Greenbrier tops rival Lakeside

Greenbrier's 16-9 win over rival Lakeside on Friday was about as sloppy as a win could be, but it was still a win.

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The teams combined for six fumbles, three interceptions, a missed field goal attempt and two botched extra-point attempts. The penalties amounted to five for 34 yards for Lakeside and seven for 50 yards for Greenbrier. The starting quarterbacks combined to complete only 13 of their 44 pass attempts.

"In these rivalry games anything can happen." Greenbrier football coach Scott Chadwick said. "I thought it was just two defenses that played very, very well."

The showdown saw Lakeside jump out to a 3-0 lead after a 26-yard field goal by Michael Combs in the first quarter. Greenbrier's Tripper Mischel matched that with a 35-yard field goal later in the quarter.

The remaining offensive production from both teams came in the second quarter when Greenbrier's Salonick Amos caught a 21-yard touchdown pass and ran another in from 26 yards out. Lakeside quarterback Chad Chandler found Dustin Banks late in the first half for a 23-yard touchdown score for a 16-9 Greenbrier lead at halftime.

The rest of the game belonged to the defensive units.

Greenbrier's opening drive of the second half took up most of the third quarter, but Lakeside's defense held its ground and a 42-yard field goal attempt failed.

"I think the defense really responded well when we kept them out of the end zone," Lakeside football coach Jody Grooms said. "We did some good things. We were just unable to put some points on the board when we needed to."

Neither team scored in the second half, and Greenbrier's defense came up with the game-winning stop with just under two minutes left in the game.

Wolfpack senior Andrew Steyer picked off a Chandler pass on Greenbrier's 37 yard line to ensure the win and a 2-0 start to the season.

"We felt like we made some pretty good defensive adjustments in the second half," Chadwick said. "We were just disappointed with our offense because we didn't put points on the board."

Greenbrier quarterback Nick Richards, who didn't practice all week because of an ankle injury, injured his throwing hand early in the game. The senior went 4-for-16 for 76 yards and threw one touchdown and two interceptions.

"Give credit to their defense. They got some pretty good shots on me," Richards said. "It was all on our defense tonight. It was 16-9 at halftime, and to hold them to that - it just shows you how much better our defense has improved from last year to this year."

Lakeside (1-1, 0-1 Region 3-AAAA) will go to Evans (1-0, 0-0) on Friday. The Wolfpack (2-0, 1-0) will play host to Effingham County (1-1, 1-0) for Greenbrier's homecoming.