Teams score highlights amid many fumbles in football season

Let's be honest. It hasn't exactly been the greatest football season Columbia County has ever seen.

It's not a total loss, however. Augusta Christian swept through with a strong regular season and ranked at No. 2 in the South Carolina Independent Schools Association for pretty much the entire year.

It appears the year will produce a losing record for our other county teams, but there are still highlights for each team. Check out these silver linings in an otherwise dark football cloud.

- Harlem has certainly underachieved this season, but the Bulldogs put up a strong showing at Washington County and scored more points (26) against the Region 3-AAA power than all its other region opponents combined. The 25-0 loss to Thomson was nothing to be proud of, but it was the second-lowest point total that Thomson's offense has been held to all season.

- Greenbrier's first year under head coach Scott Chadwick could have been better, but the Wolfpack made one of the greatest comebacks in school history against archrival Evans. Greenbrier quarterback Nick Richards' touchdown dive into the end zone with 1.4 seconds left in the game erased the last part of a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit for a 21-19 Greenbrier win. Richards has already thrown for more than 1,000 yards this season, and tailback Freddie Jones has rushed for more than 1,000 yards.

- Evans was literally one yard and two seconds away from sweeping the Columbia County schools, and the Knights entered this weekend as losers of five of their past six games. Quarterback Kevin Millward came into Friday's game with almost 800 yards passing. Millward threw for 212 yards and three touchdowns in a loss to Effingham County. His numbers as a punter, just more than 40 yards per punt, are probably good enough for an All-State selection.

- Lakeside's five straight losses entering Friday's play is hard for a young team to handle, but a 12-10 region win over the Academy of Richmond County early in the season was cause for celebration. The Panthers trailed 10-0 in the first quarter but battled back to tie the game heading into the fourth quarter. With 11 minutes left in the game, Lakeside's Jermel Bennett and Kyle Tau combined to sack Richmond quarterback Jacob Sullivan in the end zone for a game-winning safety.