Harlem will hit the road this week

Augusta Christian head coach Bruce Lane didn't need to come up with any inspiring pregame pep talk when the Lions prepared for their home game against Ben Lippen last Friday.

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He needed only to point to the bulletin board in the locker room where the SCISA state rankings had been posted.

A panel of South Carolina sportswriters had ranked Augusta Christian at No. 5 in the state behind three other teams in the region. One of those teams, fourth-ranked Ben Lippen, was at Pride Valley on Friday night.

"Last night for the first 28 minutes of the ball game, which is when our starters were in there, that was probably the most inspired I've seen our kids play," Lane said. "I think they kind of took it personally that we were ranked below Ben Lippen. I think that was mentioned a couple of times in practice."

Augusta Christian made a statement with a 51-38 win over visiting Ben Lippen. The Lions led 51-14 after scoring on their opening drive in the second half. Lane pulled his starters after the score, and Ben Lippen scored 24 fourth-quarter points.

It wasn't enough to keep Augusta Christian from earning its first region victory of the season.

The Lions (6-1, 1-0) will face Cardinal Newman (3-4, 0-2) for Augusta Christian's homecoming Friday.

Burke County 15, Harlem 13 (3 OT)

It took visiting Burke County three overtime periods to knock off Harlem on Friday night. Harlem fell behind 7-0 in the first quarter but tied the game on the final play of the first half.

Bulldog quarterback Wesley Morris found Mike Leverett for a 53-yard touchdown to end the second quarter and enter halftime tied at 7-7.

Neither team scored in the second half or first overtime period, and both missed field goal attempts in the second overtime period. Harlem scored a touchdown in the third overtime on Morris' 17-yard pass to Ky Arnold, but the two-point conversion attempt failed. That set up Burke County for a touchdown and the game-winning two-point conversion on the next possession to escape with a victory.

Harlem (1-4) will next open up Region 3B-AAA play with a game at Glenn Hills (3-2)

Lakeside 7, Brunswick 24

The Panthers hung with Brunswick for most of the first half Friday night, but a pair of second-half Brunswick touchdowns added to the lead in a 24-7 Pirate win.

The Brunswick homecoming game saw Lakeside pass for more than 200 yards. Panther receiver Levi Hanks made six catches for 100 yards, but it wasn't enough offense to prevent the loss.

The Panthers (2-4, 1-4) will return home to face Ware County (3-2, 3-1) in another region game Friday.

Statesboro 40, Greenbrier 17

A pair of fourth-quarter Blue Devils touchdowns late in the game made the score look worse than the game really was Friday in Statesboro. The Wolfpack trailed by only nine points late in the game after quarterback Nick Richards found Ben Turner in the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown pass.

Statesboro retaliated with 14 points in the final five minutes of the game to seal the win. Richards threw for 162 yards on the night, but the Wolfpack ground game totalled only 32 yards.

Statesboro added to its undefeated record thanks to 320 yards on the ground and another 102 yards through the air.

Greenbrier (3-3, 2-3) will face Brunswick (4-1, 3-1) at home in an important Region 3-AAAA game Friday.