A large crowd is expected at Brewton Municipal Stadium this Friday night when the T.R. Miller Tigers host the Excel Panthers in a region game that has been deemed as the “Legacy Game.”
T.R. Miller comes into the game this week ranked No. 4 in class 3A and 2-0 this season and 1-0 in region play after taking down Opp last week at home 21-7.
“The game was actually very much like I thought it was going to be,” Riggs said of Opp. “It was a very tough, hard fought game. Both teams ran the ball a lot and there were some good defensive plays from both sides. It was kind of a game of big plays as far as scoring goes. We broke a couple of runs to get a few scores in the first quarter. Then Opp controlled the ball most of the second quarter and they had a fourth-and-long and their quarterback threw a tremendous pass right there at the pylon and their kid made a really nice play and got his foot down. They scored on the next play and it is 14-7 at halftime.”
Riggs said in the third quarter, his team won the battle of field position that helped them win the game.
“We were able to get one in in the third quarter and got some position on them a little bit,” Riggs said. “We got them backed up on the kickoff and we eventually got the ball back. The rest of the game was just a struggle of them trying to get in position to score and us holding on to run the clock out. They are a very physical team and very well coached and will win some games. It was a victory we were very proud of to get.”
Excel comes to Brewton with a 1-1 record after winning their opener but falling to Bayside Academy last week 40-13.
“The first thing you notice about Excel is how big they are,” Riggs said. “They really have some big running backs and their quarterback, on film, has done a good job of throwing the ball. They certainly have some kids that can catch it. They transferred some of that size to the defense as well. Their biggest problem right now is just depth. Like a lot of us, they are playing a good number of people on both sides of the ball. So, I think that is the whole issue. Hopefully, to be able to beat them, we are going to have to play well. Hopefully we can substitute well and win the game in the fourth quarter.”
As for the Legacy Game, Riggs said he is excited and looks for a big crowd with plenty of events going on.
“I have really been amazed by the response of the people,” he said. “Thursday night we will have the flag football game. We expect a nice little crowd for that. That should be a lot of fun. Friday, we will have the tailgate at 5 p.m. and we hope everyone will come out and be part of that before the game. We will have a few pregame ceremonies.”
The players will wear special jerseys Friday night with a special Legacy Game patch on them.
“We have a special program being printed with all the pledges on it,” Riggs said. “All the names will be on it and that will be a big deal. We are really looking forward to it and think it will be a great event. I really appreciate everybody and everyone in the quarterback club that have helped with this event. I am just really amazed by the response. Right now, and I am still waiting on more, we should have over 600 pledges.
“It has turned into a nice fundraising event that will help all of our athletic teams.”
Game time is set for 7 p.m. in Brewton.
After the first week of region play in class 3A region one, T.R. Miller, Bayside Academy, Southside-Selma and Straughn were all 1-0 in region play.
Opp, Excel, Cottage Hill and W.S. Neal all lost Friday night to start them 0-1 in region play.
This week, Straughn plays Southside of Selma while Opp meets Bayside and Straughn plays Southside-Selma.
W.S. Neal travels to Mobile to take on Cottage Hill Christian Academy.
In the latest ASWA poll, T.R. Miller was No. 4 and Bayside Academy was ranked No. 8.
A new poll is set to be released Wednesday morning.