“Turnovers took us out of the game early and we could never recover,” coach Greg Jordan said Monday. “There’s not much else to say.”
Coach Jordan’s short summation of the game was about all he could say after the Tigers gave up three fumbles and one interception in the first half to propel Freeport to a 34-0 halftime lead. The District 1 Class 1-A Champions didn’t need our help. They were capable of scoring on their own. The turnovers just made it easier for them to cruise to a 48-12 victory.
The Tigers finished the 2009 season at 8-3 and District 2 Class 1-A runnersup. Ten Tiger seniors will be missed next season. They are: Darren Huff, Princeton Grant, Leon Broxton, Zack Segers, John Jourdan, Jason Money, Michael Gibson, Blake Shelton, Stafford Dawson and Alex Deason.
A 20 yard run by Princeton Grant and a 25 yard pass from P.J. Buggs to Leon Broxton set the Tigers up with a first down at Freeport’s 21. Two plays later Jawon Mosley fumbled and Freeport had their first gift. Nine plays later Freeport scored on a 25 yard pass. The PAT failed.
On the Tigers’ next series, Buggs’ third down pass was intercepted and returned 32 yards to the Blountstown 24. Freeport scored on a first down pass and added two points for a 14-0 lead.
The gifts kept on coming for Freeport. On the Tigers’ next series a 30 yard pass from Buggs to Grant moved the ball to the Freeport 33. On a fourth down play, Grant was thrown for an 8 yard loss and fumbled the ball. Freeport recovered.
On first down, Freeport’s talented runningback Cody Binder raced 67 yards for a touchdown. The PAT failed. Binder finished with 106 yards, part of Freeport’s 329 rushing yards on the night.
Following a Tiger punt, Freeport runs of 14, 18, and 11 yards set up a 1 yard touchdown run. The PAT made the score 27-0.
On the Tigers’ next series, Grant lost his second fumble at the Tiger 38. A 21 yard TD pass and the PAT gave Freeport a 34-0 lead at halftime.
The Bulldogs didn’t slow down in the second half. They took the opening kickoff and scored on a 45 yard third down pass play. The PAT put Freeport comfortably ahead, 41-0. Freeport was 3 for 5 passing for 70 yards against the Tigers. All three completions were for touchdowns.
The Tigers were stopped on fourth down and Freeport took over at their own 44. On third down, Paul Holmes broke free and scampered 45 yards for another Freeport touchdown. The PAT put the Bulldogs on top 48-0.
The Tigers finally put an offensive series together without a turnover. Buggs had completions to Broxton of 30 and 33 yards. Buggs scored from the six to avoid the shutout. The try for two points failed.
The Tigers forced Freeport to punt and took over at their own 9. On third down from the 8, Buggs connected again with Broxton who raced 92 yards for a touchdown. Another two-point play failed and the final score of 48-12 was posted.
Junior Dowling Lee had a great season ending performance recording 15 tackles for the Tigers. Jason Money finished with 8 followed by Cavon Cox and Jawon Mosley with 4 each.
