Lakeside pummels Jones 33-6
After taking a tough region loss on the road to fall to 1-1 in region play, Lakeside showed true resilience one week later on Friday night with a key win in Region 2-AAAA play.
Lakeside's Chris Drayton dives over the goal line for the first touchdown of the game early in the first quarter against Jones County. The senior tailback rushed for three touchdowns and threw for one, leading the Panthers to a 33-6 win. Lakeside's record is 3-3 overall, 2-1 in Region 2-AAAA.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
Energized by a homecoming atmosphere, Lakeside's victory was never in doubt as the Panthers defeated region opponent Jones County 33-6.
"Our third-down conversions were big," Lakeside Head Coach Randy Hill said. "We did things offensively that we needed to do."
Lakeside's offense wasted no time in treating the homecoming crowd to a 14-0 lead after one quarter.
The scoring came from senior tailback Chris Drayton on runs of 12 and 54 yards.
He wasn't done yet.
Drayton rushed for his third touchdown of the game with an eight-yard run late in the third quarter to give the Panthers a 21-6 lead heading into the final quarter.
Drayton still wasn't done.
To begin the fourth quarter, Drayton took to the air with a 16-yard touchdown pass to senior Jason McCall to increase the Lakeside lead to 28-6.
A 37-yard field goal off the foot of Lakeside's Dmitri Pelaez and a Jones County safety gave the Panthers the 33-6 win.
Though Drayton gets the credit for the touchdown runs, it was Panther quarterback Travis Azar who had a hand in three of Drayton's four scores.
Azar ran the option to perfection against Jones County's defense, making two pitches to Drayton for two touchdown scores.
Drayton's touchdown pass also came with Azar's help. Drayton, lining up in the tailback position, took the pitch from Azar before firing the ball to the end zone for Lakeside's fourth touchdown of the game.
"Azar made some good leads tonight," Drayton said. "The line worked hard, too."
The Panthers overcame 17 penalties for 140 penalty yards in the win.
The victory gives Lakeside a 3-3 overall record and 2-1 record in Region 2-AAAA play. Lakeside will next travel to Statesboro (6-0, 3-0) for one of the Panthers' toughest region contests of the season.
Harlem 14,
Glenn Hills 7 (OT)
Brendan Gray's late game heroics for Harlem forced the Bulldogs into overtime with Glenn Hills before Harlem claimed a 14-7 win on the road.
In a tie ball game with eight seconds left in regulation, Glenn Hills was set for a potential game-winning field goal. Gray blocked the attempt to keep Harlem's hopes alive for overtime play.
In overtime, Harlem fullback Barry St. John scored on a six-yard run for the win.
The Bulldogs' ground game regained their footing this week rushing for 223 yards including Gabe Greer's one- yard touchdown run to tie the game in the third quarter.
Harlem (4-3, 2-1) will play host to Butler (1-5) Friday night.
Augusta Christian 21, Porter-Gaud 14
Playing host to the No. 4 team in SCISA, Augusta Christian bounced back from last week's road loss for a 21-14 win over Porter-Gaud.
Senior quarterback Lee Banks led a ground attack that tallied 236 yards and threw for 127 yards, including a 54 yard touchdown strike to Austin Greene.
Greene grabbed two catches for 72 yards in the win while Brad Meister scored what would prove to be the game- winning touchdown on a one-yard run in the third quarter.
The Lions (5-1, 0-1) will next play host to Cardinal Newman (3-2) on Friday.
Evans 7,
Statesboro 35
Region 2-AAAA powerhouse Statesboro defeated Evans in front of the Knights' homecoming crowd Friday in a 35-7 Blue Devil win.
Statesboro, ranked No. 2 in the state, scored two rushing touchdowns in the first quarter, then took to the air for scores in the second and third quarters before sealing the win with a three-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter.
Evans quarterback Kevin Millward found Wes Baxter in the end zone for a two yard score and the Knights' only touchdown of the game.
Evans (0-6, 0-3) will face Effingham County (2-4, 1-2) Friday night on the road for another Region 2-AAAA contest.
Greenbrier 17,
Wayne County 21
In a region road game, Greenbrier came up short at Wayne County Friday night 21-17.
The Wolfpack held Wayne County to only 181 total yards of offense but allowed three different Yellow Jackets to find the end zone on the ground. Greenbrier also gave up an interception and lost four fumbles in the loss.
The Wolfpack (3-3, 2-1) will return home Friday against Baldwin (3-3, 2-1).