Sports

Cats line must regroup

• After allowing five sacks against Green Bay, a South Georgia offensive line fighting injuries prepares for a dominant Florida defensive front.

Paul Dehner Jr.

ALBANY — On Saturday night, offensive lineman Seth Cook looked across the line of scrimmage at one of the most physical defensive fronts in the af2.

He held down the tackle spot. His job was to protect new quarterback Andrico Hines on the blind side.

Coach Derek Stingley knew this would be no easy task under normal circumstances. Take the fact this was Cook’s first regular season arena football game and it becomes overwhelming.

“There’s a lot of carryover (from the outdoor game), then there is a lot that is different,” Cook said. “I am getting adjusted to the parts that are different.”

Cook started as the team juggles personnel after an injury to starting center Donald Usry.

Fortunately, for the Wildcats, a patchwork line dealing with new players held up long enough to allow Hines to throw five touchdowns and run for another in a 55-48 win.

Though, it did allow five sacks.

The number may seem high, but all aspects considered it was considered a strong effort by coach Derek Stingley.

But with a Florida Firecats team coming to town whose undeniable strength is on the defensive line, the Wildcats know they need to clear up any questions — and fast.

“We are going to do a better job of coaching, getting guys prepared and get better at that position,” Stingley said. “Looking back on film, it wasn’t a bad day. Protection broke down at times, quarterback held the ball too much at times and receivers didn’t get open at times.

“I think if you understand Andrico’s first game, Seth’s first game with four practices, we just didn’t get a lot of reps where we needed them.

Hopefully we can get that this week.”

Usry is still two weeks away from being able to play after being placed on injured reserve. Courtney Youngplayed both on the offensive and defensive lines in last Saturday’s win and will likely do the same on Saturday.

HINES HONING

New Wildcats quarterback Andrico Hines performed well in his first start on Saturday.

He threw five touchdowns, ran for another and only had one interception.

Hines only dealt with a portion of the playbook, but his savvy in the pocket, consistently buying time for the wideouts impressive Stingley.

“Thought we did a good job of waiting for the receivers to go downfield and see what was happeneing,” Stingley said. “Sometimes he would get sacked, but then we took another shot at it. It didn’t matter as long as he gave us another fighting chance.”

Hines went to his old running mate Antwone Savage in the waning moments, throwing a 27-yard score to win the game.

He hopes to develop the same chemistry he and Savage have with the other receivers as soon as possible.

“It’s just timing more than anything,” he said. “Understanding how everybody does everything. We have a nice recieving corps and everybody comes in and out. For me, it is understanding what they see and what we see. It’s a matter of trying to find out where everybody is mentally.

DAMRON IN WAITING

Recently acquired lineman Darin Damron was absent for the Wildcats during Saturday night’s game against Green Bay.

Damron was suspended for two games. It wasn’ t a punishment, however. Damron was given time away for personal reasons.

He is allowed to return any time after the suspension lifts.

FINDING FLORIDA

Nobody needs to tell the South Georgia Wildcats about the importance of beating the Florida Firecats.

A win against them last year marked the team’s lone playoff win in franchise history.

The Wildcats also beat Florida three times last season. They will play three more in the regular season this year.

The first of those comes Saturday.

Despite the rivalry, the team has hung on to a focused, big-picture attitude.

“It is the biggest game because it is the next game. Florida is a big rivalry, but they are our next opponent,” Hines said. “We have our work cut out for us against them, we have to come out and play hard and try not to turn the ball over and hopefully we can get the win.”

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