Panthers Edge LaGrange, 25-18; Cavaliers, Lafayette Christian Win
Grangers head football coach Dialleo Burks could not have been prouder of his team even if they had won, and they didn’t.
LaGrange High closed out an 0-10 season on Friday night on the road, but the Grangers played some “lights out” football in a heartbreaking 25-18 loss to the Chapel Hill Panthers in a Region 5-AAAA game in Douglasville.
“We had the mindset to win, and we hit some big plays. We fought hard for four quarters. We never gave up. We battled through adversity the whole year. We just couldn’t finish, and this hurts,” said Burks.
What the Grangers did do was rally from a 14-0 first half deficit. La-Grange High finally took the lead at 18-17 in the fourth quarter. But the Panthers answered by scoring the final eight points of the game to pull out the region victory.
LaGrange High scored earlier in the game on a Cornell Kendrick 3-yard touchdown run, a Matt Rainey third quarter field goal and a Charles Crawford 6-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end C.J. Scott in the fourth period.
The Grangers also scored on a Koby Patton run for a two-point conversion. The Callaway High Cavaliers did what the Grangers couldn’t – Callaway won on the road. The Cavaliers beat Spencer, 38-7 in Columbus in Region 5AA play.
Callaway High was in control with a 14-0 first quarter lead, a 14-7 halftime advantage and a 177 third period lead. The Cavaliers outscored the Green Wave, 21-0 in the fourth period.
The Cavaliers are now 8-1 overall with a 3-1 region record. Lafayette Christian also had a fantastic Friday night in a 56-31 win over the Twiggs Academy Trojans in a region game in Jeffer-sonville. Lafayette Christian took a lead of 42-12 in the first half.
“We were grinding it out and executing. We were the better team, and this was a good night for our boys,” said Lafayette Christian head football coach Nate Shaw.
Senior running back Jacob Lueken was the star of the game for the Cougars. He had 17 carries for 213 yards. Lueken also caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Lafayette Christian junior quarterback Landon Whitley.
In the second quarter the Cougars also got a 70yard kickoff return from Whitley for a touchdown. Lafayette Christian scored on a Whitley 35-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Knox Evert in the fourth period as well. Evert is usually a Cougar offensive tackle, but as it turns out he can catch the ball, too.
Lafayette Christian concluded its season at 2-7 overall and 1-4 in the region.
