Lakeside picks up messy win
Randy Hill was fired up Friday night.
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Westside High School running back Ben Millar turns the corner during the Patriots' home game Friday against the Lakeside Panthers. Lakeside defeated Westside 13-12 for their first victory of the season.
Photo by Barry Paschal
The Lakeside High School football head coach stood on the field at Westside Stadium, surrounded by players, family and fans after his Panthers had just survived a 13-12 nail-biter.
"We did a good job tonight," Hill said, "but we've got to clean things up."
Things did get a bit messy in Friday's game. The Panthers' win came after Westside kicker Sanders Cummings missed two potential game-winning field goals in the final two minutes of the game. Lakeside was flagged nine times for 80 yards, twice as much as Westside. The Panthers also fumbled three times, but lost possession only once.
Despite the mishaps, the Panthers' numbers were still an improvement from the previous week. Lakeside fumbled 10 times against Washington-Wilkes in the season opener.
"We did better on offense," Hill said. "We're going to start improving each week."
The team also improved in other areas. Lakeside spread the ball out more with nine Panthers recording at least one carry. The team rushed for 139 yards on 43 carries, but no one Panther rushed for more than 50 yards.
The improvements come just in time for Lakeside.
"We start region next week so we needed this win," Lakeside starting quarterback Chris Drayton said.
Friday night marks the beginning of Region 2-AAAA play for Lakeside (1-1), with Effingham County (0-2) coming to town.
Evans 14, Jefferson County 21
The Knights dropped their second straight game Friday despite a late 14-point rally.
Evans fell behind early 14-0 with a high-charged Warrior rushing game scoring twice in the first half. Evans fought back with touchdown runs of 1 and 2 yards from Ben Rouse and James Cullen, respectively, to tie the game at 14-14 early in the fourth quarter. Jefferson County took the lead for good with a Rodriguez Brown 44-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
The Knights allowed Jefferson County to rush for 257 yards in the loss.
Evans (0-2) will play host to Laney (2-0) Friday night.
Harlem 27, Hancock Central 30
Harlem's Brendan Gray is pulled down in the end zone by a Hancock Central defender for Harlem's first touchdown of Friday's game.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
Harlem built a 13-0 advantage after two quarters against Hancock Central with a 14-yard run from Brendan Gray and a 1-yard run from Barry St. John. The second half was a whole different ball game, with the Hancock Central offense exploding for 30 points to take the victory.
Hancock Central quarterback Brandon Nolley took over with three touchdown passes in the second half. Nolley completed 18 of 44 passes for 238 yards in the winning effort.
Harlem (1-1) will meet Jefferson County (2-0) at home on Friday.
Greenbrier 0, Morgan County 27
In Greenbrier's season opener, AA Morgan County shut out the visiting Wolfpack 27-0.
Bulldog Cameron Kiplinger scored two touchdowns for Morgan County in a game that saw four different Bulldogs score.
The Wolfpack (0-1) will play host to Westside (1-1) Friday night.
Thomson 0, Washington-Wilkes 10
The Bulldogs' home-opener was spoiled Friday with a 10-0 loss to Washington-Wilkes.
A surprise air attack caught Thomson off guard as Tiger quarterback Clete Wilson completed 7 of 8 passes for 106 yards, including two 25-yard passes on the same drive en route to the game's only touchdown.
Thomson's offense was held in check with quarterback Anthony Erwin failing to complete any of his four passes, and the Bulldog backs rushing for 107 yards on 36 carries.
Thomson (1-1) will play three of their next four games on the road starting Friday night at Liberty County (0-2).