Class A Div. I Blog: Swainsboro needs a rebound and 2025 is the perfect chance

After two-straight state championship appearances where they finished as runners-up in both games, last season was sour for the Swainsboro Tigers.

Under head coach Scott Roberts, the program finished 4-7 with a loss to Northeast-Macon in the first round of the playoffs, the team’s second four-win season under Roberts.

But returning experience could fuel the perennial playoff power to a deeper playoff run.

Leading the Tigers offense is senior quarterback Kason Edenfield who threw for 584 yards on 46 completions and threw two touchdown passes.

The run game will undergo a transition this year after the graduation of Bryson Tarver and Qindaruis Brown. Tarver had 894 yards on 94 carries with 12 rushing touchdowns while Brown totaled 705 yards on 121 carries and scored six touchdowns.

This season will be important for Jabios Smith and Marco Danford to step up in place of the previous two key running backs. Smith recorded 334 yards on 60 carries as he scored three touchdowns and Danford is just getting started after rushing for 261 yards on 36 carries with one rushing touchdown.

The receiver room is looking to make a big impact on offense this year with the top receiver being junior Shannon Benjamin. He tallied 321 receiving yards on 21 receptions and added two touchdown receptions with that.

Smith and Tarver were also key contributors on defense for Swainsboro last year, with Smith putting up 88 total tackles and five tackles for loss and Tarver collecting 40 total tackles and three tackles for loss. Along with that pair, Jayden Wilcher was solid defensively as he recorded 43 total tackles and two tackles for loss.

The top players in the secondary for the Tigers were Kamarion Dukes and Christian Tarver. Dukes had two interceptions and a pass defended while Tarver had one interception last season.

Swainsboro’s journey back to the state championship game starts with a road game against Duluth on August 15.

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