Clint Thompson
THOMASVILLE — An unknown group entering the season, Cairo’s offensive line is quickly making a name for itself.
As the team attempts to make a third straight Class AAA championship game, keying that drive has been a rejuvenated rushing attack. Led by running back Laquinton Williams and an improved group along the line of scrimmage, Cairo has rushed for 404 yards the last two weeks. The offensive line will look for another dominating performance tonight when Cairo travels to Baldwin in the second round of the playoffs.
“It’s a group that’s probably taken a lot of heat during the year, mainly because I’m the one that’s coaching them,” Cairo coach Tom Fallaw said. “I’m pretty hard on them. I think they’re coming around. The good thing is we’re coaching about 16 kids down there everyday, and when you look at them, every single one of them is going to be back next year.
“It’s definitely been a learning process, and it’s been one that’s frustrating at times, but I would say they’ve responded and done a pretty good job here lately.”
Cairo’s offensive line that started a first-round win over Woodland, Henry last Friday night included left tackle, Burt McKenzie, left guard Marcus Holmes, center Chris Howell, right guard Zach Huff, right tackle Anthony Mosely and tight end Arthur Robinson. However, it was not the same unit that started the season against Bainbridge on Aug. 22.
“We’ve had probably no less than six different combinations, probably because of injuries and everything else,” Fallaw said. “That group that played (Friday night) has probably played together the last four or five games.
“It took a couple of weeks of playing together, but we kind of feel like they’re catching on and starting to make the right calls and things are starting to happen for us a little bit up front.”
The linemen are just six of 19 new starters this year for the Syrupmakers. As Fallaw will attest, this season has not only served as a learning process for his linemen, but for him as well.
“It was pretty much like starting over. It was almost like you went into a program where you were just named head coach and you had to start over. It was difficult,” Fallaw added. “You’re used to being at a certain level and you have to have patience. You’ve got to understand that the kids are going to keep getting better. There are times that you get frustrated, but I think the kids did a good job in believing in what we do. They’ve gotten better as we’ve gone along.”
