Most county teams suffered losses during weekend

It wasn't the best weekend of football Columbia County has seen this year. Four of the five teams in the county picked up losses during the weekend.

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The lone winner was Augusta Christian, who won for the first time ever at Heathwood Hall in the Lions' biggest region game so far this season.

Augusta Christian 42, Heathwood Hall 21

A pair of first-quarter touchdowns in Columbia, S.C. gave the visiting Lions the momentum and lead in a key region game at Heathwood Hall. Augusta Christian eventually doubled up its rival in a win that clinched a home game in the first round of the SCISA Class AAA state playoffs.

Micah Herriman and Matt Rogers each picked off passes in the first quarter to help set up senior Jay Harmon for the two touchdown runs to take a 14-0 lead. Tyler Bourdo's 74-yard interception return for another score gave the Lions a 21-7 lead at halftime.

William Banks and Corey Critell increased the advantage with a pair of touchdown runs in the third quarter, and Banks added another score in the fourth.

The Lions' ground attack averaged over 6.8 yards per rush to finish with 334 yards on 49 carries.

The win was the first ever for the Lions at Heathwood Hall and kept Augusta Christian (8-1, 3-0 Region 1-AAA) in a tie for the top spot in the region standings with Hammond (8-1, 3-0).

The Lions will play host to Hammond, the defending SCISA Class AAA state champions, on Friday.

Ware County 17, Greenbrier 10

Greenbrier's hopes at a state playoff bid this year took a hard shot with a seven-point loss to Ware County on the road. The Wolfpack trailed 17-0 in the third quarter but looked poised for another miracle comeback after limiting the home team to only 37 yards of total offense in the second half.

"I'll go to battle with these kids anytime," Greenbrier football coach Scott Chadwick said. "We were down 17-0, but there was no doubt in anybody's mind that we weren't going to quit. They were predicted to win the region at the beginning of the year, and we went toe-to-toe with them for four quarters."

A late rally began in the third quarter when junior Bryan Andrews scored from two yards out. Tripper Mischel added the extra point and connected on a 31-yard field goal with just over six minutes left in the fourth quarter to bring Greenbrier to within a touchdown.

A last-minute potential scoring drive ended with a turnover on downs when quarterback Nick Richards stumbled on a busted cleat and failed to pick up the first down.

Greenbrier (4-4, 3-4 Region 3-AAAA) is now in seventh place in the region and a game and a half out of a tie for fourth place and a state playoff bid with two region games left. The Wolfpack face a must-win situation this Friday when they return home to face Glynn Academy (5-2, 4-2).

Glynn Academy 25, Lakeside 0

Glynn Academy punched in a last-second touchdown run in the final minute of the fourth quarter to increase its shutout to 25-0 in Brunswick. The Terrors scored three times in the fourth quarter on a safety, a field goal and a 1-yard touchdown run to improve to 4-2 in region play.

Lakeside (2-6, 1-6 Region 3-AAAA) saw quarterback Chad Chandler throw for over 100 yards in the loss, but the Panthers never got inside Glynn Academy's 30 yard line.

The Panthers will play their final home game of the season this Friday when Wayne County (1-6, 1-5) comes to town for a region contest.

Brunswick 24, Evans 6

Evans' undefeated record came to an end on Thursday night in Brunswick when the home Pirates dominated the Knights in an 18-point victory.

The Knights (6-1, 5-1 Region 3-AAAA) now sit in a tie for first place with Ware County (6-1, 5-1) for the top spot in the region standings. Evans will play host to Ware County this Friday.