Brewer football: Back-to-back road region wins have Patriots in good shape

This is no time to take the foot off the pedal for the Brewer football team, but at least the players can enjoy Homecoming against Sardis on Friday without worrying about the 5A, Region 8 race.

That’s because the Patriots beat Lawrence County 21-7 last Friday for their second consecutive region win.

They beat East Limestone 27-21 the previous week. Both were road victories.

“Any time you can go on the road and win back-to-back region games is a big deal,” said head coach Matt Plunkett.

While the wins improved Brewer’s record to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the region – not to mention 2-0 on the road – Plunkett knows his team is not yet a playoff contender.

But it’s getting closer.

“We are a work in progress as a football team and we have not reached our full potential as a team,” he said. “Commitment to success is a very big deal and we are eager to learn as a program what it takes to consistently play at a very high level.”

Strangely, it’s the Brewer offense that is lagging behind, according to Plunkett, who expected his offense to lead the way.

“Our offense is not playing at the level it’s capable of, and that’s my job as the head coach to get that fixed,” he said. “We are only averaging 19 points a game on offense and we need to be closer to 28 points a game to be a serious contender for a playoff spot in 5A football.”

The defense, though, has been a revelation.

“Our defense is playing well and giving our offense the ball,” Plunkett said. “Friday night, the Patriot defense forced six turnovers. Walker Latham had two interceptions and Austyn Holmes had one. Our defense recovered three fumbles.

“We also had a big goal-line stand to keep Lawrence County out of the end zone in the second half.”

Will Clemons had two big touchdown receptions against Lawrence County, one on a screen pass for 21 yards and the other on a Hail Mary right before halftime.

Garrett Clemons scored a big TD on an 18-yard fade route after the Brewer defense forced a turnover.

“Caden Childers threw a great pass and Garrett made the catch for a touchdown, “Plunkett said.

“All 21 points came from the Clemons boys.”

The last two weeks have Plunkett and his staff optimistic about the second half of the season.

“I’m proud of our team getting things turned around the last two weeks,” he said. “We are at the mid-point of the season and the drive to finish strong needs to be at an all-time high inside our program.

“I really hope we have the maturity as a team to do what it takes. We definitely have the potential.”

• In the 27-21 win over East Limestone on Sept. 9, Childers had over 200 yards of total offense:

101 yards and one TD rushing, and 160 yards and one TD passing.

DJ Burney also had a big game, scoring two touchdowns.