started with an incomplete pass, and then Bryant hit Cloman for 17 yards with 14 seconds remaining.  Bryant then hit a diving McCollister at the two-yard line, however timing rules in the af2 do not allow the clock to stop after first downs, and the clock ran out on the Wildcats, preserving the win for the Steeldogs.

Bryant finished the game with an incredible 353 yards on 24-of-35 passes with seven passing scores and no interceptions, adding one rushing score the mix.

His counterpart, Kent, finished 18-of-30 for 193 yards and two scores, but rushed for 50 yards and two more scores and no turnovers.

Schutt offensive player of the game, Clifford Browning, finished with 42 yards on the ground and three trips to pay dirt.