What happened?
Eric Tabor
Tuesday July 3, 2007
If I had a dollar for every time that I've been asked what happened to the South Georgia Wildcats Saturday, I'd be sunning myself in Bermuda right now instead of sitting here typing up this article about what happened to the Wildcats.
No, it's not time to blow up the team, send Coach Stingley to Chicago, and fire everyone from Rickey Foggie, to Randy Linedecker, and Donnie, the Cats' equipment guy.
Sit back and take a load off while I dispel some myths.
Myth 1: The Cats were unprepared.
Unless you're Bill Walton, the King of Hyperbole, the above statement is ridiculous. Yes, a 15th ranked team beat a fifth ranked team, but we have to consider a couple of things before we start throwing Wildcats off cliffs. First of all, yes, the Manchester Wolveswere just ranked 15th. But this is not a traditional 15th seed.
The game plan of Ben Bennett to coach the Wolves helped them get off to an energetic start, but during the previous eleven games playing below .500 ball they didn’t appear to be a significant threat.
After seeing footage of Manchester, I came to realize that in every game this season the Wolves have had a Jeckle and Hyde mentality. At times they have looked confused and disorganized while at other times they were running like a well oiled machine.
Guess what, Saturday South Georgia ran into that well oiled machine.
Falling behind 21-0 early proved to be too much for the cats to overcome.
Bryant finished the contest with eight total touchdowns (seven thrown, one rushing) on 331 yards passing with one interception and fumble in his return to Manchester. Chavis McCollister proved to be Bryant’s favorite target as he hauled in 10 catches for 106 yards and five touchdowns.
Myth 2: Wolves head coach Ben Bennett knew the Wildcats too well.
Frankly, there is an element of truth to this statement - but only an element. Coach Bennett and Wildcats head coach Derek Stingley are good friends and they know each other’s tendencies.
The biggest familiarity is Wolves coach Bennett and South Georgia quarterback D. Bryant’s relationship. Bennett recruited Bryant and coached him at Duke, then again last season at Manchester.
Here’s the kicker, Bennett caught wind of a story in the Wildcats' local paper, in which Bryant said that he wanted to put up double-digit touchdowns on his old team and then sit out the second half.
"You don't ever want to throw fuel on an underdog," Manchester fullback Adam Fichter said. "I think (Bryant) learned that."
Myth 3: The Wildcats couldn't keep pace with the Wolves.
The funny thing about myths is that sometimes they turn out to be true. That's the case with this one. The Wildcats, who pride themselves on their versatility, had and have no answer for the style of game now being popularized by teams like the Pioneers and the Wolves. The three step drop and fire quick routes have stymied the Cats defense and left them finger pointing.
The injury carousel continues to turn for the Cats. Nose tackle Joe Woolridge has two pulled groins and a strained lower abdomen that hampered his play all night. Darion Brutley has a separated shoulder, James Robinson has an injured wrist, and Andre Slappey has back problems.
Slappey did not make the trip, this forced Stingley to juggle the lineup. Several guys played in new positions. (James Harris and Jason Null played some defensive end, while Greg Golden played some linebacker.)
What the Wildcats don't need to do is freak out and blow up a team that has one of the best records in the league. If they had met the Mahony Valley Thunder instead of the red-hot Wolves we'd be extremely excited watching them play the Florida Firecats right now, speculating about the upcoming showdown between South Georgia and Tulsa. All would be right with the world.
But this is a very good team. They will be favored to win next week if they make nothing more than a few minimal changes. Add a piece here and there and they're ready to make another strong run at hosting a playoff game this season.
Bottom line to the game, Cats figured out what happened after they took one on the chin 80-57!