By Don Rowe
Special to The Dispatch
Columbus Air Force Base hosts an annual air show every summer, but a new aerial act took center stage locally Friday evening when Aberdeen (3-2) brought its own aerial show to Lowndes County and, when all was said and done, New Hope (0-5) found itself on the short end of a 40-7 setback.
Pulling the trigger for the Bulldogs’ aerial bombardment was senior quarterback Fred Fields, who completed 15 of 21 pass attempts to five different receivers good for 411 yards and four touchdowns. Two of his TD tosses covered 57 yards, while the other two went for 47 yards. He also had two other completions for 67 and 46 yards which accounted for 321 of Aberdeen’s total passing yardage, a nifty 53.5 average for his six longest completions – most of which were caught by wide open receivers with no New Hope defensive backs within five yards.
The Bulldogs also ran for an additional 178 yards on the ground and who else but Fields led the way with 93 yards on 12 carries, five of which went for 10 yards or more and capped by an incredible 24-yard TD scamper in the first half.
All told, Aberdeen’s potent offense racked up 597 total yards. On the flip side, the Bulldogs’ defensive unit held New Hope to 116 total yards – 91 yards rushing and 25 passing
After the Aberdeen’s first possession stalled at midfield, Fields’ aerial antics took off on the Dogs’ second series when he hooked up with sophomore wide receiver Tae Johnson for a 47-yd. touchdown with 5:14 left in the first quarter. Fields’ run for the 2-point conversion fell short when linebacker Kobe Matthews’ tackle-for-loss brought him down at the 4-yd. line.
Ironically enough, the number 57 figured prominently in the next two touchdowns as well as a third score in the second half as New Hope quarterback De’ajon Miller, subbing for injured Ryan Burt, ripped off a 57-yd. TD jaunt on a first-down keeper 23 seconds later. Ben Bradley split the uprights on the point after kick and New Hope had a short-lived 7-6 lead.
Miller’s touchdown was set up by a 17-yard kickoff return by Braylen Miller following Johnson’s touchdown reception.
Fields quickly answered for the Bulldogs four plays later when he found a wide open Brandan Williams on a 57-yd. scoring toss, but a dropped pass on the 2-point conversion left the score 12-7 Aberdeen.
New Hope’s next possession reached midfield on a 21-yard pass from Miller to Miller, but a pair of tackles behind the line of scrimmage and a bad snap stalled the drive back at the Trojan 43.
Aberdeen took possession at its own 27 following the ensuing New Hope punt and after a 9-yardetackle-for-loss, Fields hit Isaac Watson for 13, ran for 20 more on two carries and then hit a wide open Jaquan Jones from 47 yards out for the score.
Fields’ 2-pt. conversion pass sailed high to keep the score at 18-7 early in the second quarter. The Bulldogs lef 24-7 at halftime.
“Early on things looked promising, but when they (Aberdeen) scored their second touchdown, we kind of hung our heads,” said first-year New Hope coach Wade Tackett. “We’re a very young team, so we’re going to have to learn to fight through adversity and strive to improve. We’ve got to keep fighting and get over the hump.”
In addition to being a fairly young team, Tackett is also faced with the loss of several starters due to injury – including Burt, a 6-2, 190-pound junior quarterback. Also missing are two of their best defensive players out with concussions and a key offensive lineman.
“We’ve definitely been hit by the injury bug, but that’s not meant to be an excuse,” said Tackett. “With or without them, we’re going to have to get better.”
Bright spots in the one-sided loss to the Bulldogs, according to Tackett, came from De’ajon Miller and the front six defensively against the run.
“De’ajon stepped in at quarterback and did a fantastic job,” said Tackett, “and our front six on defense came up with some stops in the game when it counted.
Trojan defenders held Aberdeen (3-2) to 178 yards rushing, over half of which was credited to Fields (93). Williams, on the other hand, came into the game as the team’s second-leading rusher behind Fields with 314 yards (7.5 avg.) only to be held to zero net yards on six carries.
One area of concern for Tackett appears to be the defensive secondary that collectively got torched for over 400 yards on 16 completions, 10 of which went for 10 yards or better.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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