Sports

What’s next?

• A bitter defeat against Manchester cut a promising season short and now begins an offseason of significant change for the South Georgia Wildcats franchise.

Paul Dehner Jr.

ALBANY — None of the South Georgia Wildcats imagined they would have to think about what’s next this early in August. But in the wake of a stunning upset against Manchester in the first round of playoffs, they are doing just that.

And more than at any time since the Wildcats have been in Albany, the team enters an offseason filled with questions from the top of the organization to the bottom.

That begins with coach Derek Stingley.

Stingley brought winning football to Albany. He ran up a 23-11 record and two playoff berths in his two seasons with the South Georgia Wildcats and his accomplishments have drawn significant attention from the AFL.

He flirted with the idea of moving to the next level last season, but turned down an offer because he felt the timing was not right. While admitting there is a slim possibility he returns to the Wildcats in 2009, this year he feels it is time to leave. He already has interviews lined up and will begin those in the coming weeks.

“I am thinking this year I have a better opportunity to move on and into a better situation,” he said.

For four years he has filled the role of head coach in the af2, but says he would fill the role of defensive coordinator in the AFL.

It appeared Stingley was destined to leave last year, but ended up coming back, so general manager Darren McPhail is not making any moves just yet. He has, however, begun compiling a preliminary list because he has seen firsthand the coaching ability of his team’s leader.

“I think he is one of the best coaches if not the best coach in the af2,” McPhail said. “What he can do with defense and teaching defensive backs and with all he did as a player in the league, there is no doubt he is ready for the AFL.”

While Stingley’s departure would leave a gaping void within the Wildcats, perhaps the bigger question surrounding the team is whether there will even be a team left to fill it.

Majority owner John Hunt stated earlier this year that a restructuring of the ownership was almost certain after the season. And regarding the team possibly leaving town, he said “I don’t know what is going to happen.”

While the Wildcats drew 6,409 fans to the final regular-season game and about the same amount for the playoff loss (the exact number won’t be known until today) attendance on the whole was down this year.

The team has not made money in any of its four seasons here and a possibility exists it could be moved to another city.

Albany officials have expressed an honest interest in working out a deal to keep the Wildcats in town. In fact, Mayor Willie Adams and City Manager Alfred Lott bought up 1,000 tickets for the playoff game and came out onto the field as part of the pregame ceremony.

Once the issues among ownership are figured out, they will likely begin talks with the city. At that point, the team’s future in Albany will become clearer.

Without doubt, however, over this playoff run, the city adopted this team and its exciting group of players unlike ever before. Prior to the season, Stingley put together what he believed would be a championship-caliber team.

He added two star receivers in Westover product Antwone Savage and Buchie Ibeh. Stingley appeared to have upgraded at nearly every position. The only returning offensive starters from 2007 were receiver Scott Cloman and tackle Andre Slappey. He boasted an offensive line much stronger than that team which finished 10-6 and advanced to the second round of the playoffs.

Yet, nine games into the season, the Wildcats stood stagnant at 5-4, appearing destined for mediocrity after a 48-33 loss at Florida.

But after returning from a bye week, a new team emerged. The Wildcats went on to run off seven consecutive victories. In the middle of those was a 57-55 win at the previously undefeated Spokane (Wash.) Shock. Suddenly, an inconsistent group of individuals gained one comprehensive swagger.

“When we were 5-4, I was really upset, because I knew what we had,” Stingley said. “It wasn’t what everybody was saying we needed to have an identity, asking what is it? Is it chemistry? I just believe at that time we were dealing with a lot of new (elements). Our offense was a complete overhaul. What it took was for us to play a couple more games. I always felt guys had chemistry, it was more them believing. Once we started believing I said, OK, this is what I thought I was getting and what I knew we had.”

He proved to have a team that needed a win at the Tennessee Valley Vipers in the final week of the season to earn its first South Division crown. They earned that with a goal-line stand in the final seconds. An on-field celebration followed and everyone wearing the brand new South Division champion t-shirts believed it would be the first of three titles.

“That night, I felt we had a team that could compete and win a championship of the entire thing,” McPhail said. “I knew having the feeling on the field would still be special later and it is.”

That’s what made this past Saturday’s loss so devastating. This wasn’t supposed to be a team that would lose in the first round. They won five games on the road and were 6-3 against playoff teams. They were battle-tested and built for a title run.

In one night, where 14 penalties were called against the Wildcats and just two against Manchester — and an attempt to run out the clock resulted in a fumble on the center-QB exchange when Manchester illegally yelled out the cadence — South Georgia believes its dream season was stolen away.

“That’s the part that eats at me the most: I just felt that our guys didn’t have a fair chance,” Stingley said. “Not to take anything away from Manchester, they earned the win and I am not a sore loser, but I know what is right.”

More than losing the shot at a championship, many players lost an opportunity to be scouted by the AFL. For some, that won’t matter. P.J. Berry is as close to a lock to not only play on the next level, but be a star as anybody in the af2. Center Donald Usry will likely get a shot as well. Middle safety Roland Cola, who broke the franchise record for interceptions, should end up in a camp, as should wideout Buchie Ibeh. Ibeh became the team’s go-to receiver down the stretch and already has an AFL title he captured in 2006 with the Chicago Rush.

But, this group of players, which believed they were on the way to doing something special, will likely never play together inside the Albany Civic Center again. And maybe the Wildcats as a franchise won’t either.

Regardless, as everyone moves on in different directions, few associated with this team will forget this season and the heartbreak it ended with.

“I think it is the best team I have ever assembled,” Stingley said. “We had a good season, but just didn’t finish.”

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