Green Sea Floyds jumps on East Columbus (N.C.) early, rolls to win
Tony Sullivan had to laugh.
A big play by his defense had seemed to alter his game plan, leaving the Green Sea Floyds coach to say to his defensive coordinator, “I think we scored too soon.”
Senior Akil Gause intercepted East Columbus (N.C.) on the first play of the game and ran it back 52 yards and deep into Gator territory, setting up a short scoring drive that helped the Trojans to a season-opening 38-14 victory.
Sullivan, whose team is now known for its time-consuming offensive strategy, was a bit perplexed seeing his team score so quickly.
“I kind of joked with my defensive coordinator. I said ‘I think we scored too soon,’” said Sullivan, whose defense caused three total turnovers. “I was thinking, ‘We need to run more time off the clock.’ But it was huge to have those turnovers we haven’t had in the past. In the past it usually went the other way. It’s huge to have it go our way.”
It started with Gause, whose interception started the Trojans’ season off with a big play.
“That kind of set the tempo for the rest of the game,” Sullivan said.
Gause also had a big night on offense, running eight times for 106 yards and a touchdown.
“Akil Gause stepped up big tonight,” Sullivan said. “He’s a guy that came out of the shadows.”
Sullivan said Gause worked hard in the weight room during the offseason and is starting to see the results. And while the coach believed the senior – who played tight end last year before moving into the backfield this year – would have an impact on the team this season, he was pleasantly surprised to see how Gause came out of the gates.
“He’s been trying to come out of his shell and be a leader,” Sullivan said. “Honestly, I didn’t really see [this big of an impact] coming. We thought he’d be able to help us, but it was kind of a surprise to see him come out as he did.”
Wyatt Upchurch added 63 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries, Mahammud Graham added 55 yards and two touchdowns in seven carries and Josh Slobodiak ran five times for 31 yards and a score as Green Sea Floyds piled up 317 yards on 41 carries.
“We were able to establish the running game on offense like we want to do,” Sullivan said.
The Trojans will have a bye week before taking on Aynor – a winner over Marion on Friday – in two weeks. The Blue Jackets are also known for their time-consuming running game.
“I joked with someone the other day, saying ‘We might be able to go watch the second half of someone else play,” Sullivan quipped of how fast the game likely will go with the clock constantly running. “That might be over pretty quick.
“But we know they’re going to be physical on both sides of the ball. We’ll try to counter on our side. We’ll need to take care of the ball and get stops. It’ll be a physical game. We’ve got a tough game in front of us.”
This story was originally published August 20, 2016 at 12:10 AM with the headline "Green Sea Floyds jumps on East Columbus (N.C.) early, rolls to win."