Paladins Suffer Tough Loss at the Hands of South Forsyth
“Realize that without losing, winning isn’t so great” - Alyssa Milano
After fans waited for over ten years, “The Battle for Peachtree Parkway” finally took place in front of a huge crowd at South Forsyth, as the Paladins were defeated 52-0 by the War Eagles.
The two 2015 region champs had been talking about this game since the end of last season, and the community came together to enjoy it this past Friday night. This was also the first ever PA Varsity football game to be streamed live online, which means fans in Athens, Georgia and Athens, Greece alike could take in Paladin football in the comfort of their own home. Even though the spread wasn’t quite 52 points, South was the heavy favorite. After all, they are a 7A school, and that’s six more A’s than the Paladins have to their name.
Normally, this is where I would give some shout outs to players who had an exceptional game, but after Friday night, the most deserving of recognition wasn’t even playing on the field. The Paladin fans, who stayed in the stands despite a nearly two-hour storm delay and a 52-0 score, were the most impressive part of Friday night. Especially during a game like that, the last thing a team needs is to look over and see an empty visitors section. Keep it up, Paladin Nation!
1st Quarter
Disclaimer: The Paladin offense is barely going to be talked about in this game summary. That’s not because they played a bad game - they had some solid drives - but they just didn’t score.
The War Eagles scored early and often, and after less than four minutes, Davis Shanley and Guy Morra connected on a touchdown pass to make it 7-0, South. Unfortunately for the Pinecrest defense, they were not able to capitalize on an errant pass from Shanley, which could have been a “pick six” for the Green and Gold.
With two minutes left in the quarter, South scored again on a 70-yard touchdown reception. This was tough for the Paladin defense to handle, not only was it a very long touchdown play, but it was actually 3rd and 30 thanks to a few penalties in the plays before.
2nd Quarter
Pinecrest actually forced a punt on South’s next drive, but the punt bounced down to the one yard line, and the Paladins were unable to get out of that precarious position as they gave up a safety with 7:00 left in the half. 16-0 South Forsyth.
Just over two minutes later, South was in the end zone again on a one-yard rushing touchdown by Jack Pearson. Instead of attempting a extra-point, the War Eagles went for two and succeeded to make it 24-0.
After another two minutes, Guy Morra got his second receiving touchdown of the night to make it 31-0 going into halftime.
As the buzzer sounded a big thunderstorm hit the area and the second half was delayed for almost two hours, and at approximately 10:40 PM, when the game would usually be ending, twelve minutes were put up on South’s massive jumbotron and the third quarter was started.
3rd Quarter
The War Eagles didn’t let the delay bother them as they quickly scored again with eight minutes left in the quarter. 38-0 South.
At this point, Paladin fans got a chance to see some new faces run out onto the field on both offense and defense, as players like Peter Hoover and Hunter Hawk had some plays that make the future look promising.
With 2:51 left in the 3rd quarter, South’s Pontrelli scored on a somewhat acrobatic dive for the endzone. It was actually pretty impressive. 45-0.
At this point, the result was not in doubt, which was positive for Pinecrest because it gave the staff an opportunity to test out some players and strategies against a very good football team, a team that the Paladins have no chance of replicating during practice on Campo Grande.
4th Quarter
The War Eagles scored their final touchdown within a few minutes of the start of the fourth quarter, leading to the final score of 52-0.
This game was the Paladins’ first game of the season and it was a non-region game against a 7A school, and it’s a bit impractical to judge any team based on a performance that meets those criteria. The Paladins have the entire season to prove themselves, so if there’s any time to lose like this and learn from it, it’s right now.
Pinecrest plays their next game against the Discovery Titans on Friday, September 2nd “Between the Pines” on the Pinecrest campus. Kickoff will be at 7:30pm. You can catch the game in the stands or at home, thanks a live stream powered by SUVtv at http://www.thesuvtv.com/pinecrestacademyfootball. You can even watch the games you missed this season or the ones you just can’t get enough of on the SUVtv website.
Go Paladins!
