When regional games begin to highlight their late schedule, St. Andrew's head football coach Wes Worthington his football team will mature and reach another level,
In the meantime, the Lions likely will endure their share of growing pains. One factor that surfaced at Hilton Head Prep Friday night was their inability to gain control of games when they appeared to be in the grasp.
St. Andrews watched a 13-0 lead and momentum began to change course late in the first half.
The Lions' penalties and turnover proved to be costly in the second half as Hllton Head Prep rallied for a 19-13 victory. As fate would have it, the host Dolphins had lost 25 consecutive games, their last victory was on Oct. 14, 2021. Overall, St. Andrews was flagged ten times for 95 yards, and they had six turnovers.
In the end, though, it may have come down to inexperience and unfamiliarity in a big spot. The Lions (0-2) were blanked, 42-0, by Edmund Burke last week. Also, running a triple option with a young club isn't easy.
"You can't have turnovers, and you can't have penalties," stressed Worthington, who is in his first year at the helm. "We have a young football team, and they gave it their best effort.
"Running a triple option has to be well-oiled, and we have some issues. We're better than we were last week. That's what I told them that I wanted to do. When we got beat last week, it was hard to watch on film. We'll watch this one, and we'll see some good, some bad, and some ugly.
"We thought we had them on the ropes tonight, and it just didn't work out."
Leading 13-7 at the start of the second half, St. Andrew's Amari Cook's 65-yard touchdown sprint was wiped out by a holding penalty.
On the ensuing drive, Prep worked their way down to the St. Andrew's 20-yard line. Quarterback Wyatt Harmer found Brody Hausher open in the left flat for a 20-yard touchdown pass. The Dolphins missed the extra point, and the game was knotted at 13-all.
On their next drive, St. Andrew's quarterback Pat Jackosn was hurried on a third down, and his pass downfield was picked by Prep's Casey Signorello, who returned a pick-six 33 yards for the go-ahead score at 19-13 with 2:56 left in the third quarter.
St. Andrew had one final chance to tie or win the game when they began a drive on their own 29 with 7:34 left in the game.
The Lions drove down to the Prep 46, but they couldn't convert a fourth-and-14 with 2:35 left in the game. Prep sealed the win when Davis Cargill tipped a pass in the air and caught it on his back for a first down with 1:20 left.
Cook helped stake the Lions to their early lead when he scored on a seven-yard scoot on the game's fourth play after Jack Kelley recovered a fumble. He later rambled 68 yards for a score that appeared to give the Lions a comfortable cushion at 13-0.
Cook, who finished with 86 yards, is confident his team will bounce back.
"We'll be better by next week," said Cook. "We'll go back on Monday and get everything right. As a team, we got everything, I got some more to show."
Worthington liked what he saw from Cook.
"He can run back against the grain, and he is really fast," said the head coach. "He was hitting it, and we got perimeter penalties blocking, or we would have scored more points."
Worthington knows his team will take it game-by-game until they can hopefully flourish late in the season.
"We just have to go back to the drawing board," he said. "We want to be peaking when we get to our regional games. We'll get it fixed."
HILTON HEAD PREP 19, ST. ANDREW'S 13
| Teams | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| SAS | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| HHP | 0 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 19 |
| First Quarter | |||||
|
SA- Amari Cook 7 run (kick failed) |
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|
SA - Cook 68 run (Nick Brown kick) |
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|
Second Quarter |
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HHP - Finnian Rooney 43 pass from Wyatt Harmer (Rooney kick) |
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| Third Quarter | |||||
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HHP - Brody Hausher 20 pass from Harmer (kick failed) |
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HHP - Signorello 33 interception return (kick blocked) |
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|
RECORDS - HHP 1-1, SAS 0-2 |
FINAL SCORES WEEK 2
August 23 (Friday)
Richmond Hill 31, Glynn Academy 12
Westover 40, Bradwell 7
Houston County 44, Effingham County 41
Buford 29, Benedictine 28
Savannah Christian 35, New Hampstead 7
Beach 41, Savannah 0
West Laurens 28, Groves 0
Windsor Forest 20, Brantley County 8
Athens Academy 35, Savannah Country Day 0
Aquinas 42, Bryan County 6
Hilton Head Prep 19, St. Andrew's 0
Georgia Christian 48, Memorial Day 0
Thomas Heyward Academy 41, Bethesda 32
PHOTO CREDIT: Prep Sports Report
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Optim Orthopedics is a familiar face on Savannah's prep sports scene, extending their support from the gridiron to the court. Their dedication to local athletes goes beyond logos, offering crucial medical support to nine powerhouse high schools:
- Dr. Don Aaron: Bryan County Middle/High School
- Dr. David Sedory: Benedictine Military, Bradwell Institute, Liberty County
- Dr. David Palmer: Calvary Day, Richmond Hill, South Effingham
- Dr. Thomas Alexander: Savannah Country Day, St. Vincent's
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