ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) — Dougherty head coach Uyl Joyner is WALB’s Coach of the Week after his team rallied from 16 points down to beat Cairo.

Joyner said the win was a product of his players’ effort throughout the season.

“I know our kids, they work hard, man, and we just never say die with these kids,” Joyner said. “The locker room just challenged them because all of my four-year guys, man, they should have bailed on me a long time ago, man. But they stayed with me, and I’m just happy for them.”

Second-half turnaround

Dougherty trailed at halftime before scoring a touchdown on its first drive of the second half. Joyner said he made an adjustment with his quarterback, Michael, during the game.

“Michael was pressing a little bit, trying to do it on his own,” Joyner said. “We just told him, man, use your legs, man, and get these balls out to these short guys and let them run for you, man. And he did that, man.”

Joyner also credited his receivers, including David Burgess.

“Our receivers, they did what they’ve been doing all year. They made plays for us, man,” Joyner said. “That doggone David Burgess, man. That kid is amazing. That number eight is amazing, man.”

Game-winning kick

Dougherty won the game on a field goal. Joyner said he trusted his kicker, Christian Hernandez, to make the attempt.

“Oh, no doubt, man. I just had to go pray a little bit, man,” Joyner said. “I’m wearing my guardian angels with me every day, man. And I had to pray a little bit, man. I knew Christian, man. This is probably one of the unsung heroes of this team, man. And he let it be known tonight that he’s one of our guys.”

Cairo called timeouts before the kick. Hernandez described his mindset in that moment.

“Honestly, the same thing that any kicker does. You know, a little bit of, honestly, fear,” Hernandez said. “But at the same time, that’s the moment when you find out what you’re truly made of. Because while they, yeah, they did give two timeouts, that just made me even more, you know, more truthful, you know, what I can do.”

Hernandez said the kick fulfilled a longtime goal.

“That last field goal was honestly a dream of mine since freshman year. Winning game, winning field goal, first in the region,” Hernandez said. “That’s just something anyone can dream of. And I’m just glad it was able to become reality for me.”

Team reaction

Micah Joyner said the win was a team effort.

“I feel great. I feel like it was a team effort today,” Micah Joyner said. “You know, thanks to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Without him, you know, we wouldn’t be put in this situation right now. You know, and this is a huge win.”

The win moved Dougherty to No. 1 in its region. Micah Joyner compared the postgame celebration to winning a championship.

“Yes, sir. That’s the feeling,” Micah Joyner said. “We’re the number one in the region. We’re coming to be region champions. This was like a region championship game, and we took it like a region championship game.”

Micah Joyner said the team’s goal is to reach the state championship.

“I feel like we’re going to make it to state. You know, that’s our goal,” Micah Joyner said. “The standard is the standard. We are a state championship, but that’s how we are thinking this year.”

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