A change in offense leads to G.W. Long win

SKIPPERVILLE — After an 0-3 start, G.W. Long head coach George Kennedy and offensive coordinator Scott Horne knew changes had to be made.

The Pistol offense — a wide-open attack with the quarterback lined in a shotgun formation — just didn’t seem to fit the hard-nosed personality of the G.W. Long football players.

At a Sunday afternoon coaches meeting, the Pistol was fired.

“We liked it, but weren’t able to control the clock like we wanted to,” Kennedy began. “Against New Brockton (28-27 loss), we were on the field on defense for 72 snaps. I don’t think in my career I’ve ever had a defense on the field 72 snaps.”

The Rebels returned to the power offense of the ‘I’ formation, and returned to the winning side for the first time in 17 games with a 26-21 upset victory at Elba on Friday night.

“For the first time this season, we never got in the shotgun,” Kennedy said. “We were under center from start to finish. We felt like we got stronger as the game went on.”

Elba went into the game unbeaten and appeared to be the team to beat in Class 2A, Region 2.

The Tigers led 21-13 before G.W. Long rallied with two late touchdowns to pull off the victory.

The game-winner came when Dewayne Whigham broke loose on a 74-yard run with just over three minutes left in the game.

“We sealed the linebacker and he took off,” Kennedy said. “We didn’t know he was that fast. We decided he’s a lot faster in the games than in practice.“

Whigham brings a different mindset to game night.

“At practice and stuff, I don’t try to be Mr. Hero,” Whigham said. “In the game, it’s all on the line. You can’t catch me.”

Well, Elba did actually catch Whigham on one long run — barely.

After Elba had taken the 21-13 advantage, Whigham received the kickoff and returned it 95 yards before being tackled two yards short of the goal line, mainly because he got tangled up with his lead blocker.

“I juked to the inside and my blocker (Tyler Moates) was running beside me, and I was trying to tell him to get on my left side,” Whigham said. “As he was coming over, he tripped and I almost tripped. I saw No. 4 and he got me.”

Quarterback Mason Stevens scored shortly thereafter on a 2-yard run, and the Rebels had pulled within 21-19 to set the stage for the eventual upset.

“The turning point of the whole game was when we ran the kickoff back to the 2 and then Mason Stevens scored,” Kennedy said. “I felt our confidence was on the upswing and they (Elba) were thinking why are they (Long) still in the game?”

The win was Kennedy’s first at the school since the veteran coach took over before last season. Like with the players, the losing streak was taking a toll on Kennedy.

“It’s been horrible,” Kennedy said of losing. “I even apologized to the cheerleaders. I’m just glad after all the hard work they (players) put in, they now see some success.”

Kennedy could see his team getting close to turning the corner.

“We had gotten to the stage where we were competing every Friday night,” Kennedy said. “We talked 20 minutes last Monday about eliminating mistakes.

“We were averaging about five turnovers a game. We had one on Friday night.”

And things finally fell into place for the Rebels.

“A little effort, a little intervention from upstairs,” Kennedy said. “We’ve kind of been snake bit the whole time I’ve been here.

“Things finally went the right way.”