Today's interviewee is Lee County coach Dean Fabrizio, whose team defeated Valdosta 53-50 last week to take first place in Region 1-AAAAAA. Region 1 teams have won state titles each of the past four seasons. Lee has won the past two. Valdosta entered this game ranked No. 2 and with a chance to clinch the region title but fell short in an epic 103-point game with seven ties and nine lead changes.
Dean Fabrizio, Lee County head coach
1. What were the variables that led to such a wild game? "Well, to start with you have two great, experienced quarterbacks in Kyle Toole and Tate Rodemaker. Both played at a very high level. You had a lot of momentum swings on both sides, but each team never folded and responded each time. In addition, you had two teams playing at a fast tempo, which led to several more possessions for each than in a normal game. More possessions equals more points, obviously."
2. How did that game rate for you in terms of 48 minutes of suspense combined with the fact that it had a large bearing on how Region 1 will turn out? Have you ever been in a game quite like that? "That was a great, great football game to be a part of. The atmosphere was electric. You had two really good teams playing at a high level with a lot on the line. My hat's off to Valdosta. They have a great football team. We were fortunate to come out a couple points ahead on the scoreboard, but both teams were more than deserving to win that game."
3. Region 1 has several strong teams, as usual, but most of them have suffered a loss here and there that shows they are vulnerable. You lost to Peach County early in the season, for example. Do you feel that you and Valdosta are state contenders just as Region 1 teams have been the past few years? "If history is any indication, Region 1 will be a factor in the playoffs. I feel Valdosta definitely has to be rated as a state championship contender. As far as Lee County, I will leave that for other people to decide. Hopefully we can continue to improve each week."
4. Reflect back a moment on the Peach County game. Is Peach County that good, as they are ranked No. 1 in Class AAA, or was it a combination of them being good and your team still finding itself? "Peach is a very good football team, extremely well-coached with a host of talented players. They were clearly the better team that night. I don't want to take anything away from them and their performance. We graduated 10 starters off defense and six off offense from the year before. A lot of those kids just weren't quite ready for that type of big-game atmosphere. We made some adjustments both schematically and personnel-wise after that game that I feel have benefited us. We also feel like we have improved each week since then. We have gotten some guys back that were injured and couldn't play earlier in the season, as well."
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