T.R. Miller’s football legacy was well-represented Friday night at Brewton Municipal Stadium as the T.R. Miller Tigers cruised to an easy win over the Excel Panthers 62-6.
T.R. Miller (3-0 overall and 2-0 in region play) raced out to a 35-point first quarter lead to aid in the win over the Panthers — who fell to 1-2 overall and to 0-2 in region play.
T.R. Miller led 49-0 at the half and added two touchdowns in the fourth to take a 62-0 before Excel scored with 1:40 left in the game.
The No. 3-ranked Tigers, who wore special black jerseys with names of former players from T.R. Miller teams, also improved to 18-2 all-time in black jerseys.
“First of all, we had a really good week of practice,” Tiger head coach Jamie Riggs said. “I felt like we would come out and get after it early and we did. We made some big plays and Kevin (Davis) and Kieon (Smith) made some big plays for us down there early in the passing game and we were able to get a big lead. Our offensive line took over and blocked some, but the bottom line was that Excel never did really throw the ball a whole lot and I thought we did a good job of being able to control their running game.”
While the Tigers racked up 49 points in the first half, it did not take them long.
In just five plays they scored their first touchdown. The second came on one play, while the third touchdown came one two plays.
Kevin Davis, who made his first start for the Tigers Friday night after winning a gold medal for the 18-under USA National Team in North Korea, had a perfect debut.
Davis was 4-for-4 for 101 yards and connected for three touchdowns on his first three throws. Two went to Kieon Smith, who took over for Davis at quarterback while the senior was out of the country.
When asked about Davis’ game, Riggs chuckled.
“He adds a little extra dimension to us, and it is good to have him back,” Riggs said. “He is obviously not in football playing mode as good right now, but he will be.”
The big lead early helped some younger players get into the game and showcase their talent in the win. One bright spot for the Tigers Friday was the play of freshman running back Tamerick Jenkins.
Jenkins led the team with 159 yards rushing on 23 carries and scored three touchdowns.
“That is a big deal to be able to play as much as they did in the second half,” Riggs said. “They were actually able to play on offense the whole second half. We were able to play a lot of our B-team guys a lot from the third quarter on. It helps out and then they are able to get to play again Monday night (in the B-team game). It is good for them to play as much as they can. They practice hard, too, and we like to get them in when we can.”
T.R. Miller racked up 473 yards of offense in the game with 361 coming on the ground and 112 in the air. The Tigers had 213 yards rushing in the first half and 101 passing for a total of 314. T.R. Miller had 208 yards of offense at the end of the first quarter with 121 coming on the ground. Excel had 214 yards of offense in the game with 156 rushing and 58 passing. The Panthers had 34 yards rushing in the first half with 35 passing.
Along with Davis at quarterback, Jones Manning went 2-for-2 with 11 yards. Overall, the Tigers were 6-for-6 on the night passing with 112 yards and three touchdowns.
Behind Jenkins’ rushing, Jalen Jones and Dominique Jackson both finished with 71 yards on five carries and one touchdown each. Kameron Coleman had 19 yards on two carries while McHenry Coleman had 33 yards on two carries and one touchdown. Ahmaud Taylor added eight yards on one carry.
Smith led receiving with two catches for 58 yards and two touchdowns.
As for the Legacy Game festivities, Riggs said he was excited how the event came together and ended up.
“I appreciate the crowd and everybody,” he said. “We had a great time and we a great time getting it all together. I appreciate all the effort and what everyone has done that made an effort to get this done. It was a great thing.”
The win over Excel improved the Tigers to 3-0 over the Panthers. T.R. Miller has outscored Excel 168-13 in the three-game series. In 2010, T.R. Miller won 64-7 for the school’s 600th all-time win. Last year, T.R. Miller won 42-0 in Excel.
T.R. Miller will travel to No. 8 Bayside Academy for a key region showdown next week.
Bayside improved to 2-1 overall and to 2-0 in region play Friday with a 35-14 win over Opp.