Friday, Oct. 23, 2009

Slow start stymies short-handed Stallions

TABOR CITY, N.C. -- South Columbus made it a much more interesting game.

But as so many other teams have discovered this season, the Stallions couldn't keep up with a powerful East Bladen team. The Eagles accounted for the first three scores of the game and went on to beat South Columbus 27-14.

And the fact that the score was that close should probably be seen as a moral victory of sorts for a team that had some distractions heading into the game. Four Stallions quit the team before Monday's practice, leaving first-year coach Jake Fonvielle's team short-handed against the best team in the conference.

"It was tough," tailback Brian Riggins said. "We had to bring up some JV players to help us. We had to put new players in new positions."

East Bladen (now 9-0 overall, 4-0 in the 3A/2A Waccamaw Conference) hasn't just been beating teams this year - it's been blowing them out. The Eagles average margin of victory was 28.75 points. They've shut out three opponents and topped 40 points several times.

So it's hard to say if a perfectly healthy and complete South Columbus (4-5, 1-3) team might not have fared much better. It certainly didn't appear so early, especially after a key injury played a role in the game.

Fullback Jonathan Buffkin was hurt in the first quarter on a pass attempt near the South Columbus sideline. He was eventually carted away from the sideline with his left knee wrapped. Fonvielle said they should know sometime today the status of the senior fullback for the final two regular-season games.

The Stallions then dodged a bullet when Riggins, who rushed for 91 carries and a touchdown and had another 77 and a score receiving, went down with about 3 minutes to play in the first half. He eventually returned after halftime, although he fumbled twice in the sloppy field conditions that set in after halftime.

Neither team moved the ball well after the break, and although the Stallions scored the only points in the second half, it wasn't enough.

"We got some things going," Fonvielle said. "[But] we put ourselves in a hole that we couldn't fight back from."

That hole included East Bladen scoring those first 20 points of the game. Had it not been for a solid nine-minute span for South Columbus in the first half, the deficit could have been greater. The Stallions scored their only touchdown before halftime on Riggins' 35-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Zach Williams (who resumed his starting quarterback duties this week) toward the end of the first half.

South Columbus then forced the Eagles into their only three-and-out of the first half. However, on the ensuing possession, the Stallions missed an opportunity to put up more points when they missed a 27-yard field goal.

Six East Bladen plays later and the Eagles boosted their lead to 27-6 when tailback A.J. McKoy - who had 151 of his 165 rushing yards in the first half - scored his third touchdown of the game.

It was too much to overcome, and now South Columbus is forced to win out to make the playoffs.

"I think we took a step in the right direction," Fonvielle said. "We've got to win it. We've got to go back to work on Monday. I know they will."