Panthers rally again for region victory

Lakeside now has a reference point for each time it faces a game like it did Friday.

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The Panthers, who were shocked by Glenn Hills on Sept. 19 after they had led 14-0, have come from behind in the second half to win each of the past two weeks.

The latest was Friday's 18-16 win over Hephzibah. Panthers kicker Michael Combs booted a 48-yard field goal in the third quarter that proved the winner.

"I told the guys don't let this be Glenn Hills," Lakeside linebacker Cody Marsh said. "We're not going to do this all over again."

The win was the Panthers' second in two weeks after they held off Harlem. Lakeside improved to 2-2 in Region 3-AAAA to stay alive in the playoff race after having dropped its first two region games.

The Panthers face another test Friday when they play host to Richmond Academy, which has started the season 4-1. They have a lot to draw on after the past two weeks.

Lakeside led the Rebels 15-0 after the first quarter Friday, only to allow Hephzibah to score 16 before halftime.

But Lakeside turned it around.

"We beat a good football team (Friday)," Panthers coach Jody Grooms said. "We knew coming into this game this was one of those games we'd have to have."

Lakeside drove 71 yards to open the game and capped the drive with Chris Hartfield's 1-yard scoring run. The Panthers then recovered a fumble on Hephzibah's first possession and turned it into another score on quarterback Chad Chandler's pass to Chris Tynan.

Hephzibah responded with a 6-yard Demetrius Washington touchdown run. Rebels quarterback Connell Reddick then tossed a 37-yard touchdown pass to Gary Robinson.

"We had taken over momentum," Hephzibah coach John Bowen said. "We were running at them pretty good."

But the Panthers had been in that situation before. The Rebels were driving for a third score in the quarter when Marsh forced Robinson to fumble.

Lakeside's defense held the rest of the way, and Combs' kick had plenty of leg.

"In a game like that, 55 yards and in we'd have tried him," Grooms said. "... And dadgum, he spanked it."

Augusta Chronicle staff writer Chris Gay contributed to this report.