Why Green Sea Floyds’ latest victory was a defining moment in school history
Donnie Kiefer called it a “program win.”
The second-year Green Sea Floyds coach wasn’t talking in terms of a collective accomplishment, although it was. Instead, he was talking about a defining moment.
After his Trojans defeated Baptist Hill on the road 44-16 on Friday night to advance to the Lower State finals for the first time in school history, it would be hard to argue against this being the biggest accomplishment in the program’s history.
On top of that, the win came against the team that knocked Green Sea Floyds out of the playoffs in the second round a season ago.
“For us to come back and beat them pretty soundly just feels good for the program,” he said. “We feel like it’s a program win. It’s one of those things that’s a program builder so we’re very excited about that.”
The Trojans led from start to finish and used a punishing run game to put Baptist Hill away. Anwain Graham ran for three touchdowns, Jaquan Dixon trotted in for two and Bubba Elliott added another score on the ground.
Kiefer ran down a list of wins this season that he considered key building blocks, including victories over local rival Loris and region foe Hemingway, which defeated Lake View 14-7 on Friday night and awaits the Trojans in the Class A title game to be played in Green Sea in a week.
“I think you’re beating teams that have a storied past and they have a history of being a good football program,” he said. “It’s obviously helping us gain confidence. I’m proud of them. I felt good coming into this game.”
The Trojans defeated Hemingway 22-21 during the regular season on a successful two-point conversion at the end of the game. Kiefer said that preparing his team for a hard-fought battle was key in the first victory and, while the teams have evolved by now, a similar effort will be needed if Green Sea Floyds wants to advance to the state title game for the first time.
“It’s going to be a battle. When we went over there to play them the first time we told our kids that it was going to be an absolute 48-minute war,” he said. “We expect it to be the same thing this time. We’ve just got to bring our A game and keep everybody healthy.”
The second-seeded Trojans will be at home against the third-seeded Tigers at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Kiefer said the community has bought into a program that has started to see increased success in recent years starting with former coach Tony Sullivan and now under his leadership.
He said it appeared there were more Green Sea Floyds fans in the stands at Baptist Hill than those rooting for the home team.
“It’s been a long time for them. They want to have a winner and they’re good people in this community,” Kiefer said. “We’re just happy that we can be a part of building something that they can be proud of.”
Kiefer credited the squad’s strength and speed program as a big factor in helping Green Sea Floyds get to new heights this season. A Hemingway program that annually features strong and fast athletes who have led to a lot of success likely will once again test the Trojans’ mettle as a trip to the state title game is on the line.
Kiefer and company are ready for Round 2 and they will surely have a reinvigorated community backing them next week.
“We know that they’re going to want revenge and it’s going to be a tough battle,” Kiefer said of the Tigers. “Luckily we get to play at home.”
This story was originally published November 23, 2018 at 11:20 PM.