Georgiana battling bad luck
Published 12:00 am Thursday, October 20, 2005
If any team in Butler County needs a lucky rabbit's foot or any type good-luck charm it would be Georgiana.
The Panthers have struggled through the season losing three of their last four games thanks to multiple turnovers.
Georgiana all but gave the win to Red Level last week with two turnovers turning into long touchdown runs. And those were the only points the Tigers could muster against Georgiana in a heartbreaking 13-12 loss.
“I told them Friday night that I thought they were the most unlucky team I've ever seen,” Panthers coach Greg Ennis said.
Turnovers certainly have been Georgiana's demise this season. Ennis said that the Panthers have turned the ball over at least 50 times so far this season, which is not an exaggeration.
The games which Georgiana have won, the Panthers have not put fumbled the ball away or thrown an interception.
But that's not the case when they lose.
“I would say all but 10 of those turnovers are us putting the ball on the ground,” Ennis said.
Georgiana will have an extra day to work on preventing turnovers this week when it closes out its region schedule Saturday night at Excel.
While Georgiana is battling to stay out of the cellar in the region, Excel can win an outright spot in the playoffs.
Excel and Bayside Academy are tied for the fourth spot in the playoffs from their region. Excel can clinch the fourth spot with a win over Georgiana and a Bayside loss to Leroy.
Should both teams lose or both teams win, then it would come down to a head-to-head tiebreaker.
Excel beat Bayside Academy 26-14 in Week 3, so the Panthers would be the fourth seed out of Region 1.
“They are probably the biggest team we've seen all year,” Ennis said of Excel. “They are as big or bigger than Leroy. They don't compare with them as far as team speed, but they have their spots where they have adequate speed.”
Ennis said that Excel's offense prides itself in playing ball control throughout the game.
“They don't have a problem on a fourth-and-2 situation to line up and try to pick up the first down just to keep the clock running,” Ennis said. “We've got to slow them down and keep their defense on the field as long as we can.”