Georgia Firebirds open regular season against High Country

ALBANY —The Georgia Firebirds kick the regular season off officially Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the Albany Civic Center against the High Country Grizzlies.

After a solid showing in their preseason game against the Jacksonville Sharks, head coach Antwone Savage and his team are ready to get to work.

Jeffery Legree will start at quarterback although Savage admitted that he didn’t quite see what he expected from him last week. Legree finished 6 for 15 with 49 yards passing, one touchdown and one interception in the exhibition game. Still, Savage said Legree is a fighter, which will serve him well in the team’s scheme.

“What I’m looking for in a quarterback is someone who can not only be a good quarterback during the good times, but in adverse times too,” he said.

Savage said he’s looking for Legree to remain focused.

“I need for him to stay focused,” he said. “When he’s focused, he’s a top caliber quarterback. When he’s not focused, we’re not really sure what we’re going to get from him. We’ve just been talking to him this whole entire week about staying focused and making plays, so I feel confident. It’s been a good week of practice for him.”

Savage added that he has high expectations for his veteran receivers and running backs and looks forward to them making plays.

“Yesterday’s practice was a great practice for us,” he said. “I got a chance to run some routes with them, break it down and get them to understand about spacing and angles on the field. The quarterback got to see it at the same time, so I’m just anxious to get these guys on the field and let them run around and catch these balls.”

Defensively, the Firebirds added a new nose tackle and Savage said he wants to see more pressure up front.

As far as what he expects from the Grizzlies, Savage said they’re going in blind as film on teams will not be available until next week after everyone has played their first game. He did say that based on their roster, which is comprised mostly of rookies, he expects a lot of zone defense.

Savage noted that this game is not only important to try and set the tone for the season on the field, but in the community as well. He believes putting on a strong showing at home can do wonders for expanding their fan base in Albany.

“When you can play your first game at home and then it’s a good outcome, a good showing, it kind of gets the city behind you more and makes them want to come out and see what they may have missed that first week,” he said. “So I think our first game being at home is very, very big for us.”