The Metter Tigers took to the field Friday night looking to finally notch a win on the 2007 season. They were turned away once again though as the Patriots of Westside Augusta stormed into town, crashing the Metter homecoming party and doing some damage to the scoreboard as well while cruising to a 41-6 victory.

            Westside’s offense wasted no time kicking itself into gear. Just two minutes into the first quarter, Patriot quarterback Josh Edmunds found Eric Vivian for a 50 yard touchdown strike.

            Metter would attempt to answer, driving inside the Patriot red zone on their first possession. Westside would intercept Tiger quarterback Blake Williams however, giving the Patriots the ball and all the momentum that they would need for the night. Westside quickly capitalized on its good fortune as Edmunds rushed in from six yards out to push the lead to 14-0.

            The Patriot defense would continue to dominate, forcing a total of three turnovers in the first half. Each time the Westside offense was handed a short field, it was able to convert, running the halftime total to 27-0.

            “We started off slow and made a lot of mistakes early,” said Metter head coach Clay Hill. “Our region is a very tough one and we can’t afford to spot anyone twenty-seven points.”

            Despite the early deficit, the Tigers did come out of halftime with more bounce in their step.  Westside’s first drive of the half reached the Metter 25, but was thwarted when the Tiger defense intercepted an Edmunds pass. The Tigers were able to move the ball effectively, but were ultimately done in by turnovers once more. Two costly interceptions kept the ball in the Patriots’ possession for much of the quarter and by the time Metter finally reached the end zone, the lead had ballooned to 34-6. A fourth quarter touchdown brought the score to its final 41-6 margin and kept the winless Tigers (0-8) from attaining that elusive first victory.

            “I thought we played a little better in the second half,” said Hill. “We had some opportunities, but we just couldn’t capitalize. Things are tough right now and there’s no quick fix. We’ve just got to stay focused on our long term goals and work on building things up to where we want them to be.”

            The Tigers will go out looking for victory once more next Saturday as they host Screven County.