Syrupmakers travel to Bainbridge this week
The Cairo Syrupmakers (1-0) are set to face their second rival in as many weeks this Friday night as they travel to Bainbridge to face the Bainbridge Bearcats (0-1) at 7:30 p.m. at Centennial Field.
The Syrupmakers are coming off a 21-0 shutout win over the Thomasville Bulldogs last week and the Bearcats are fresh off of an open date after losing their season opener to East Gadsden 33-14. The Bearcats were plagued with mistakes in their opening game, fumbling the ball six times and losing four of them.
However, Bainbridge coach Ed Pilcher and his staff have had two weeks to work out many of the Bearcat’s problems and get them ready for their game with the Syrupmakers this week. Bainbridge is loaded with seniors, 32 in all, and all of them know how big the Cairo rivalry is to their school and community.
In the Gadsden game two weeks ago, Bainbridge’s rushing attack was effective, but fumbles kept the Bearcats from maintaining any momentum or rhythm. Senior running back Terry Lewis had 13 carries for 138 yards, and Damian Bouie had 10 carries for 85 yards and a touchdown. The Bearcats were hurt by penalties and mistakes all night, which was frustrating for the Cats.
“Everyone can have a bad night and I don’t think Bainbridge’s opening season loss is any indication of what kind of team they have. They always seem to get up for us, and we’ll need to be ready. We have a lot of areas that we want to continue to improve in and just keep getting better each week. This week’s game will feature a much improved Bearcat team, that’s for sure,” said Cairo coach Tom Fallaw.
The 2012 Syrupmakers will get their first look this season at the split veer offense, one that requires a defense to play assignment football and will test a team’s ability to stick to that. The ball controlling offense can also be one that has a lot of fumbles as it is run, but when the offense is working can frustrate a defense easily.
Kickoff for Friday night’s showdown with the Bearcats is set for 7:30 p.m. in Bainbridge. The game will be broadcast live on WGRA-Radio and on the Internet at www.wgra.net.
