Local football teams get back on the field for spring games
Published 9:04 pm Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Southside High School quarterback Khamari Gibbs hands off to a running back in a football game last season. Gibbs and the Panthers played their spring game at Central Tuscaloosa Friday night and lost 18-0., but head coach Daniel Flowers came away impressed with how his team moved the football on offense. (Jay Sowers | Times-Journal)
Meadowview Christian participated in the school’s first eight-man football games Saturday night at Capitol Heights Middle School in Montgomery, opening a new era of Trojans football.
Meadowview fell to Heritage High School 30-12 and defeated Ballard Christian 12-0. as the Trojans begin their first year in the Alabama Christian Education Association.
Outside of the scoreboard, the Trojans biggest takeaway from their spring contests was how normal 8-man football felt. Meadowview head coach Lebo Jones said he expected there to be subtle differences, but he felt like nothing had changed after the opening kickoff.
“I was surprised,” Jones said. “I was going in expecting some differences but I was really surprised by how similar 11-man and eight-man are.”
The Trojans are hoping to have more success in the ACEA, where their opponents are more likely to field a similar sized roster than those they faced in the Alabama Independent School Association.
C. J. Grimes had a fantastic night, scoring two touchdowns in each game.
The offense had a lot of success moving the ball, but Jones came away most impressed with his defense, especially after the Trojans’ shutout performance against Ballard Christian.
“The defense played great, really ran to the ball well and swarmed the football,” Jones said. “It was the best defensive game we have played in a while.”
Central Tuscaloosa 18,
Southside 0
Despite an 18-0 loss to Central Tuscaloosa Friday night, Southside head coach Daniel Flowers came away proud of his team’s performance.
Flowers said neither team’s quarterback was allowed to get hit in the game, which he said hurt the Panthers’ offense that relies heavily on the quarterback’s run game for its read-option.
“The offense looked good. We moved the football,” Flowers said. “If the quarterback was live, we would have scored a couple of times.”
The Panthers had 13 penalties, which didn’t help matters offensively. Tuscaloosa had two.
“You can’t win a football game when you have 13 penalties to two,” Flowers said. “You cannot win a game like that.”
However, Flowers expected the young Panthers to have a few hiccups in this spring game.
He came away happy with the bright spots and was satisfied with how his team played on both sides of the football.
