BROOKLET — The Southeast Bulloch Yellow Jackets scored on their first seven possessions as they opened the new Fred Shaver Field in style Friday night, rolling past the Montgomery County Eagles 63-25.
    “I’m very thankful for the huge crowd who enjoyed the success of our team in the inaugural game here at Fred Shaver Field,” said Yellow Jacket Head Coach Pat Collins.
    Antonio McMillian and Corey McCollum each scored three touchdowns in the first half for the Yellow Jackets, who improved to 2-0 on the season.
    The Yellow Jackets’ defense consistently put their offense in excellent field position as the longest scoring drive for SEB in the first half was only 64 yards. The Yellow Jackets also scored on drives of 33, 41, 26, 4, 25 and 55 yards all while rushing for more than 200 yards in the half.
    Defensively, the Yellow Jackets didn’t allow the Eagles (0-2) to get a first down until midway through the second quarter. In fact, Montgomery County had 10 plays in the first half that went for zero or negative yards.
    “I was proud of our starters as they were able to take care of business in a couple of quarters, and that allowed us to get valuable experience for some other boys who are at practice,” Collins said.
    “We were able to create some memories that will last a lifetime for a lot of people,” he continued. “That’s what makes high school athletics so special is the memories they make with their teammates and classmates.”
    McMillian opened the scoring with a 17-yard run in which he was able to outrace the defense to the corner of the end zone. After a defensive stop, junior Tyler Epps scored on a 12-yard run to give SEB a 14-0 lead.
After another three-and-out, it was McCollum’s turn to score, as he was on the receiving end of a Cole Carter pass for a 26-yard touchdown.
    McMillian added touchdown runs of 27 and 3 yards while McCollum scored from 4 and 25 yards out to give SEB a 49-6 lead at halftime.
    The 63 points scored were the most by an SEB team since the Yellow Jackets scored 64 points against Jeff Davis in 2002.
    Justin Youmans and Michael Davis added touchdown runs in the second half to complete the scoring for SEB.
    Undermanned Montgomery County, which only has 27 players listed on its roster, was led by quarterback Jared Quarterman, who ran for 119 yards on 15 carries and passed for 93 yards and a touchdown. Most of Quarterman’s damage came in the second half against the Yellow Jackets’ backups.
Prior to the game, a ceremony was held to honor Fred Shaver, who was instrumental in bringing football to Southeast Bulloch and who led the Yellow Jackets to back-to-back state titles in the early 1970s. Both the current field and the previous one were named after Shaver.
“We’re so thankful for the community and the Board of Education for helping us get this first-class facility,” Collins said. “This is as nice of a facility as I’ve worked at in my 23-year career. It’s great for the kids, and that’s the most important thing.”
Southeast Bulloch is off next week before returning to action on Sept. 21 against Telfair County.