Firebirds drop season finale against Columbus, 50-34

ALBANY — A strong finish wasn’t enough for the Georgia Firebirds to overcome a slow start Saturday night.

They dropped their season finale on their home field to the Columbus Lions, 50-34. The Albany team wrapped up a disappointing season with a 2-9 record.

And for one Firebird, it was the end of a 12-year road.

John Harris played in the final game of his career Saturday. The Americus native and Firebird wide receiver announced his retirement. He said it had been a great ride that had gone on for a dozen years.

“I started my career playing ball at Albany, I moved around a couple of years, but I always wanted to finish my career here,” he said. “This is home for me, I’m a Southwest Georgia guy. Albany gave me my first career opportunity so I just wanted to end my playing career here.”

He said he hopes he’ll still be able to be associated with the Firebirds next year, though not in a huddle.

“Right now I’m hoping I can join them next year,” he said. “I still want to be around football and hopefully the staff will bring me on, let me coach with them and bring my experience to the game.”

It wasn’t the finish Harris was hoping to go out with. The game at the Albany Civic Center got off to a rough start as the Firebirds’ first two possessions ended in turnovers. A fumble on the first drive led to a Columbus drive that ended with a nine-yard touchdown catch by Jarmon Fortson.

Greg Hankerson threw an interception on the second possession, allowing Columbus’ Mason Espinosa to find Tristan Purifoy for a 37-yard touchdown on the very next play, enabling the Lions to quickly build a 14-0 lead.

Jed Solomon would put the Firebirds on the board with a 27-yard field goal, but Columbus answered right back a scoring drive that ended with a nine-yard catch by Michael Reeve for six.

Albany’s first touchdown would come on the next drive when Hankerson found Terrence Ebagua from 30 yards out. Still, the Firebirds couldn’t get a defensive stop in the first half. After a flurry of Lions touchdowns and a field goal as time expired, the Firebirds found themselves trailing 36-16 at the half.

Things started looking up for the home team in the second half. The opening kick went through the uprights, good for two points. Those would be the only points scored in the third quarter and the Firebirds entered the final stanza trailing 36-18.

In the fourth, the Firebirds would close the gap after an interception was returned for a touchdown by Morris Mitchell make it a 43-34 game with 5:59 left to play. The Firebirds came up with another huge fumble, but it was waved off as a dead ball. Firebird head coach Antwone Savage said that call pretty much sealed the deal.

Despite the Firebirds dropping their fifth straight game, Savage said he saw his team come together to rally in the second half, which is what he urged them to do halftime.

“We just settled down and played football together. That’s one of the things I said at halftime,” he said. “We gotta finish the game, no matter what happens the rest of the half. We came out and pretty much did it, but other obstacles came into play.”

Hankerson finished 11-37 with 115 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Derrick Wimbush rushed for 25 yards on five carries. Ebagua was the top target with three catches for 53 yards, followed by Isiah Jupiter with three catches for 22.