Blountstown ready for another trip to the Peach State to start the season

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) -The Blountstown Tigers are getting set for a second straight out-of-state trip! They play Friday in Lakeland, Georgia, against Lanier.

The first trip north went well, coach Johnson leading his Tigers up to Donalsonville last week and beating Seminole in convincing fashion, 39-0. And the coach doesn’t want folks to think just because of that score, that this was a pushover kind of opponent.

“Well Seminole County had a really good defense.” Blountstown head coach Beau Johnson told us. “They had two SEC offered safeties and a big strong nose(tackle). So the first quarter was pretty tough, it was zero-zero at the end of the first. We just kept pounding and pounding and pounding and found some things that we liked. And we ended up 19-0 at half and finished strong. Our defense is playing exceptionally well. In 108 minutes of football, going back to the referees scrimmage, to the classic, to last week, we haven’t given up a point. And nobody’s even been in the red zone. Our defense is playing lights out. You asked what I like about our football team, our defense is lights out right now.”

As for starting the season with two road trips to the Peach State, well coach Johnson telling me he loves the idea of taking his kids to play in different and exciting venues and atmospheres. Getting to face teams they don’t ordinarily see on a year to year basis. And then there’s a more practical reason to be making these early season trips, says the coach.

“For us to win these trophies that we want to win, the SSAC and the State Championship trophy, there’s going to be a time when we have to get on a bus and be a mature football team and make a long road trip and get a win. And if you don’t know how to do that, that week can be really strange. To get everything accomplished and to make sure the meal’s done right, and what time you leave and what time you get there. And so this is a great chance to create, we’re treating it like a playoff week.”

Like all area programs, the Tigers having to deal with all the rain and the soggy conditions as they prepare for their second ballgame. Coach says it is what it is, and he knows every other team in the region is dealing with the same circumstances.

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