FORT BENNING, Ga., (Sept. 17, 2014) -- The Fort Benning Doughboys got off to a sluggish start Sept. 13 in their season opener at Doughboy Stadium against the Greenville Firebirds, but finished with a 36-0 rout of the Alabama amateur team.
While the Doughboy offense took four possessions in the first half to get on track, the defense, guided by schemes dialed up by defensive coordinator Allen Meek, kept the Firebird offense out of scoring position with pressure on Firebird quarterback Charles Drinhard.
The Doughboy's first score came on its fourth possession of the first quarter when quarterback Trivon Williams led the Doughboys on a six-play, 34-yard drive culminating in a touchdown on a 22-yard pass to Jonathan Smith. Place kicker Mario Ledezma added the extra point and the Doughboys led 7-0.
On their next possession, the Doughboys extended their lead to 13-0 when Jaron Turner rumbled 15 yards for the score with 12:27 remaining in the second quarter.
The defense continued to put pressure on the Firebird offense and registered four sacks in the first half and with the ball on their own 32-yard line, Vernon Bigham set up the Doughboys to score their next touchdown by blocking a Firebirds punt and returning it to the Firebird 9-yard line.
Two plays later, Courtney Anderson put up the score for the Doughboys with a 4-yard touchdown run. Ledezma added the extra point and the Doughboys led 20-0 with 9:33 remaining in the half.
With the Firebirds backed up on their own 7-yard line in punt formation, a bad snap slid on the wet grass out of the end zone resulting in a safety for the Doughboys and a 22-0 halftime lead.
Midway through the third quarter, the Doughboys put together an 11-play, 67-yard drive capped off by a seven-yard touchdown run by Anderson with 3:44 remaining in the third quarter. Ledezma added the extra point and the Doughboys led 29-0.
Three possessions later, the Doughboys were in the end zone for the final time following a four-play, 61-yard drive with Turner taking the ball into the end zone on a 44-yard run.
Following the game, Doughboys coach Jason Gibson said part of the reason the offense got off to a slow start was due to it being the first game of the season and the level of detail and nuances involved in an offensive system.
"On defense, you can just react and hit ... you can't see a lot of the mistakes," he said. "On offense, if one person makes a mistake, the whole thing is a mistake. We're just not where we want to be on offense. But, that's on me ... I have to be a little bit better prepared. ... But, with 36 points ... we did OK."
Gibson said he expected the passing game to mature more as the season progresses, but added he was pleased with the running game.
"I want to run the ball ... when you're in the Army you can run the football," he said. "I can throw if I want to and we have some really great guys, but, I think the passing will come down the road. The running is what's going to win games and keeps the defense off the field. Running establishes more of a physicality, which is what you would expect from Fort Benning."
Defensively, Gibson said the team played great. He attributed much of the success to Meek, his defensive coordinator.
"(Meek) did a great job getting players where they were supposed to be," he said. "We've got some great guys on defense that can play, but we have some guys that aren't going to be here the next couple of weeks which is going to hurt ... jobs first, football second.
The Doughboys defense recorded eight sacks, an interception, a fumble recovery and a safety. Jason Johnson and Javier Espitia led the Doughboys in sacks with 2.5 sacks each.
"They are pretty good," he said. "We can't block them in practice and I'm glad to see them doing it in the game, because I was wondering how bad we were in practice ... they kick our (offense) butts in practice. Allen (Meek) did a great job figuring out what we needed."
This week, the Doughboys play at home in Doughboy Stadium at 7 p.m. Sept. 20 against the Montgomery Buffaloes.
Admission is free.
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