PREP FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: Greenwave expect more big games from sophomore QB; Westover gets bad news; Americus coach back after appendectomy

DAWSON — Terrell County football coach William Huff would like to talk more about his super-sophomore quarterback Jekerious Scott once the Greenwave (0-2) finally get their first win of the season.

But even Huff admitted Wednesday, sometimes Scott’s just too darn hard to ignore.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Huff began, “he’s played great.”

So great, in fact, Scott’s four-touchdown performance last Friday against Seminole County almost single-handedly won the Greenwave their first game. Scott rushed for 112 yards on eight carries, scoring twice, and also passed for 139 yards and two touchdowns — then ran in two, two-point conversions.

Did we mention Scott’s just a sophomore? OK, just checking.

Alas, a win was not to be for the Greenwave against

Seminole as the Indians stormed back and tossed a 20-yard TD pass with nine seconds left to beat Terrell, 32-28.

“The best team probably didn’t win (Friday night),” Seminole County head coach Alan Ingram said after that game. “My hat goes off to (Terrell County). They outplayed us and outhustled us.”

Especially Scott, who — outside of two interceptions in that game — played about as good as one could. He scored Terrell’s first four touchdowns and then led the drive for the go-ahead score, which was notched by Alvin Brown.

“We knew last year when he was a freshman that he could manage the offense,” Huff said of Scott, who was brought in as the starter in Week 3 in 2009, going 3-3. “He just knows the play sheet, knows where everyone’s supposed to be and he’s just a real intelligent guy. He definitely makes us better.”

Huff, however, doesn’t want Scott’s head to swell too much, saying Wednesday he was “a little disappointed” in some of the young QB’s decisions against Seminole, despite the great game.

“The first pick he had, he had to force it, but the second was just a bad throw,” Huff said. “The biggest thing we need Jekerious to work on is his consistently and his mechanics. If he does that, he’ll continue to progress like we expect him to.”

But Huff is the first to say Scott hasn’t reached those expectations just yet. Terrell lost, 32-12, in its opener to Monroe and he felt that Scott should’ve played better.

Although, the coach also thinks he knows why his sophomore star didn’t.

“Well, after last season he knew he was going to be our quarterback this year and he didn’t really have anyone to push him (for the job). And he came in overconfident,” Huff said. “So he had kind of a rough preseason — came in with some bad habits in his drop-backs, his throwing motion and his defensive reads — and I think it took that loss to Monroe to kind of wake up him up.”

But Huff liked how Scott responded against Seminole.

“He grew up, that’s for sure,” the coach said. “When he had his first rushing score for 58 yards, I was surprised. I was happy, but I was also surprised.”

When Huff was asked what Scott’s done well consistently since the start of the season, the coach didn’t hesitate with his answer.

“He’s got a short memory and he doesn’t let mistakes get him down. Instead, he shakes them off,” Huff said. “And that’s we expect out of our leader. Remember, he’s just a sophomore. He’s got plenty of time to learn.”

Scott and Terrell will get another shot at their first win Friday when they travel to Leesburg to take on the Herald No. 1 Lee County Trojans, who are 2-0.

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WESTOVER STILL WITHOUT BROWN, STAR LEWIS LOST FOR SEASON:

It’s been a week of bad news for the Westover football team.

First, Patriots coach Octavia Jones received word late Tuesday that 6-foot-7, 310-pound senior OL/DL Trent Brown was ruled ineligible by the GHSA in a hearing that took place in Tomaston.

“Brown got denied,” Jones said Wednesday. “But we’ve got an appeal going right now, so we’ll see what happens.”

Brown’s been trying to gain clearance from the GHSA to play since before the season started and after he returned to Westover — the school he’s always been zoned for — for his senior year. Brown attended Albany High as a freshman and sophomore because his older brother, Reggie, was accepted to the Indians’ Magnet Program, and Dougherty County School System policy allows a student to attend the same school as his or her sibling if they’re a member of that program. But last year, Trent followed Reggie to Deerfield for Reggie’s senior year, then tried to transfer to Westover as a senior this year once Reggie graduated from DWS.

Jones said he felt Brown’s argument was a strong one when the coach — along with Brown and Brown’s mother and father — met with the GHSA on Tuesday. But when they checked later that afternoon for the verdict, all they were given was a flat denial — without an explanation or a reason.

“(The way the process works) is that (the GHSA) brings you in, listens to what you have to say and then asks you to call back later for the results,” Jones said. “We basically just told them, ‘Look, he’s always lived in a Westover zone and the only reason he went to Albany was because of (Reggie taking part) in the Magnet Program and Dougherty County has a policy allowing that. He’s not trying to circumvent the system — he’s just following the rules and trying to go to the school he’s supposed to.’ “

Jones said while Brown is still allowed to practice with the team — and has been through the entire ordeal — it pains him to see his senior standing on the sidelines on Friday nights during Brown’s final shot to shine in high school.

“You hate it for the kid more than anything because it’s his senior year and all he wants to do is play,” Jones said. “I just don’t think under these circumstances he should be denied the opportunity to finish out his career.”

The second piece of bad news, meanwhile, came Wednesday when Jones found that preseason Herald Dynamite Dozen selection Chuck Lewis — a receiver with mind-blowing speed — would, in fact, be lost for the remainder of the year after opting to have season-ending surgery on his ailing shoulder.

“He’s out for the season and he’ll have his surgery on (Sept. 17) so hopefully he can be back in time for track,” Jones said. “We’ll miss him for sure.”

Lewis came into the season knowing the shoulder was prone to popping out of place, but decided to tough it out and give it a go nonetheless. But when he re-injured it in the first game against Mitchell County, Lewis and his family weighed all the factors and opted to go under the knife, rather than play hurt the remainder of the year and damage his chances of a college future.

Before the season, Jones said he had letters from Auburn, Alabama and Tennessee all expressing interest in Lewis. Although, Jones admits that interest is now likely going to be slightly less.

“He has a dream of playing college football, and I think he still can,” Jones said. “I think the interest in him will slow down, but I don’t doubt there’s a school out there that’s willing to still take a chance on him. They’ve got last year’s film, our film from the scrimmage and the first game this year to go on — and he played great in all those. He’s a great athlete, so I believe he’ll still get a chance.”

Lewis’ presence, however, will continue to be felt the rest of the year as he becomes the team’s biggest cheerleader on Friday nights.

“He’ll be there for sure,” Jones said. “In fact, he was out at practice today pulling sleds with the guys.”