The Fayette

County Tigers invited two other county teams, the Starr's

Mill Panthers and the Sandy Creek Patriots, and a AAA

powerhouse in the Creekside Seminoles, as they played

host to a high school football jamboree Friday night.

A jamboree

gives each team time on offense and defense as they

scrimmage the other teams. It is a good indicator to

coaches on how far the team has come along during

practice.

The Fayette

County Tigers got some good news as they started the

night on offense against the Sandy Creek defense. Running

Back Wes Clark is back in fine form this season, after

getting injured in the middle of last year. Clark got

some good runs in early but the Patriot defense soon

collapsed on him, not giving up much at all.

The Tigers

graduated last year's quarterback, Gerald Johnson, and

last year's top receiver, Brandon Croft. The Tigers miss

the athleticism and on field leadership of Johnson. Their

new quarterback is Nathaniel Enloe, who completed one of

three passes in the first quarter. Enloe was picked off

on his second pass by Jumaine Harris.

Harris, a

starter on the varsity basketball team, is new to

football this season but enormous in both size and

potential. Overall, the Fayette County offense had a hard

time getting anything going, while the Patriot defense

appeared disciplined and hungry.

The

Panthers then took the field to take on the Seminole

defense. This high-energy offense is chock full of talent

and confidence. Junior Brad McClaren keeps growing as the

Panther quarterback and he is supported by an incredibly

talented backfield. Craig Maddock returns from an injury

to be the workhorse for the ground attack and he is

supported by state champion track athlete Reuben Houston

and the speedy LaDon Cooper.

The offense

worked quickly and jumped on the board in their first

drive down the field. Their line looks bigger and

stronger and the entire offense has a better overall idea

of what they are trying to accomplish and how they will

go about it. Creekside's highly touted defense seemed

knocked off their game early but came back to keep the

Panthers out of the end zone for the rest of the quarter.

Sandy Creek

then brought out their offense to face the Fayette County

defense. Last season, the Patriots had trouble scoring

when they really needed it and new coach Rodney Walker

looks to remedy that problem with an overdose on

athleticism. His new quarterback is Andre Green, another

basketball player.

Green looks

like the type of quarterback that is becoming

increasingly popular these days. He can run, he can

throw, and he can make a quick decision to go either way

at the drop of the hat. Their first drive stalled out

early, but the Patriots scored a touchdown on their

second drive.

J. R. Lemon

got a number of carries at running back and was

increasingly productive as the quarter wore on. The

touchdown was scored on a 10-yard pass from Green to

Gavin Bourgeois, who also kicked the extra point for the

team. The jamboree was then postponed due to lightning in

the area. Play resumed shortly there after .

The Starr's

Mill defense took the field soon after and looked very

aggressive and strong. "I was very encouraged by the

defense," said Coach Earwood. "They swarmed the

ball well and had some good hits. There were just minor

coverage mistakes, which are to be expected early on in

the season."

The three

teams open up the season on Sept. 3 with home games.

Fayette County hosts Paulding County. Paulding County

finished their season four and six last year. Starr's

Mill hosts the Riverdale Raiders in what should be a

great matchup Saturday at Tiger Stadium. Sandy Creek

hosts the other 4-AAA powerhouse, the Morrow Mustangs.

All games

begin at 7:30 p.m.

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