Firebirds Win Season Opener

 

The Waycross Firebirds traveled to Brunswick Georgia Saturday for the season opener against “The Glynn County Revolution. “  While the thunderous clouds lurked over head the true thunder in the first half came in the form of the two stingy defenses from both teams.

The Revolution would take advantage of a mishandled snap from Josh Thompson and the wet conditions that landed the Revolt inside the Firebirds 20 yard line and a few plays later the home team would put 6 on the board but with winds whipping at 25 and 30 mile per hour and rain the home team elected to go for the conversion and failed! The Revolution would carry a 6-0 lead well into the 3^rd quarter where with the aid of a very powerful defense and monsoon like rains the Firebirds would capitalize on one of Glynn County few mistakes. With the ball inside the Revolutions own 15 yard line and 4^th down and 25 the Firebirds would send an all out block on the putn and Outside Linebacker Eric Bolds would get in to knock the punt attempt down and MLB Richard Swift would cover the ball on the 1 yard line. 1 play later QB Byron Bess would take the ball in over the right guard and Lanarius McKinley would sweep to the right to add the conversion to give the Firebirds the lead. The Firebirds would carry the 8-6 lead well into the 4^th quarter. With 6:29 left in the game DT Jon Brinkman would strip the ball from the Revolution runner and the Firebirds CB Jermaine Walker would snatch the ball from the wert turf and ramble 55 yards for the TD. After a failed conversion the Firebirds held a 14-6 lead with only  :32 left in the game TJ Thomas would get his first Interception of the season and seal the game for the locals.  Leading the Firebirds Saturday Was; RB Lanarius McKinley who accumulated 79 yards on 13 carries and, Zedrick Porter with 60 yard receiving on 2 catches. Defensive leader were MLB Richard Swift with 8 tackles 3 assists Safety Mike Patterson with 4 tackles and 2 interceptions,  OLB James Burchett 4 tackles 2 assists and 1 QB sack and a 20 yard punt return. The Firebirds will travel to Jacksonville to take on the 1-0 Duval Tigers this Saturday as they try to improve their record to 2-0. 

 

Firebirds lose lead late

The Waycross Firebirds hopes for an undefeated season collapsed Saturday as they lost the lead with only 3:50 left in the game. 

A blown coverage assignment by CB Jawon White saw Duval jump on the Firebirds late in the 1st quarter and with a failed conversion the Tigers would enjoy a 6-0 lead briefly. The Firebirds on the legs of Running Back Lanarius McKinley would strike back and get the ball down on the 3 yard line before Richard Buford would put the Birds on the board with 6 and kicker Josh Thompson would add the extra point to give the Firebirds the lead. This lead would last until 3:50 left in the game when Duval scored on a 25 yard pass play but the Tigers fail on the conversion. The Firebirds would return the ball to the 40 and then commit a fatal error; with starting QB Byron Bess sideline the Back up QB Shalom Davis threw an interception that would give the Tigers the Ball and the ball game.

Firebirds improve to 2-1

The Waycross Firebirds traveled to Jesup Georgia this past Saturday to take on the Wayne County Dragons and despite many injuries to the squad were able to walk away with the victory.

The Firebirds would start the scoring on the legs of Lanarius Mckinley who capped off a 70 yards scoring drive with a 8 yard touch down runs on the first possession of the game. The Firebirds PK Josh Thompson would add the extra point for a 7-0 lead The Firebirds would score again half way through the second quarter on a screen pass from QB Byron Bess to RB  Richard Buford that would go 75 yards for a touchdown take was set up by some tremendous down field blocking by the receivers; With the extra point added the Firebirds would take a 14-0 lead. then late in the half with only 4 seconds remaining on the clock the Dragons threw up a hail mary pass and came down with it in the endzone for six and they added the conversion to make the score 14-8 at the half. The Wayne County Dragons would carry the momentum into the 3rd quarter on their opening drive they moved the ball down the field and score but Lamar Cox came up big on the conversion attempt and shut down the sweep. The Score would remain tie until the 4th quarter when Lanrius Mckinley would get the ball down on the 1 yard line before Big Tim Brown would do his version of the Refrigator Perry and smash the ball in. With the extra point added the Firebirds would enjoy a 21-14 lead but only briefly as the Dragons quickly moved the ball down the field and scored but a mishandled pitch on the conversion would play out to be the difference in the ballgame. The Firebirds once again moved the ball down the field and inside the 10 yard line but a QB sack would push the Firebirds back to the 18 and on 4th down Josh Thompson came on to try for the Field Goal but hooked it wide right. The Dragons would make 1 last attempt to move the ball but on 4th down failed to get the 1st turning the ball over to the Firebirds who quickly moved the ball down to the 1 yard line where the game ended. Leaders for the game were Lanarius McKinley with 150 yards on 16 carries and 1 TD, Richard Buford 90 yards on 3 receptions and 1 TD, SS Terrenace Nails 11 tackles, DE Brian Brown 9 Tackles 1 sack, DE Richard Scott 7 Tackles 1 sack, and DT Jon Brinkman 6 Tackles and 1 sack. the Firebirds next game will be against the North Florida Rams in Florida.

 

 

Firebirds improve to 3-1 on the season

 

The Waycross Firebirds improved to 3-1 on the season as they traveled to Jacksonville Florida to play the North Florida Rams. The Firebirds wasted no time in getting on the board as Byron Bess led the team down the field and put 6 on the board on a QB keeper to the right side. Bess would then add 2 on the conversion. The Firebirds would handle the Rams and get the ball back but would turn the ball over on a fumble and the Rams would capitalize and put 6 on the board. The Rams scored again late in the half and added the conversion to move the score to 14 to 8. As the half was ended the Firebirds would drive the ball down the field and into scoring position but run out of time on the goal line. In the 3rd quarter Bess would score again on a 3 yard run to tie the game at 14 to 14.  The Rams would drive the ball deep into the Firebirds side of the field but failed to convert on a 4th and inches and give the ball back to the Firebirds. On the very first play Lanarius Mckinley would gash the Rams defence for 45 yards but a fumble would on his next carry would give the Rams new life. As the Firebirds defense held again and the Rams decided to punt a poor punt put the Firebirds in scoring range with less than 1 minute to play and 4 plays later QB Byron Bess would once again put the ball in the endzone. Bess Would add the conversion again to make the 22-14. PLayer of the Game was Byron Bess with 3 touchdown and 2 conversions He also played Defense and had 1 Int. and 6 Tackles. Defensive Leader was Brian Brown DE With 11 Tackles 1 sack and Offensive Leaders were Byron Bess and RB Lanarius McKinley with 186 yards on 16 carries. The Firebirds are set for Homecoming this coming Saturday as they play host to the only team that beat them this year (12-7) Duval Tigers. The Duval Tigers traveled into Jesup Saturday night and demolished the Wayne County Dragons 68-8. Kick off is @ 7pm

The Waycross Firebirds Win

 

 

The Waycross  Firebirds improve to 4-1 on the season Saturday as a very strong Firebirds Defense stood like a stone wall time and time again on superb play from No# 16 Michael Patterson (4 Ints) and No# 43 Lamar Cox ( 4 QB sacks). The Firebirds would get on the boards first on a 25 yard field goal by kicker Josh Thompson and then after a series on defense add 6 more points on a 2 yards run by RB Richard Buford moving the score to 9 to 0. The Tigers would get on the board late in the first half when their defense pick of a Byron Bess pass and ran it in for 6.  The Duval Tigers would hold the Firebirds in check and the Half would end with the Firebirds leading 9-6. The Duval Tigers would come out and move the ball deep into the Firebirds territory but a Michael Patterson Interception would end the drive and give the Firebirds control of the game as Byron Bess found WR Greg Hadden in the endzone for 6. The Birds would fail on the conversion and the 15-6 score would hold to be the final. Michael Patterson and Lamar Cox would share the honors of player(s) of the game with their outstanding play. This was Cox last game as a Firebirds as he is moving to Texas to join his wife who is in the United States Air Force. Lamar we salute you and you wife for your service to our Country. RB Lanaius McKinley would finish with 190 yards rushing and 250 all purpose yards and QB Byron Bess would add another 87 on the ground as the Firebirds would compile 567 total yards against the Duval Tigers.

 

Round 2 NIFL Georgia Playoffs

NIFL Georgia top two teams will meet Saturday @ 4 pm in Glynn County off Harry Driggers Road to play for the right to play in the NIFL Georgia Championship game. The Glynn county Revolution earned the right via being the No# 1 team in the league,

While Waycross had to play in the 1st round to advance. Waycross Firebirds played the Wayne County Dragons on a mud soaked home field; They Held the visiting team to -9 total offence while their own offence had 397 yards total offence but 4 fumble inside the 10 yard line would keep the score a close 22-6.

Glynn Co Revolution have went un defeated since the first game of the season which they lost to Waycross 12-6, however they defeated Waycross in the 6 game of the season 30-6. This one should be a good one.

Semi-Pro Football Game

Next Stop Glynn County

Total Domintation!!!

The "Waycross Firebirds" Dominated the "Wayne County Dragons" Saturday night 22-6 Next stop for the Firebirds will be the "Revolution" of Glynn County. The Waycross Firebirds held the Wayne County Dragons to 1 first down and only 19 yards total Offence; The Firebirds offence would rumble for a total of 353 yards. Wayne Countys' only score came on a punt return. Scoring Touchdowns for the Firebirds were Byron Bess with 2, Micheal Duncan with 1 and Deon Turner with 1. Richard Scott added a conversion as did Lanarius McKinley. The Firebirds travel to Glynn County for the 2nd round of the playoffs this Saturday, 4pm kick off

NIFL Georgia Championship game set

The Waycross Firebirds will travel to Jacksonville Florida to take on the Duval Tigers in what is being dubbed the Georgia/Florida Championship game. The Firebirds took care of business Saturday as their defense shut down the No# 1 ranked offense from the Glynn County Revolution and Duval Claimed their road to fame as they came back to win 18-13 in the 4th quarter against the Jacksonville Rush. Coach Brown of the Tigers said that he had a feeling that it was going to be these two teams going head to head in the Championship!

I knew that Coach Cox had a game plan to shut down Glynn County whom had not lost since the 1st game of the season. "The Tigers are going to bring it " Coach Cox said they always do. They have a very athletic QB (Todd Jackson)and a suprisingly fast RB (Vishaun Grisett) while Nurel Gamble keeps thing on lock from the Defensive side. They are the home team and always play strong at home. We had identical records during the regular season so this is going to be something interesting

 

Waycross Firebirds 2009 NIFL Georgia National Champs


  The Waycross Firebirds traveled to Jacksonville Florida this past Saturday to play in the NIFL National Championship game against a very talented and revised Duval Tigers team. The 1st and 2nd quarters of the game was controlled by the rain and two very fast, and very strong defenses. The Score at half time was 0 to 0 and half way through the 3rd that would all change when Todd Jackson (QB) for Duval hit his receiver for 57 yards on a post to go up 6-0 the conversion attempt would fail. The game seem to be slipping away from the Firebirds late in the 4th quarter when RB Deon Turner Broke one for 55 yards and then capped off with a 14 yards touchdown run. The Conversion would fail and the end of regulation would run out before the Firebirds could get the ball back 6-6. In Overtime the Firebirds would win the coin toss but after 3 plays be forced to punt the ball. Zed Porter 55 yard punt would pin the locals inside their 15 and as they struggled to move the ball on 4th and 12 they would make a fatal error, their punter mishandled the snap and Waycross Firebirds MLB Richard Swift would dive on the ball inside the 10 yard line. After being held out of the endzone on 3 attempts the Firebirds would call the leg of Danny “Bud” Hamilton to kick them to glory, However Byron Bess had other ideals and popped up with the ball and with a full rush that left Richard Buford wide open in the endzone for the winning touchdown the Firebirds claimed the victory and the 2009 Championship by a score of 12-6. Richard Buford was named the MVP of the game for his outstanding play while going both ways. The entire game can be viewed on youtube by going to the following links;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6vCTX8P6dQ   1st quarter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWMA9pvgvsc  2nd quarter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kxo_CIMfYDg  3rd quarter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dGY6CTSNeo  4th quarter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKrrObf8Bug  OT Victory

 

2009 NIFL National Champions

2009 NIFL Championship MVP                                                                                                                     

(Richard Buford)     Game winning Touchdown

2009 NIFL Coach Of the Year                                                                                                                                   

(Head Coach James Cox)

2009 Rookie of the Year                                                                                                                                          

(Richard Buford)

2009 Firebirds MVP                                                                                                                                                    

(Lanarius McKinley)                

1507 rushing   196carries  7.69 YPC   1799 APY

Defensive Player of the Year    

Richard Swift    MLB    

60 Tackles 10 QB sacks             

Brian Brown     DE      

57 Tackles 8 QB Sacks

Mychael Eason         DT                                                                                                                                                

31 Tackles 4 QB Sacks

Jonathan Brinkman   DT                                                                                                                                            

32 Tackles 5 QB sacks

Terrance Nails           SS                                                                                                                                              

65 Tackles 3 QB Sacks

Offensive Player of the Year

Lanarius McKinley 

1507 rushing   196carries  7.69 YPC   1799 APY                                                                      

Most Improved                                                                                                                                                             

Malcolm Timmons  OL

Most Dedicated

Byron Bess , Brian Brown, Lanarius Mckinley,

Best Attitude

Byron Bess, Brian Brown, Lanarius McKinley, Malcolm Timmons

 

Firebirds 2009 Statistics

Passing

Name	No#	GP	Comp	Att	Yrds	TD	INT	Long
Byron Bess	6	9	25	73	402	5	10	70
Adarryl Walker	7	2	3	7	56	0	0	40
Josh Thompson	99	7	3	7	103	0	0	0

Receiving

Name	No#	GP	Recept	Yards	Ave	Long	TD	Drops
Zed Porter	25	8	5	112	22.4	40	0	2
Mike Duncan	80	5	7	79	12.5	30	1	2
Freddy Goodseal	11	5	0	0	0	0	0	1
Greg Hadden	82	4	3	13	4.3	6	1	1
Lanarius McKinley	20	10	9	175	19.44	65	0	1
Richard Buford	23	7	9	189	21	75	1	1
Randell Martin	17	4	0	0	0	0	0	1
Mike Patterson	16	4	1	40	40	40	0	0

Rushing

Name	No#	GP	Att	Yards	Ave	TD	F	Long
Lanarius Mckinley	20	10	196	1507	7.69	2	4	45
Richard Buford	23	9	24	130	5.42	3	1	23
Stephen Brady	44	3	10	31	3.1	0	0	10
Franklin Jenkins	36	3	5	21	4.2	0	0	1
Byron Bess	6	7	25	167	2.83	5	0	35
Zabrae Williams	24	5	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tim Brown	97	4	1	3	3	1	0	3
Josh Thompson	99	5	1	45	45	0	0	45
Jon Brinkman	90	4	1	5	5

Defense

Name	No#	GP	Tackles	Sacks	Int	FF	FR	TD	Yards	Safety
Kenny Norton	1	7	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TJ Thomas	2	1	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Jermaine Walker	3	7	14	1	2	1	1	1	55	0
Brian Brown	4	9	43	6	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dee Taylor	5	5	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Mike Patterson	16	7	31	0	7	0	0	0	25	0
Richard Buford	23	9	30	8	0	0	0	0	0	0
Trent Hayes	27	5	10	4	0	0	0	0	0	0
Richard Swift	31	8	44	5	0	0	0	0	0	0
Greg Troutman	34	9	14	0	0	1	1	0	0	0
Eric Bolds	40	8	29	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Lamar Cox	43	4	17	5	0	0	1	0	0	0
Antonio Spears	49	7	10	2	0	0	1	0	0	0
James Burchett	51	2	11	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Darrell Killens	92	3	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Mychael Eason	70	9	25	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jon Brinkman	90	8	26	4	0	1	0	0	0	0
Victor Roberts	91	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Danny Hamilton	33	9	17	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Richard Scott	10	9	20	4	0	0	1	0	0	0
Tim Brown	97	5	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Fred Williams	8	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TJ White	22	6	8	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Terrence Nails	29	7	44	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Freddy Goodseal	11	6	7	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Zabrae Williams	24	7	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Franklin Jenkins	36	3	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Byron Bess	6	9	10	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
John White	8	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Special Teams

Field Goals

Name	No#	FGM	FGA	PCT	XPM	XPA	PCT	Blocked
Josh Thompson	99	1	2		4	5	100

Punting

Name	No#	Punts	Yards	Long	Avg
Josh Thompson	99	8	300	42	37.5

Kick and Punt Returns

Name	No#	Attempts	Yards	Ave	TD	Long	Fumbles
Mike Patterson	16	8	161	20.15	0	30	0
James Burchett	51	2	31	15.5	0	25	0
Zabrae Williams	24	5	175	35	0	52	1
Kenny Norton	1	3	9	3	0	9	2
Mike Duncan	80	2	32	16	0	20	0
Terrance Nails	29	1	1	1	0	0	1
Lanaius McKinley	20	2	70	35	0	35	0

I will conquer what has not been conquered.I will believe what others doubt.I have trained my mind and my body will follow I will acknowledge the fact that my opponents do not expect me to win. BUT I WILL NEVER SURRENDER.
Weakness will not be in my heart I will look to my comrades, those who brought me into this world, and those who train me and I will draw strength from that. I will gladly go off to the field of battle. I will move and do all that I can do and I WILL reach my field of battle at any means at my disposal. When I get there I will fight violently. I will rip the heart from my enemy and leave it bleeding on the ground. He can not stop me.No one will deny me. No one will define me. No one will tell me who I am or who I can be. Belief will change my world.... BELIEF WILL CARRY ME THROUGH THIS BATTLE! Defeat. Retreat. THOSE ARE NOT IN MY WORLD. I don't understand their definition... I do understand this- VICTORY AND NEVER SURRENDING.
NO MATTER HOW BAD THINGS GO, my HEART AND MY MIND will carry my body when my limbs are weak. Today will be that day. Not tomorrow, not next week. RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW, in your house. In your home. History will remember me.
I will define myselfI will write my own pages No one will tell me what I can or cannot be.... I will never go out not knowing I've given everything I've got.