Tigers see progress
♦ The GSD football team plays its home opener on a hot day in Cave Spring.
CAVE SPRING — 6DWXUGD\ ZDV WKH ¿UVW of a few special days each September and October when Cave Spring plays host to a group of young athletes who represent their states on the gridiron.
The Georgia School for the Deaf football team still plays its home games at Van &RWW 6WDGLXP D ¿HOG PRVWO\ VXUURXQGHG on three sides by hillsides of ivy and brush, and on this day they hosted the team from Mississippi School for the Deaf.
$ VWULQJ RI WXUQRYHUV LQ WKH ¿UVW KDOI KRZHYHU VSRLOHG WKH *6' 7LJHUV ¿UVW home game of the season. Georgia recovered in the second half, but lost 58-24 to drop to 0-2.
DeMarco Brown, a senior athlete for the Tigers, had three touchdowns, while Jamie Lang ran for another as the midday sun beat down on the players, RI¿FLDOV DQG FRDFKHV DOLNH
*6' KDG ¿YH WXUQRYHUV LQ WKH ¿UVW half, four of which led to touchdowns for the visiting Bulldogs, and Mississippi built a 50-12 lead by halftime.
%XW WKH 7LJHUV FDPH EDFN DIWHU WKH EUHDN DQG KDG D FOHDUHU IRFXV OHDGLQJ WR D ELJ GHIHQVLYH VWDQG RQ WKH ¿UVW GULYH RI WKH WKLUG TXDUWHU WKDW IHDWXUHG VDFNV from Lang and Zadrian Clay.
The offense got its feet under it as well, scoring twice and not turning the ball over for the rest of the game.
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%URZQ ZRUNHG RXW WKH TXDUWHUEDFN spot for the Tigers but reached the end ]RQH ¿UVW RQ D NLFNRII UHWXUQ ODWH LQ WKH ¿UVW TXDUWHU WKDW UHSUHVHQWHG WKH ¿UVW points for GSD this season and made the score 24-6.
He went on to run for a 55-yard touchdown late in the second quarter and then scampered around the end for a 10-yard score in the third.
“DeMarco is our leader. It’s like I used to describe one of my former players, he’s the glue in our pasteboard box,” Whitworth said.
“He leads by example. Every now and then he needs a break, but he wants to show his teammates that he stays out there and hustles as hard as he can on every play, and he expects them to do the same.”
The Tigers will play a rare Friday night game this week when they travel to Jacksonville, Alabama, to play Jacksonville Christian Academy before returning to playing in Cave Spring on Sept. 29 for their annual homecoming game against the Carolinas Schools for the Deaf and Blind.