Warriors dealt first loss by Maclay

THOMASVILLE – It was not the game Brookwood football coach Shane Boggs envisioned Friday night. A humbling 46-7 loss to Maclay last Friday was not on par with the team's first two performances that led to a 2-0 start.

Boggs highlighted what went wrong in his team's latest non-region tilt.

“They were good. They played tremendous. The quarterback was just unbelievable all night. The receivers made a ton of plays. They blocked and tackled very well,” Boggs said. “Once they finally scored, it just seemed like they built more and more momentum all night. You've got to give them credit. They beat us in every facet of the game.

“The game is a series of one-on-one battles and we just didn't win near as many as we expected to when we drove down there.”

The Warriors won their share of one-on-one battles before Friday night. Brookwood started 2-0 with blowout wins over Frederica Academy (41-12) and Wewahitchka (Fla.) (53-6). Friday's game was the fewest points the Warriors have mustered since being shut out last year against Tattnall Square Academy.

“You learn a whole lot more about yourself when you struggle and we struggled. I do think those lopsided wins the first two weeks, in some cases, could have been a curse,” Boggs said. “The first one gets lightning out early in the second quarter and we obviously didn't play our starters real deep. One of the things that happened in the third and fourth quarters (Friday), we had some kids that were cramping. That's not something we normally struggle with. But I want to make sure this is clear, Maclay was way better than us.”

Brookwood took the opening kickoff and drove deep inside Maclay territory before turning it over on downs. The Warriors forced a punt on Maclay's ensuing possession but failed to contain the Marauders offense all night, especially senior quarterback Michael Grant.

“We knew their quarterback, which I think is a three-year starter, he's really good. He throws it well out of the pocket and he throws it well when he's outside the pocket. We knew that he had some playmakers out in space,” Boggs said. “Last year we ran the ball up and down the field, ran it and threw it but just couldn't protect the ball. This one, it wasn't about turnovers. It was about missed opportunities early. At times we had trouble blocking them and at times we had trouble separating. We missed some passes we don't normally miss.

“I'm certainly still excited about this team and excited to get back on (the practice field) and correct the mistakes.”

Brookwood will return to the field this Friday against Stratford Academy.