Lions go the distance

William Banks didn't want to see another overtime after what had happened the week before.

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But the Augusta Christian quarterback and his teammates were hoping to get there again as Heathwood Hall lined up a potential game-winning field goal with 4.7 seconds left in regulation Friday.

The kick missed wide right and the Lions beat the Highlanders 35-31 with Banks' 7-yard touchdown scramble in overtime.

"I was thinking, 'We can't let this happen again,'" Banks said. "I didn't want it to come down to the other team missing a field goal."

A week earlier, the Lions had endured a four-overtime marathon to beat Ben Lippen. They only needed one overtime period Friday.

The Highlanders had first possession in overtime and kicker Cole Fowble put Heathwood in front with a 20-yard field goal. On the Lions' possession, Banks rolled left to pass on third down, changed his mind and sprinted to his right for the score.

"I was just thinking, 'Hold my guy,'" Lions running back Cole Turner said. "I turned around and saw him. That was crazy."

The Lions' win, coupled with Ben Lippen's upset Friday of defending state champion Hammond, left 2-0 Augusta Christian atop SCISA AAA-I standings.

Coach Bruce Lane's team will play at Hammond to end the year and have a region contest before then at Cardinal Newman. The Lions control their postseason fate after pulling out another thriller.

"I felt our kids were real resilient," Lane said.

With the Highlanders marching down the field in the fourth quarter, the Lions forced a fumble and recovered at their own 18 with 1:53 left. They were forced to punt, and the Highlanders 43-yard return again left them in good position.

But Fowble's kick from 21 yards was pushed wide right.

"I thought we had it," said Highlanders quarterback Mac Whalen, who threw for 249 yards. "We just have to move on."

Whalen also thought his team had the game in hand when he hit receiver Davis Ray on a slant pass the first play of overtime. But Ray was marked down at the 1, and the Highlanders were stopped on the next two plays.

The Lions scored twice in the second quarter, both on third-down plays, after Lane called timeout before each to set something up. Both times Banks hit receiver Evan Wells on touchdown passes. Wells added another touchdown grab and finished with six catches for 88 yards.

"That's just another dimension to our offense," Lane said. "Teams are going to see that they can't put eight or nine in the box. The last couple weeks we've gone vertical and had success."