September 14, 2026 • 17 mins
Lee County football head coach Dean Fabrizio breaks down the Trojans’ impressive 48-30 road win over Colquitt County, including a next-man-up performance from junior running back Quay Sheard, who rushed for over 200 yards and four touchdowns with key players sidelined.
Coach Fabrizio also discusses Lee County’s demanding schedule, the importance of the upcoming open week, and the massive matchup with Thomas County Central waiting on the other side.
Presented by Phoebe Orthopedics & Sports Medicine #sponsored
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Coach Fabrizio also discusses Lee County’s demanding schedule, the importance of the upcoming open week, and the massive matchup with Thomas County Central waiting on the other side.
Presented by Phoebe Orthopedics & Sports Medicine #sponsored
For more great coverage of high school sports in Georgia, Florida, and across the country, visit www.itgnext.com.
Follow us on socials!
Instagram: @itgnext.georgia
Facebook: @itgnext.georgia
TikTok: @itgnext
X (Twitter): @itgnext_georgia
YouTube: @itgnext
Are you a business that wants to work with ITG Next? Email us at info@itgnext.com or visit our website to learn more about advertising and sponsorship opportunities.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
All right, guys, welcome in to another week of talking
Lee County Trojan football.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Proudly got the Lee County helmet. Got my Lee County
swag on. Look at there. Don't I look good, Coach?
I like it. Looks good.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
Looks good.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Coach Secord's always got his Lee swag on, as he should.
And it's a good day to have Lee swag on.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
And why is that?
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Because the Lee County Trojans continue to impress in what
is one of the toughest schedules in 2026, Coach.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
First of all, welcome into the show. How are you? Congratulations.
Great win.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Thank you very much. It was a great win.
Speaker 4 (00:34):
Mac Tharp Stadium, one of the best places to play
in high school football in probably the country. It's an
incredible atmosphere. The Colquitt County, they have an incredible fan base.
Coach Calhoun and his staff, they do a phenomenal job.
They're always super well coached. Anytime you can go into
Moultrie and get a win, it's a great, great win.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Before we get started, I want to acknowledge, of course,
our show sponsor. That is Phoebe Orthopedics and Sports Medicine.
Whether you need complex orthopedic trauma surgery or treatment for
that darn minor pickleball injury, the team at Phoebe Orthopedics
and Sports Medicine has got you covered. They have the
largest orthopedics team in Southwest Georgia. They're experienced physicians, advanced
(01:14):
practice providers, certified athletic trainers, and physical and occupational therapists
focused on restoring mobility and relieving pain and getting you
back to the activities you enjoy.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Learn more at Phoebe, Phoebe, a better way to orthopedic care.
Speaker 4 (01:29):
So, um, I want to get some statistics on how
many pickleball injuries I would like.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
I would like to, I would like to get that.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
I think next week we had, we need to put
that out on the show of exactly how many pickleball
injuries they're dealing with on a, on a weekly or
even monthly basis.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
We'll get that for you, coach. We'll get that just
for you, brother.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
All right, Coach, big win. As you were giving the kudos, well-deserved.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Two quality programs going at it, a packed house, a
great venue.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
I mean, this is what Georgia high school football is
all about, right?
Speaker 4 (02:04):
Without a doubt, without a doubt, especially South Georgia. It's
what makes South Georgia football so special. Our fan base
showed up big. We had a huge contingent there. We're
very close by South Georgia standards, just an hour away
from each other. So it was a short trip, you know,
only got back at, you know, close to one in
the morning instead of after three in the morning, like
the Sequoia trip the week before. So it was an
(02:26):
early night for us, I guess you'd say. But what
a great atmosphere it is there. And like I said,
I just can't say enough about the Copeland County fan
base and how they support football there and about their
coaches and how well coached they are year in.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
And year out.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Yeah. Coach, uh, talk about the game. Uh, you guys, uh,
get behind, uh, I'm sorry, apologize.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Uh, you guys get up to the big lead early,
but then Colquitt County comes fighting, uh, fighting back as
you knew they would talk about the start of the game.
You guys are like, you were really well prepared for
that game going in.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Yeah, we came out, went up 14, nothing.
Speaker 4 (02:58):
Uh, and then, then we, uh, we went down and
we're actually driving deep in their territory and, and, uh,
you know, had a busted play and they did a
good job on defense, got a stop deep in their
territory on us. And then they were able to kind
of get a big play. And then we had a
turnover and boom, next thing you know, it's 14, 14. And, uh,
you know, we went to the half tide 21 all,
you know, we were, we're missing a few guys, you know,
(03:20):
Dominique ball or start running back was out with an injury. Uh, uh, uh,
Jordan Bush, uh, or obviously running back a little quarterback,
was also out with an injury, so we were down
to Quay Sheard. We talk about next man up here,
and Quay, he took advantage of his opportunity. He was
our JV running back last year. He's a junior, and
(03:41):
he had 203 yards in the game and four touchdowns,
so he really took advantage of the opportunity.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
We stepped up. Our offensive line did a phenomenal job.
We went into the.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
Third quarter, and we jumped back up, you know, on
them 30, 35 to 35 to 21. They got a,
you know, they were able to get a safe, a safety.
We snapped the ball over the punter's head and they
were able to get a safety. And then, you know,
we kind of finished it out with the 42, 42.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
23 win.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Or 30, I'm sorry, 48, 30, 48, 30, 49, 49, 48, 30. Yes. 48, 30.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
So there was a, a little more scoring back and
forth there, but, uh, it was a heck of a
ball game. Uh, we were able to kind of put
it away there in the fourth quarter. And, um, you know, we, we,
we jumped out to a comfortable lead there in the
third quarter and we're able to maintain that through the
(04:34):
second half, you know, and we've been in a lot
of tough games and tough second halves.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
And this one was, was certainly another one.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Coach, I want to go back to the young man,
Quay Sheard. Um, he, uh, I, I'd be honest with you.
I had not heard of him. Uh, I was expecting the, um,
the comments and the stats to come in on Dominique ball.
Didn't realize that he was out for the game. Was
that a last minute decision? Can you tell us anything
(05:01):
about that?
Speaker 4 (05:03):
Now we knew Quay was, we knew, we knew Quay's
capable and he has gotten some carries in games, but
you know, we've got a good, good veteran backfield with
Dominique ball. And then Jordan is playing more and more
running back as Cohen takes more snaps, a quarterback. And, And,
you know, Quay Sheard was ready when his time was called.
And we had a lot of confidence in him. Our
offensive line does a great job blocking. And he had
(05:24):
a great night. You know, Dominique's got a foot injury.
Hopefully he'll be back soon. Jordan's got a shoulder injury.
Hopefully he'll be back soon. You know, we've had some
tough games here now. This open week comes at a
really good time for us. You know, we've been without
Champ Brown, you know, our highly recruited junior free safety
the last few weeks. Hopefully we'll get him back sometime soon.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Um, and that's part of it.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
You know, you've got to have depth, uh, and you've
got to have some depth to play at this level and,
and Georgia football. And, uh, that, that's one of the
big differences here at this level.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
That was incredible. That's an incredible story. I mean, you're
number one guys out, you're number two guys out, you
went into the biggest game of the year. And, and
I guess relatively saying you're number three guy, Quay comes up,
rushes for over 200 yards against one of the top seven,
eight teams. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Unbelievable story coach.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
What a great performance by him. And, uh, and not,
not only that, but, uh, our credit goes to our
offensive line.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Sure. Sure.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
John does a phenomenal job.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
We've got four returning starters there, which is very unusual
for us to have that many returning starters in the
offensive line.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
You know, Chavez, Dixon, Larry Jackson.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
One of them even got a touchdown, you know, Quay
was going in for his fifth touchdown and got hit
ball popped up in the air.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Larry caught it and ran it in the final three yards.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
So the offensive lineman even got in on the act
on touchdowns, uh, you know, Jaden Upshaw took seven carries
for us at running back, had 78 yards and two
touchdowns rushing to go along with a 70-yards pass receiving.
So he's doing it in the return game. He's doing
it running the ball when we're handing it to him.
He's doing it even on a completed pass in the
game also that got called back because they said it
(06:55):
was a double, two forward passes. But he really had
a– Jaden continues to impress in multiple ways for us.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
All right, Coach, I'm going to ask you, How much
credit for this win can we attribute? Because I think
you can, but I'll let you answer it for me.
How much credit can we attribute to what happened last week?
And let me tell you what I mean by that.
You know, you guys got down a lot by Sequoia.
It's been well documented, including here on this show, how
(07:27):
much of a comeback you got.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Staged in that game.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
And, you know, things like that can have a carryover
effect for the entire season. Did that come back, that
resiliency that your team showed against Sequoia.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
On the road? You know, you're way, long way from home.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Did that have that carryover effect, you think, in this
game against such a big opponent?
Speaker 4 (07:50):
I think the previous two games certainly did. You know,
we were down to Miami, Carroll City, one of the
top teams in the country.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
That's right.
Speaker 4 (07:57):
By more than Sequoia at halftime and came back and
won that game and That's right. Sequoia and Sequoia won
66 to nothing this past Friday that their other three
games other than us have been mercy rule games. So
they've got a really, really good football team and us
coming off that Carroll city win and having to go
up there, make that long trip this early in the
season and play a really good team and get down.
(08:18):
I mean, it shows a lot of character of our
team to be able to get out that win. And
then this game to go in at halftime tide, you know,
when you play good football teams, those things are going
to happen.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
You're going to have to fight.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
You're going to have to play a, a lot of
games or a lot of games deep into the game.
It's not going to be where you're getting, blowing people
out and cruising when you're playing good teams that are
really well coached like Colquitt County, like Sequoia, like Miami
Carroll city. So, and, and I'm sure it's going to
be a four quarter game versus TCC next week and
then coffee the next week. You know, our schedule doesn't
get any easier other than open County this week who
(08:49):
we play.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Open County. One thing's for sure. You're not going to
lose against open over 500 total yards in this game.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
I don't think anybody would have ever predicted that in addition,
of course, to the big one. You know, I had predicted,
of course, as I do, this was one of my
fields pick six games. I thought you guys would win.
I did mention, by the way, disclaimer, that I really didn't.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Want to pick this game. Love you guys. I love you, man.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
I love Sean Calhoun. I had to pick, though. I
couldn't run away from it. But over 500 yards in
this game, Coach, you've got to be impressed with that.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
Sean Calhoun is a great football coach. He does a
phenomenal job. They've got a great staff over there. Stan Luttrell,
their defensive coordinator. Buck Hanson, who he coached here for
us in the 2017 state championship team. They've got some
great coaches on that staff, and they're extremely well coached.
And we knew it was going to be a dogfight. Fortunately,
we played really well offensively. We put up a lot
of yards. We had three turnovers. and got held on
(09:46):
downs once deep in their territory. So those things, you know,
prevented us from scoring even more. You'd think with that
many yards, we would have had a few more points,
but those things prevented it. But, you know, a lot
of that's due to them and that they play so
hard and they cause those turnovers. So you got to
give culpable credit as well in that regard obviously ball
security is going to be a big thing we're focusing
on these next two weeks because you can't lose three
fumbles and really fumbled four uh we caught one the
(10:09):
lineman caught one in midair ran it in but the
other three we lost so you can't put the ball
on the ground four times versus good teams uh and
always come out with a win. So fortunately, we were
able to get some turnovers, kind of balance those things out.
Trey Bush kind of sealed the game there at the
end with a phenomenal one-handed interception. Trey had strep throat
all week. It was limited practice-wise. Really didn't practice much
(10:31):
during the week. Was out two complete days with strep throat.
And everybody deals with those things. Everybody's dealing with sickness
and things like that and got guys missing.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
And like I said, that's just part of it. You've
got to be able to overcome those things.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
All right.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Speaking of turnovers, Coach, I know that turnovers played a
big part early, especially early in this game. And again,
a testament to you guys. Good teams take advantage of
other teams' mistakes. You guys did a good job of
capitalizing on their turnovers, their mistakes.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Talk about that and how big that played into that
early lead.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
Without a doubt, you know, we had a great first
drive for a touchdown.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
We were able to get a turnover and go up 14-0,
and then we were able to get another turnover late
in the first half and bring that into a score.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
So, you know, turnovers are huge.
Speaker 4 (11:17):
You know, everybody tell you winning the turnover battle is
a key to a game. You know, I tell our
team all the time, when we don't turn the ball over,
we always win.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
And usually we win big.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
So not turning the ball over is a key thing.
It was key for us versus Miami Carroll City. Last
week we had, I think, three interceptions versus Sequoia, and
that was one of the reasons we were down. And
then this week, you know, it allowed them to get
back in the game and take nothing away from Colbert
County as they forced those turnovers. So, like I said earlier,
you've got to give them credit. But that's a big
part of the game. And it's something we've got to
(11:47):
focus on and focus on continuing to get takeaways and
focus on doing a great job of ball security on
our end.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
So, I'm going to address the elephant in the room.
Everyone knew that Cohen Lawson, he was going back to
the team that he came from.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
You know, look, and he really played well.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Was there anything that you had to discuss with him
to keep him maybe from getting over high? Cause we
can see that happen sometime or, or was it just
a matter of let it flow naturally?
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Talk about kind of that, that, that.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
That particular scenario going into this game.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
Cohen Lawson, you know, he was 13 and 19, 160 yards.
He also had a rushing touchdown in the game. Really,
really played a, really played a good football game for
a scan and, and, you know, the thing I'll say
about that is that you could see at the end of,
before the game, after the game, there's a lot of
love and respect between him and really between both teams altogether.
(12:39):
We've got a lot of respect for Cocoa County and
the program that they've had. And the players have a
lot of respect between each other. Several of these kids
played on the same youth ball teams. So, so there's
a lot of familiarity between the two teams. And like
I said, we've got a whole lot of respect for them.
Cohen coming over here, I certainly added a lot of
intrigue to it. And then of course you have bull
bar and choose a, was a star at Colville County
(13:01):
on their 2017 state championship team. And you've also got,
it was a former coach there a couple of years
ago before he went to Worth County. So there was
a lot of familiarity, a lot of storylines on both sides,
but ultimately it's a great game. You know, we're not
in the same division. We're not in the same classification.
We don't have to play it. I got to give
(13:21):
them credit for scheduling this game, just like hopefully people
give us credit for scheduling this game and challenging ourselves
and giving the fan base is a great game to
see because that's what it's all about.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
And listen, I'm glad you pointed that out because I
wanted to second that.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
OK, you guys and Colquitt County, you mentioned, of course,
you know, they scheduled Thomas County Central.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Who's in y'all's region. They scheduled you guys. You know,
you scheduled, obviously, one of the toughest schedules so far.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
You know, Haightville Charter defending, you know, state champion or
state championship game finalists, I should say.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
The Miami Carol game.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
So that's I just want to commend you. That's what
it takes. That's what it's all about. Going out and
scheduling tough teams and not afraid to play those tough teams.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Whether it's on the road or at home. So, Coach,
I commend you for that. I really do.
Speaker 4 (14:07):
Well, I appreciate that. And I also think it plays
into recruiting for your kids. When your kids are able
to go and have big games and put on film
versus really good teams and do that multiple times, it
gives them the exposure and the opportunity to be showcased.
And I think it certainly helps your kids being recruited.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
In that aspect as well.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
You hear a lot of people say, well, if he
was playing at this school, he'd be recruited higher. Well,
schedule some, schedule some bigger teams, schedule some tougher games
and let them show what he could do versus top
level competition. And I think that's on the coaches to
do that, to help their kids get recruited as well,
which is part of our job and part of what
we do.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
We're following up, or I should say, we're closing up
with Dean Fabrizio, head coach of the Lee County Trojans.
What a great win it was over the Collier County
Packers Friday night.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Great atmosphere, great venue. You knew it would be, and
your team really handled it well.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
But you've got to turn the page because there are
many more important games, big games left to play.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
Coach, you guys are going to be off this week.
Is that right?
Speaker 3 (15:06):
Yes, sir. We're open this Friday night.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Okay. So get a chance to rest up.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Get a chance to hopefully get some of those guys back.
You know, it sounded like you had some illness running
through the locker room. You had some little bumps and bruises,
some nagging injuries. to a couple of your key running backs.
Hopefully this rest will do them well because on the
other side of the open week, you've got a big
one coming up.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Go ahead and preview that for us.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
Well, we've got to get better this week first. That's
the key thing during an open week. Yes, you can
get some guys to heal up, but I've had it
go both ways. I've had it where the open week
gets us out of rhythm and we come out of
it not playing as good. And a lot of times
I've had it where you use that week to work
on some things maybe you can't always work on because
you've got to prepare for an opponent. And you get better.
So hopefully we get better this week. That's what I
(15:49):
talked to our kids about this morning and challenged them.
And then after that, obviously, Thomas County Central is going
to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest
game in the country. It'll be a great crowd here
in Leesburg, a great atmosphere. And it's going to be
a lot of fun. Coach Rogers, a good friend of mine,
does a phenomenal job over there. It's amazing the job
he's done. They're well coached. They've got talent all over
the field. And it's going to be a big challenge
(16:10):
for us. But it's going to be an exciting challenge.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
It really will be. Obviously, they're playing well. You guys
are playing well.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Coach, any final thoughts as far as the game in
Colquitt and just the team in general?
Speaker 2 (16:23):
And I'll give you the final word.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Well, I've been really proud of these kids and how
hard they've played.
Speaker 4 (16:28):
And they've taken this schedule and really stepped their game up,
which is what we challenge them to do.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
And that's one thing here at Lee County.
Speaker 4 (16:34):
Every time, you know, we've kind of scheduled another big
game or the schedule looks too tough. These kids always
seem to rise to the occasion, and I've got to
give a big shout-out to our fans.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Boy, the Lee County.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
Community came out big and supported us there in Colbert County.
We had a huge, huge contingent on the visitor side.
Just really appreciate them and the energy they help bring
to our team.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Lee County, they.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
Get it done.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Big win, 48-30, the final score. Coach, congratulations. Big win,
and we wish you the best moving forward.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
I appreciate you. Thank you for all you do for
high school football.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
Thank you, Coach. Bye-bye. There he is, Dean Fabrizio, head
coach of the Lee County Trojans.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
And, again, a big thanks to our friends at Phoebe
Orthopedics and Sports Medicine for sponsoring our weekly talk with
Coach Dean Fabrizio. Talk to you guys next week right
here at ITG Next.
All right, guys, welcome in to another week of talking
Lee County Trojan football.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Proudly got the Lee County helmet. Got my Lee County
swag on. Look at there. Don't I look good, Coach?
I like it. Looks good.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
Looks good.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Coach Secord's always got his Lee swag on, as he should.
And it's a good day to have Lee swag on.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
And why is that?
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Because the Lee County Trojans continue to impress in what
is one of the toughest schedules in 2026, Coach.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
First of all, welcome into the show. How are you? Congratulations.
Great win.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Thank you very much. It was a great win.
Speaker 4 (00:34):
Mac Tharp Stadium, one of the best places to play
in high school football in probably the country. It's an
incredible atmosphere. The Colquitt County, they have an incredible fan base.
Coach Calhoun and his staff, they do a phenomenal job.
They're always super well coached. Anytime you can go into
Moultrie and get a win, it's a great, great win.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Before we get started, I want to acknowledge, of course,
our show sponsor. That is Phoebe Orthopedics and Sports Medicine.
Whether you need complex orthopedic trauma surgery or treatment for
that darn minor pickleball injury, the team at Phoebe Orthopedics
and Sports Medicine has got you covered. They have the
largest orthopedics team in Southwest Georgia. They're experienced physicians, advanced
(01:14):
practice providers, certified athletic trainers, and physical and occupational therapists
focused on restoring mobility and relieving pain and getting you
back to the activities you enjoy.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Learn more at Phoebe, Phoebe, a better way to orthopedic care.
Speaker 4 (01:29):
So, um, I want to get some statistics on how
many pickleball injuries I would like.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
I would like to, I would like to get that.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
I think next week we had, we need to put
that out on the show of exactly how many pickleball
injuries they're dealing with on a, on a weekly or
even monthly basis.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
We'll get that for you, coach. We'll get that just
for you, brother.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
All right, Coach, big win. As you were giving the kudos, well-deserved.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Two quality programs going at it, a packed house, a
great venue.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
I mean, this is what Georgia high school football is
all about, right?
Speaker 4 (02:04):
Without a doubt, without a doubt, especially South Georgia. It's
what makes South Georgia football so special. Our fan base
showed up big. We had a huge contingent there. We're
very close by South Georgia standards, just an hour away
from each other. So it was a short trip, you know,
only got back at, you know, close to one in
the morning instead of after three in the morning, like
the Sequoia trip the week before. So it was an
(02:26):
early night for us, I guess you'd say. But what
a great atmosphere it is there. And like I said,
I just can't say enough about the Copeland County fan
base and how they support football there and about their
coaches and how well coached they are year in.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
And year out.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Yeah. Coach, uh, talk about the game. Uh, you guys, uh,
get behind, uh, I'm sorry, apologize.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Uh, you guys get up to the big lead early,
but then Colquitt County comes fighting, uh, fighting back as
you knew they would talk about the start of the game.
You guys are like, you were really well prepared for
that game going in.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Yeah, we came out, went up 14, nothing.
Speaker 4 (02:58):
Uh, and then, then we, uh, we went down and
we're actually driving deep in their territory and, and, uh,
you know, had a busted play and they did a
good job on defense, got a stop deep in their
territory on us. And then they were able to kind
of get a big play. And then we had a
turnover and boom, next thing you know, it's 14, 14. And, uh,
you know, we went to the half tide 21 all,
you know, we were, we're missing a few guys, you know,
(03:20):
Dominique ball or start running back was out with an injury. Uh, uh, uh,
Jordan Bush, uh, or obviously running back a little quarterback,
was also out with an injury, so we were down
to Quay Sheard. We talk about next man up here,
and Quay, he took advantage of his opportunity. He was
our JV running back last year. He's a junior, and
(03:41):
he had 203 yards in the game and four touchdowns,
so he really took advantage of the opportunity.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
We stepped up. Our offensive line did a phenomenal job.
We went into the.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
Third quarter, and we jumped back up, you know, on
them 30, 35 to 35 to 21. They got a,
you know, they were able to get a safe, a safety.
We snapped the ball over the punter's head and they
were able to get a safety. And then, you know,
we kind of finished it out with the 42, 42.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
23 win.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Or 30, I'm sorry, 48, 30, 48, 30, 49, 49, 48, 30. Yes. 48, 30.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
So there was a, a little more scoring back and
forth there, but, uh, it was a heck of a
ball game. Uh, we were able to kind of put
it away there in the fourth quarter. And, um, you know, we, we,
we jumped out to a comfortable lead there in the
third quarter and we're able to maintain that through the
(04:34):
second half, you know, and we've been in a lot
of tough games and tough second halves.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
And this one was, was certainly another one.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Coach, I want to go back to the young man,
Quay Sheard. Um, he, uh, I, I'd be honest with you.
I had not heard of him. Uh, I was expecting the, um,
the comments and the stats to come in on Dominique ball.
Didn't realize that he was out for the game. Was
that a last minute decision? Can you tell us anything
(05:01):
about that?
Speaker 4 (05:03):
Now we knew Quay was, we knew, we knew Quay's
capable and he has gotten some carries in games, but
you know, we've got a good, good veteran backfield with
Dominique ball. And then Jordan is playing more and more
running back as Cohen takes more snaps, a quarterback. And, And,
you know, Quay Sheard was ready when his time was called.
And we had a lot of confidence in him. Our
offensive line does a great job blocking. And he had
(05:24):
a great night. You know, Dominique's got a foot injury.
Hopefully he'll be back soon. Jordan's got a shoulder injury.
Hopefully he'll be back soon. You know, we've had some
tough games here now. This open week comes at a
really good time for us. You know, we've been without
Champ Brown, you know, our highly recruited junior free safety
the last few weeks. Hopefully we'll get him back sometime soon.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Um, and that's part of it.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
You know, you've got to have depth, uh, and you've
got to have some depth to play at this level and,
and Georgia football. And, uh, that, that's one of the
big differences here at this level.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
That was incredible. That's an incredible story. I mean, you're
number one guys out, you're number two guys out, you
went into the biggest game of the year. And, and
I guess relatively saying you're number three guy, Quay comes up,
rushes for over 200 yards against one of the top seven,
eight teams. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Unbelievable story coach.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
What a great performance by him. And, uh, and not,
not only that, but, uh, our credit goes to our
offensive line.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Sure. Sure.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
John does a phenomenal job.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
We've got four returning starters there, which is very unusual
for us to have that many returning starters in the
offensive line.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
You know, Chavez, Dixon, Larry Jackson.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
One of them even got a touchdown, you know, Quay
was going in for his fifth touchdown and got hit
ball popped up in the air.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Larry caught it and ran it in the final three yards.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
So the offensive lineman even got in on the act
on touchdowns, uh, you know, Jaden Upshaw took seven carries
for us at running back, had 78 yards and two
touchdowns rushing to go along with a 70-yards pass receiving.
So he's doing it in the return game. He's doing
it running the ball when we're handing it to him.
He's doing it even on a completed pass in the
game also that got called back because they said it
(06:55):
was a double, two forward passes. But he really had
a– Jaden continues to impress in multiple ways for us.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
All right, Coach, I'm going to ask you, How much
credit for this win can we attribute? Because I think
you can, but I'll let you answer it for me.
How much credit can we attribute to what happened last week?
And let me tell you what I mean by that.
You know, you guys got down a lot by Sequoia.
It's been well documented, including here on this show, how
(07:27):
much of a comeback you got.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Staged in that game.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
And, you know, things like that can have a carryover
effect for the entire season. Did that come back, that
resiliency that your team showed against Sequoia.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
On the road? You know, you're way, long way from home.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Did that have that carryover effect, you think, in this
game against such a big opponent?
Speaker 4 (07:50):
I think the previous two games certainly did. You know,
we were down to Miami, Carroll City, one of the
top teams in the country.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
That's right.
Speaker 4 (07:57):
By more than Sequoia at halftime and came back and
won that game and That's right. Sequoia and Sequoia won
66 to nothing this past Friday that their other three
games other than us have been mercy rule games. So
they've got a really, really good football team and us
coming off that Carroll city win and having to go
up there, make that long trip this early in the
season and play a really good team and get down.
(08:18):
I mean, it shows a lot of character of our
team to be able to get out that win. And
then this game to go in at halftime tide, you know,
when you play good football teams, those things are going
to happen.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
You're going to have to fight.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
You're going to have to play a, a lot of
games or a lot of games deep into the game.
It's not going to be where you're getting, blowing people
out and cruising when you're playing good teams that are
really well coached like Colquitt County, like Sequoia, like Miami
Carroll city. So, and, and I'm sure it's going to
be a four quarter game versus TCC next week and
then coffee the next week. You know, our schedule doesn't
get any easier other than open County this week who
(08:49):
we play.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Open County. One thing's for sure. You're not going to
lose against open over 500 total yards in this game.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
I don't think anybody would have ever predicted that in addition,
of course, to the big one. You know, I had predicted,
of course, as I do, this was one of my
fields pick six games. I thought you guys would win.
I did mention, by the way, disclaimer, that I really didn't.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Want to pick this game. Love you guys. I love you, man.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
I love Sean Calhoun. I had to pick, though. I
couldn't run away from it. But over 500 yards in
this game, Coach, you've got to be impressed with that.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
Sean Calhoun is a great football coach. He does a
phenomenal job. They've got a great staff over there. Stan Luttrell,
their defensive coordinator. Buck Hanson, who he coached here for
us in the 2017 state championship team. They've got some
great coaches on that staff, and they're extremely well coached.
And we knew it was going to be a dogfight. Fortunately,
we played really well offensively. We put up a lot
of yards. We had three turnovers. and got held on
(09:46):
downs once deep in their territory. So those things, you know,
prevented us from scoring even more. You'd think with that
many yards, we would have had a few more points,
but those things prevented it. But, you know, a lot
of that's due to them and that they play so
hard and they cause those turnovers. So you got to
give culpable credit as well in that regard obviously ball
security is going to be a big thing we're focusing
on these next two weeks because you can't lose three
fumbles and really fumbled four uh we caught one the
(10:09):
lineman caught one in midair ran it in but the
other three we lost so you can't put the ball
on the ground four times versus good teams uh and
always come out with a win. So fortunately, we were
able to get some turnovers, kind of balance those things out.
Trey Bush kind of sealed the game there at the
end with a phenomenal one-handed interception. Trey had strep throat
all week. It was limited practice-wise. Really didn't practice much
(10:31):
during the week. Was out two complete days with strep throat.
And everybody deals with those things. Everybody's dealing with sickness
and things like that and got guys missing.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
And like I said, that's just part of it. You've
got to be able to overcome those things.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
All right.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Speaking of turnovers, Coach, I know that turnovers played a
big part early, especially early in this game. And again,
a testament to you guys. Good teams take advantage of
other teams' mistakes. You guys did a good job of
capitalizing on their turnovers, their mistakes.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Talk about that and how big that played into that
early lead.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
Without a doubt, you know, we had a great first
drive for a touchdown.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
We were able to get a turnover and go up 14-0,
and then we were able to get another turnover late
in the first half and bring that into a score.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
So, you know, turnovers are huge.
Speaker 4 (11:17):
You know, everybody tell you winning the turnover battle is
a key to a game. You know, I tell our
team all the time, when we don't turn the ball over,
we always win.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
And usually we win big.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
So not turning the ball over is a key thing.
It was key for us versus Miami Carroll City. Last
week we had, I think, three interceptions versus Sequoia, and
that was one of the reasons we were down. And
then this week, you know, it allowed them to get
back in the game and take nothing away from Colbert
County as they forced those turnovers. So, like I said earlier,
you've got to give them credit. But that's a big
part of the game. And it's something we've got to
(11:47):
focus on and focus on continuing to get takeaways and
focus on doing a great job of ball security on
our end.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
So, I'm going to address the elephant in the room.
Everyone knew that Cohen Lawson, he was going back to
the team that he came from.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
You know, look, and he really played well.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Was there anything that you had to discuss with him
to keep him maybe from getting over high? Cause we
can see that happen sometime or, or was it just
a matter of let it flow naturally?
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Talk about kind of that, that, that.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
That particular scenario going into this game.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
Cohen Lawson, you know, he was 13 and 19, 160 yards.
He also had a rushing touchdown in the game. Really,
really played a, really played a good football game for
a scan and, and, you know, the thing I'll say
about that is that you could see at the end of,
before the game, after the game, there's a lot of
love and respect between him and really between both teams altogether.
(12:39):
We've got a lot of respect for Cocoa County and
the program that they've had. And the players have a
lot of respect between each other. Several of these kids
played on the same youth ball teams. So, so there's
a lot of familiarity between the two teams. And like
I said, we've got a whole lot of respect for them.
Cohen coming over here, I certainly added a lot of
intrigue to it. And then of course you have bull
bar and choose a, was a star at Colville County
(13:01):
on their 2017 state championship team. And you've also got,
it was a former coach there a couple of years
ago before he went to Worth County. So there was
a lot of familiarity, a lot of storylines on both sides,
but ultimately it's a great game. You know, we're not
in the same division. We're not in the same classification.
We don't have to play it. I got to give
(13:21):
them credit for scheduling this game, just like hopefully people
give us credit for scheduling this game and challenging ourselves
and giving the fan base is a great game to
see because that's what it's all about.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
And listen, I'm glad you pointed that out because I
wanted to second that.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
OK, you guys and Colquitt County, you mentioned, of course,
you know, they scheduled Thomas County Central.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Who's in y'all's region. They scheduled you guys. You know,
you scheduled, obviously, one of the toughest schedules so far.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
You know, Haightville Charter defending, you know, state champion or
state championship game finalists, I should say.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
The Miami Carol game.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
So that's I just want to commend you. That's what
it takes. That's what it's all about. Going out and
scheduling tough teams and not afraid to play those tough teams.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Whether it's on the road or at home. So, Coach,
I commend you for that. I really do.
Speaker 4 (14:07):
Well, I appreciate that. And I also think it plays
into recruiting for your kids. When your kids are able
to go and have big games and put on film
versus really good teams and do that multiple times, it
gives them the exposure and the opportunity to be showcased.
And I think it certainly helps your kids being recruited.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
In that aspect as well.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
You hear a lot of people say, well, if he
was playing at this school, he'd be recruited higher. Well,
schedule some, schedule some bigger teams, schedule some tougher games
and let them show what he could do versus top
level competition. And I think that's on the coaches to
do that, to help their kids get recruited as well,
which is part of our job and part of what
we do.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
We're following up, or I should say, we're closing up
with Dean Fabrizio, head coach of the Lee County Trojans.
What a great win it was over the Collier County
Packers Friday night.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Great atmosphere, great venue. You knew it would be, and
your team really handled it well.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
But you've got to turn the page because there are
many more important games, big games left to play.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
Coach, you guys are going to be off this week.
Is that right?
Speaker 3 (15:06):
Yes, sir. We're open this Friday night.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Okay. So get a chance to rest up.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Get a chance to hopefully get some of those guys back.
You know, it sounded like you had some illness running
through the locker room. You had some little bumps and bruises,
some nagging injuries. to a couple of your key running backs.
Hopefully this rest will do them well because on the
other side of the open week, you've got a big
one coming up.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Go ahead and preview that for us.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
Well, we've got to get better this week first. That's
the key thing during an open week. Yes, you can
get some guys to heal up, but I've had it
go both ways. I've had it where the open week
gets us out of rhythm and we come out of
it not playing as good. And a lot of times
I've had it where you use that week to work
on some things maybe you can't always work on because
you've got to prepare for an opponent. And you get better.
So hopefully we get better this week. That's what I
(15:49):
talked to our kids about this morning and challenged them.
And then after that, obviously, Thomas County Central is going
to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest
game in the country. It'll be a great crowd here
in Leesburg, a great atmosphere. And it's going to be
a lot of fun. Coach Rogers, a good friend of mine,
does a phenomenal job over there. It's amazing the job
he's done. They're well coached. They've got talent all over
the field. And it's going to be a big challenge
(16:10):
for us. But it's going to be an exciting challenge.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
It really will be. Obviously, they're playing well. You guys
are playing well.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Coach, any final thoughts as far as the game in
Colquitt and just the team in general?
Speaker 2 (16:23):
And I'll give you the final word.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Well, I've been really proud of these kids and how
hard they've played.
Speaker 4 (16:28):
And they've taken this schedule and really stepped their game up,
which is what we challenge them to do.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
And that's one thing here at Lee County.
Speaker 4 (16:34):
Every time, you know, we've kind of scheduled another big
game or the schedule looks too tough. These kids always
seem to rise to the occasion, and I've got to
give a big shout-out to our fans.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Boy, the Lee County.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
Community came out big and supported us there in Colbert County.
We had a huge, huge contingent on the visitor side.
Just really appreciate them and the energy they help bring
to our team.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Lee County, they.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
Get it done.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Big win, 48-30, the final score. Coach, congratulations. Big win,
and we wish you the best moving forward.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
I appreciate you. Thank you for all you do for
high school football.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
Thank you, Coach. Bye-bye. There he is, Dean Fabrizio, head
coach of the Lee County Trojans.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
And, again, a big thanks to our friends at Phoebe
Orthopedics and Sports Medicine for sponsoring our weekly talk with
Coach Dean Fabrizio. Talk to you guys next week right
here at ITG Next.
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