Geno Smith to roll with Tide, Crews and Irwin ready for Saturday

Geno Smith, the uber-talented cornerback from St. Pius X and charter member of the 2011 Score 44, pledged his commitment to the Alabama Crimson Tide Wednesday, ending a circus-like recruiting process that saw his top choices change with the weather. Ultimately Smith chose the Tide over the Auburn Tigers. He becomes the second member of the St. Pius defense to commit to an SEC program after linebacker T.J. Holloman declared several months back in favor of the South Carolina Gamecocks. The Golden Lions open the season at Westminster on August 26, a game that can be seen on GPB.org/sports… It is tough defending a title any year, but factor in a loss of six starters on each side of the ball and Mark Crews and the Brookwood Broncos face a tall task this season in Class 5A. The Broncos open the season this Saturday against the Lassiter Trojans, the first game on a daunting schedule for the defending champs. “We hope to be prepared for an awfully tough schedule, starting with Lassiter in the Corkey Kell (Classic) at the Georgia Dome,” said Crews earlier this summer about his team’s preparation…Meanwhile Lassiter coach Jep Irwin only answered “August 20 vs. Brookwood,” when asked about any games in particular he had circled this season as important…Lassiter will be without a standout from the past few seasons in running back Tyren Jones, who transferred to Walton. The Trojans will still have Eddie Printz under center however and Colquitt County coach Rush Propst, in a story on foxsports.com, said he believed Printz could be better than former Lassiter product Hutson Mason.