Devils Lose by Seven in Season Opener

The Screaming Devils opened the 2015 season Friday night against the War Eagles of Putnam County. While the Devils recorded their second loss to the War Eagles in as many years, the game this year was much closer and showed signs of a more promising season to come.

Senior QB, Jermaine Berry

The first half proved to be an offensive struggle for both teams. Neither team was able to get the running game going with penalties negating big plays on each side of the field. The War Eagles struck first by intercepting a short pass and returning it about 40 yards for a touchdown. The interception would be one of the very few mistakes by senior quarterback  Jermaine Berry. Berry stepped back into the quarterback position after relinquishing the role to sophomore Jarvis Collins for the two scrimmage games. After the interception, Putnam County tacked on the extra point to lead the Devils 7-0.

Berry would redeem himself just seconds later in a big way by connecting with senior receiver My'Kuan Loney for a 50 yard reception. The reception set up a 1 yard touchdown run by Berry. The extra point attempt by Timothy Seals went wide right and the first quarter ended with the War Eagles on top by the score of 7-6.

Stedman Hall races 67 yards for a TD

Both offenses would threaten in the second quarter, but come up empty due to excellent defensive play from both teams.

The scoring picked up for both teams in the second half. Putnam County struck first to extend their lead to 8 points with a touchdown and extra point. Warren County would quickly answer with a 16 yard touchdown run and extra point by Seals to draw back within one. The third quarter ended with Putnam County still up by one, 14-13.

The fourth quarter provided plenty of excitement for fans of both teams as the two squads put up a combined 36 points, including a 67 yard Warren County touchdown pass to Stedman Hall. The Devils would score 6 less than the War Eagles in the fourth and come up just short by the score of 35-28 despite doubling their offensive performance from a year ago.

Timothy Seals led the rushing attack for Warren County with 60 of the 66 yards that the Devils racked up on the ground. While the running game struggled, it was the passing game that provided most of the excitement for the night. The Devils passed for 177 yards, most coming from  Jermaine Berry. Berry passed for 161 yards with 8 completions. Berry connected with My'Kuan Loney twice for a total of 53 yards, Zantez Hudson twice for 10 yards, Stedman Hall twice for 68 yards, and Jaden Hawkins twice for a total of 30 yards. Adding to the passing attack for the Devils was a 16 yard completion by Jarvis Collins to Berry.

The Screaming Devils travel to nearby Gibson to take on the Panthers of Glascock County. Game time is set for 7:30.