Georgia Firebirds show promise in exhibition game

ALBANY —The Georgia Firebirds saw glimpses of who they want to become this season as they took on the Jacksonville Sharks Thursday night in an exhibition game at the Albany Civic Center.

While the Firebirds ultimately fell to the Sharks 39-24, head coach Antwone Savage was pleased with what he saw in terms of on the field production and crowd support.

The first quarter started slowly. The Sharks scored two quick touchdowns to take a 14-0 lead and then the Firebirds’ Kurtis Green was blasted in the end zone on the ensuing kickoff for a safety.

The Firebirds eventually got the ball back and Green redeemed himself, juggling a catch from quarterback Jeffery Legree before hauling it in and taking it 21 yards for the score. Green said he knew his team needed a score to start things and worked hard to make the play.

“It was big,” he said. “We were getting stopped and we had to make a play. I just had to come up big and make a play.”

Evan Selman kicked a 30-yard field goal for the Firebirds, while Isaiah Jupiter found his target for an 11-yard touchdown as time expired. The Firebirds went into the break with a 17-16 lead.

Savage said his team was able to get into a rhythm to close out the half.

“I think we got the first quarter jitters out and started to make plays,” he said. “Once we started to make plays, we moved the ball pretty good.”

The second half didn’t go as well as the Firebirds were held scoreless until the 4:37 mark of the fourth quarter when Jupiter made another touchdown connection, this time with Deion Hamilton from 27 yards out to make it a 32-24 game.

Savage said the second half was more about getting a thorough look at his personnel.

“Well, the second quarter I was trying to come out and give everyone a look,” he said. “I wasn’t as concerned with winning the game as much, but at the same time, I wanted to get a quality look at the quarterback position as well as the receiver position.”

Legree finished the game 6 of 15 with 49 yards passing and a touchdown, while Jupiter tallied 79 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on 10 of 20.

Savage said he feels like he has the pieces to put together the high-scoring offense he desires.

“I did get some glimpses of our high-powered offense,” he said. “The quarterback rotation was kind of in and out, but I did see the offense I think we’re gonna have, and once we play a full four quarters and guys are worried about rotations and making the team, we’ll be pretty good.”

He added that defensively, they’re solid.

“Defensively I like my line, I like my secondary, I like my jack linebacker and I like my mac linebacker,” he said. “Defensively, we look good, we just gotta make a couple more plays on offense and I think that will come with time and a little more reps.”

After the game, the field was crowded with fans, mostly children, interacting with the players and enjoying the atmosphere. Firebirds owner Darrien Teals said the exhibition game helped not only collect supplies for those recovering from the recent tornadoes, but to get a feel for the community and how to best serve them moving forward.

“I’m learning Albany and I think the way to get to the community is through the kids,” he said. “That’s why we did the promotion to let the first 500 kids in free and I’m going to do more with organizations like the Boys and Girls Club, the YMCA, the Recreation Department, so I will do more for the kids. We will do more to get the kids to come out and participate.”

The Firebirds’ first game of the regular season will be at home on March 18 against the High County Grizzles. The game will begin at 7 p.m. at the Albany Civic Center.