Knights claim 7-0 victory over Hounds on Senior Night 2008

editorial4@thomastontimes.com

Tears flowed and hugs were shared, as emotions ran high on Friday night after the Upson-Lee Knights defeated the Jones County Greyhounds by a score of 7-0 on Senior Night.

The Knights have endured one of the toughest seasons in school history, finishing with a record of 3-7, but first year head coach Tommy Watson is optimistic about the team’s future.

“These seniors laid down the foundation for these younger kids,” said Watson. “They never quit giving one-hundred percent. As coaches, that’s all we can ask for. They are a great bunch of kids. I’m just happy we can send them off with a victory.”

Not only did the Knights have to battle Jones County Friday night, they also had to deal with a continuous rain. Each team seemed to struggle offensively, as the defenses held the opposing offenses in check.

The Knights started the game off with the ball, but the drive stalled and the knights were forced to attempt a 46 yard field goal. Sophomore Luke Paul came up about a yard short on the kick.

The Hounds took over on the next play, driving the ball all the way down to the Knights’ 12 yard line, only to turn the ball over on downs. The defense for the Knights stiffened all night when the Hounds were in the red zone. The Knights stopped the Hounds four times in the game on fourth down, including a fourth and goal from the 1 yard line in the in the third quarter.

“I thought our defense played well tonight,” said Watson. “This was our first shutout of the year, and it could not have come at a better time. The guys on defense have been improving every game. They really came up big for us tonight.”

Perhaps the best performance of the night was turned in by senior defensive back Eric Buffin. Buffin seemed to be in on every tackle, while breaking up two crucial Hounds’ passes on fourth down.

The first three quarters of play were riddled with turnovers and penalties from both sidelines.

“We shot ourselves in the foot all night,” said Watson. “We should have had at least three scores in the game. We have had trouble this year stopping ourselves on offense. We need to work on our discipline in the off-season, so these kinds of things do no happen next year.”

With no score in the contest and the rain just starting to ease up, the Knights embarked on three play, 53 yard drive. Senior Dare Coker became only the tenth player in Upson-Lee History to rush for over 1,000 yard in a season. Coker Scampered 42 yards for the Knights, in the only score of the game.

Dare finished his career with 1781 rushing yards, placing him sixth on the Upson-Lee career rushing list. The touchdown was Coker’s 10 of his the season, giving him 21 for his career, a mark that is good enough for seventh on the Upson-Lee all-time list. Coker also finished with a new career high, 174 yards rushing on the night.

Senior running back and defensive end Phillip Searcy, finished his career with 1674 yards rushing, good enough for eighth in school history.

The Knights finish the year with a 3-7 record. This season marks only the fifth time in school history that Upson-Lee has had a losing record. However, the Knights are still undefeated against Jones County. The Knights have a 5-0 all-time record against the Hounds.