Tough way to start
- Updated: August 20, 2022
Cleburne County crosses state lines to open its season, falls to Mt. Zion Saturday in a game postponed from Friday
By East Alabama Sports Today
MT. ZION, Ga. – Now, the Cleburne County coaching staff has something to work with.
The Tigers went across state lines to open their season Saturday and it didn’t go well from a results standpoint. They lost to the Eagles 34-17, but now at least they’ll be able to see the areas they’ll need to work on going forward.
“I really felt like we did some good things, we’ve got some things we can build on, but there were some other things that weren’t very good,” Tigers coach Joby Burns said. “We’ve got to get better at all those things.
“We had some chances to make some plays. We’re just going to be that kind of team that when we have those chances we have to take advantage of them.”
Special teams play was one area in particular that hurt the Tigers. Because of those issues, the Eagles were able to set up shop in Cleburne County territory most of the game. The Eagles ran their first 13 plays from scrimmage and 20 total in the first half on the Tigers’ side of the 50.
But they didn’t just walk into the end zone through a short field. The Tigers turned back the first threat inside their 5 with a fumble recovery. On their next possession the Eagles needed three cracks to score after they got inside the 5.
“I thought the linebackers played well,” Burns said. “We’ve got some young guys on the defensive line and I thought we were in positions we just didn’t make tackles.”
Sherrod Montgomery scored three touchdowns for the Eagles. He caught one of quarterback Stanley Cross’ two touchdown passes and ran for two other scores. He rushed for 66 yards
Rico Hughley and Kyler McGrinn scored Cleburne County’s two touchdowns. Noah Morgan also kicked a 40-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the first half.
Huguley rushed for 40 yards in the game. McGrinn rushed for 76 yards, but only completed 3 of 19 passes.
The Tigers actually outgained their hosts in the game, but the short field scenarios were just too much to overcome. The Eagles’ worst starting position was their own 38. All five of their touchdown drives started from inside the Tigers’ 40 and none farther out than the 36.
Mt. Zion 34, Cleburne County 17
| CLEBURNE CO. (17) | MT. ZION (34) | |
| 13 | 1st Downs | 11 |
| 33-156 | Rushes-Yards | 36-147 |
| 3-19-1 | Comp-Att-Int | 3-8-0 |
| 58 | Passing Yards | 57 |
| 1-1 | Fumbles-Lost | 2-1 |
| 5-24.6 | Punts-Avg. | 3-26.3 |
| 10-85 | Penalties-Yards | 10-113 |
| Cleburne Co. (0-1) | 6 | 3 | 0 | 8 — | 17 |
| Mt. Zion (1-0) | 13 | 7 | 7 | 7 — | 34 |
M: Kevin Berrios 1 run (Alan Esquivel Agustin kick), 6:42 1Q
M: Sherrod Montgomery 11 pass from Stanley Cross (kick failed), 3:01 1Q
C: Rico Huguley 22 run (kick failed), 0:56 1Q
M: Sherrod Montgomery 16 run (Alan Esquivel Agustin kick), 3:39 2Q
C: Noah Morgan 40 FG, 0:01 2Q
M: Malachi Ackles 31 pass from Stanley Cross (Alan Esquivel Agustin kick), 4:01 3Q
M: Sherrod Montgomery 1 run (Alan Esquivel Agustin kick), 10:51 4Q
C: Kyler McGrinn 1 run (James Cotton pass from Kyler McGrinn), 6:34 4Q
OTHER SATURDAY GAMES
Ider 8, Crossville 6
Lanett 27, Notasulga 0
Loachapoka 38, LaFayette 6
Sidney Lanier 20, Lee-Montgomery 7
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