The turn of the
millennia caused quite a stir all over the country.
Y2K was a scare that turned into a punch line, but there
was nothing funny about the end of the 20th Century for
Tift County football.
There was no
way to go but up for the Devils in 2000.
Unfortunately, the Devils only went up a little bit.
The Devils' 1-9
season in 1999 was followed by a 2-8 campaign in 2000.
Coach Bob Stinchcomb's two year reign saw Tift win three
games total and one in the region. Stinchcomb even
got a Gatorade bath after his win against Coffee.
In six losses
against Worth County, Valdosta, Ware County, Colquitt
County, Lowndes and Bainbridge in 2000, the Devils
allowed 251 points.
There were some
individual bright spots. Zach Ellis passed for
1,988 yards for the Devils and went on to star at
Presbyterian. In his career, Ellis threw over
3,800 yards and is in the top five for all-time passing
yards at Tift County.
In 2001, Tift
County saw the return of one of its favorite sons.
Tommy Seward, a man who stood by Gene Brodie for
decades, returned from Houston County to take the helm
of the Devils' ship.
Immediately,
Seward's influence paid off. Josh Allen was moved
from defensive back to quarterback and became a force.
Soon, Tift was 4-1 and walking tall.
But a funny
thing happened on the way to the playoffs. A week
after rededicating the stadium as Gene Brodie Field,
Coffee came to town to take on the Devils.
Agruably the
luckiest team in the state, Bonwell Royal's team was
undefeated with one tie. The Trojans earned a
18-18 tie against Fitzgerald. A late fumble earned
Coffee a 16-15 win over Bainbridge. A PAT off the
goalpost earned them a 7-6 win over Ware County.
In an odd game in which Lowndes barely possessed the
football in the second half, Coffee squeaked out a 17-13
win.
The night
against Tift, in a bizarre finish that saw fans coming
on the field too early twice, Coffee received an
overtime win based on penetration.
Oh by the way,
Coffee scored all three of its touchdowns that game on
fumble recoveries.
From that point
on, Tift went 1-3 and failed to make the playoffs.
The next year,
Seward's team made the playoffs. In one memorable
game against Fitzgerald, Allen threw a school-record six
touchdowns. Louis Brown caught 14 passes and three
of those TDs.
The biggest win
of the year came on Senior Night against Colquitt
County. Down 20-7 at the half, Allen went crazy
leading Tift all the way back for the 35-28 win.
Allen rushed 17 times for 107 yards and threw for over
200 more keeping Colquitt out of the playoffs for the
first time in 11 years.
In 2003, Tift
narrowly missed the playoffs with a late loss at
Colquitt County. Even though the Devils missed the
playoffs, there were some bright spots.
Forced to start
because of injuries, Donnie Cullins burst upon the scene
throwing for 927 yards despite taking a beating behind a
young offensive line.
In 2004, Seward
hung his cleats after a 5-5 season, Seward's rebuilding
job reached a peak when Tift crushed Valdosta 34-2
raising its record to 5-1. It marked the first
time in history the "Mercy Rule" was applied to the
Cats. The Devils were ranked No. 8 in the state
Journal-Constitution poll on October the 4th.
Another in a series of baffling losses to Coffee,
however, started a spiral that saw Tift finish 5-5 and
just out of the playoffs.
Standouts in
the first half of the 2000 decade include quarterbacks
Ellis, Allen, and Cullins. Mario Collier was a
blistering linebacker in 2001. Xavier Jordan was
an all-around player for Tift in 2002. Maurice
Daughtry had school-record 68 catches in 2000.
K.B. Lester had over 500 yards rushing in 2001.
