Weekend goes well for teams

Columbia County's football teams had a good weekend with three teams in the win column. Evans, Greenbrier and Augusta Christian all picked up victories Friday night, and Lakeside and Harlem lost.

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At Pride Valley, a 20-year-old school record came crashing down when Augusta Christian junior William Banks returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. The score was part of a 42-14 Lions win over defending South Carolina Independent School Association Class AA state champion Hilton Head Christian.

Augusta Christian running back Jay Harmon scored three times on the night and finished with 124 yards on the ground, while Corey Critell added a 22-yard touchdown run. Placekicker Steven Bloedel went six for six on point-after attempts to help the Lions improve to 5-1 on the season.

Augusta Christian will hit the road Friday to open SCISA Region 1-AAA play with a game at Ben Lippen (5-1, 1-1).

Statesboro 21, Lakeside 0

Lakeside beat Statesboro in several categories Friday at home, but not on the scoreboard. The Panthers totalled more first downs (27-14), fewer punts (2-5), more total yards (360-217) and more completions (28-0) than the visiting Blue Devils. Lakeside's passing game put up 338 yards of offense, while Statesboro failed to complete a single pass.

The Blue Devils won 21-0 thanks to two rushing touchdowns and an interception returned for a score. Lakeside fell to 2-3 on the season and 1-3 in region play, while Statesboro (4-0, 3-0) sits in a tie atop the Region 3-AAAA standings with Evans.

Lakeside will next make the first of two trips to Brunswick on Friday, where the Panthers will take on the Pirates (3-1, 2-1) in another region contest.

Liberty County 32, Harlem 0

Harlem's second straight road trip ended in defeat Friday when the Bulldogs fell in a nonregion game at Liberty County.

Harlem, with a record of 1-3, has one more game before Region 3B-AAA play begins. The Bulldogs will play host to Burke County (2-2) on Friday.