While Tropical Storm Helene wiped out most of the Week 7 slate, a handful of Class 2A teams got their games in. One of those was the Spencer Greenwave Owls, who beat Kendrick 55-14 in a Region 1 contest. The game was played on Wednesday, though luckily the week before was a Thursday game, giving them an extra day of rest than if they’d played on a Friday.
Owls coach Joe Kegler said Muscogee County School District athletic director Jeff Battles made the call on Tuesday to push this week’s games up. Had the game been postponed, Kegler said the Owls would have played Oct. 11, their scheduled bye week.
In Wednesday’s win, the Owls were led by senior Justyn Williams, who had 118 yards and three touchdowns on just seven carries. Sophomore quarterback Elijah Fudge was 6 of 9 passing for 163 yards and two touchdowns, and his top targets, seniors Demarcus Horne and Caylen Brunson, had 65 receiving yards apiece. Sophomore CJ Star led the defense with 10 tackles, four for loss.
“We were efficient,” Kegler said. “We did a good job of executing the game plan on a short week. We’re just trying to get better every week, and as long as we build on the week before, we’ll be fine, and we’ll be where we want to be when the regular season ends.”
Friday’s win moved the Owls to 4-2, 2-1 in 1-2A, and was their third in a row after opening on a two-game skid to region and crosstown rivals, No. 3 Carver-Columbus, and Lovett in a cross-classification game. Their opener was supposed to be Aug. 16 against Dooly County, but it forfeited to Spencer because of lack of players.
That forfeit, while a win for Spencer, didn’t do much to prepare the Owls for the coming weeks.
“Not having an opener affected us because we could have worked out some of the kinks,” Kegler said. “But you play the hand you’re dealt, make the best of it, and control what you can control.”
The Owls followed the Lovett loss with wins over 4A’s Griffin, and Jordan in a region game.
“After the losses, we were still in a good place,” Kegler said. “The thing is, we had some good leadership from Demarcus Horne, Ben Watson, CJ Star and Mana Soli. They kept the team together, because they saw the bigger goals at task.”
Up next is a trip to the No. 9 Sumter County Panthers (6-0, 3-0). They too played Wednesday, but on just four days rest, and beat Jordan 56-0.
“They’re big and well-coached,” Kegler said. “Coach Will Rogers does a great job, and they’ll be amped up to play. They’re ranked for a reason, so we’ll have to put our best foot forward, play our best game of the season, and try to get a win.”
