Scott Roberts, Swainsboro head coach
Today’s interviewee is Swainsboro coach Scott Roberts, whose team defeated Irwin County 22-21 in the Class A Division I semifinals last week on Landen Scott’s 32-yard field goal on the final play. It was Scott’s first successful field goal. He’d attempted one previously. It was earlier in the game, and Irwin County blocked it. Roberts didn’t hesitate to call Scott’s number again with the game on the line. The victory ended a five-year streak of making the finals for Irwin, which coincidentally is Roberts’ alma mater.
1. How did you pull it out last week? “There’s no doubt that it could’ve gone either way. Irwin County is a great program. We had a 19-7 lead at the half, and I kept telling our players they were going to give us their best shot, and we didn’t handle it well. It was just two teams fighting and playing like crazy. We just made one more play in the end.”
2. What happened on the final play? “It was fourth-and-10 from the 13 [with Irwin County leading 21-19]. We knew if we went for it, we were going to have to throw the ball in the end zone. [Swainsboro hadn’t completed a pass in the game.] So we let the clock run down to two seconds and called time out and discussed it. I said go with the field goal. I thought it gave us the best chance to win. It was the decision that I could live with if it didn’t work out. It wasn’t just the kicker I was thinking about. The holder, Jakari Nobles, is one of our captains, and he wanted to kick it. Carson Palmer is our snapper. Just knowing that whole operation is some of our better players that we trust the most. On the field goal that was blocked, Landen was just slow getting to the ball. We knew he had plenty of leg. He just needed to speed up the process. We brought that to his attention, he sped up, and he got it off. He stroked it right down the middle.” Asked about the reaction of the players and fans, Roberts added, “I’ve just seen it on film because I never made if off the sideline. Somebody jumped on me. But I know it was really loud. We had a big crowd that made that two-hour drive, and it was a big factor in the game for us.”
3. Demello Jones had a big game for you, rushing for 169 yards and scoring three touchdowns [giving him 27 on the season]. What makes him an outstanding player? "Demello is just a freak athlete. He can play any skill position we’ve got. He’s been working at quarterback, wide receiver, playing cornerback on defense. His biggest asset is he’s so unselfish. If he’s a wide receiver not getting the ball, he blocks. The whole team is like that. It’s the most unselfish group I’ve been around in my whole life. They don’t care who gets the credit. They just want to win.” [Georgia reportedly offered Jones as a wide receiver last month. Jones, a junior, and sophomore Qin Brown are 1,000-yard rushers this season.]
4. Swainsboro might be the least-passing team in the finals. You’re averaging just four attempts per game. How are you making that work? “We were throwing the ball a good bit and getting beat in the second round. I watched what teams like Dublin and Fitzgerald were doing, making it to the finals and winning championships, rotating quarterbacks and running the football and playing great defense. That’s been our formula. Running the ball and playing good defense usually travels good in cold weather and on the road, and that’s what you expect in the playoffs. We can throw, and kids can make plays [Swainsboro passed for more than 100 yards each of the first three rounds after never doing it in the regular season], but it fits our whole complementary football. If we can keep the chains moving and let the clock run, that’s what we want to do.”