Bright futures

LEESBURG — In nearly 40 years of having a GHSA football program, it’s no secret to many around Southwest Georgia that Lee County High School has never won it all.

Well, meet the team that hopes to one day change that.

The Lee County 11-and-12-year-old All-Stars, comprised of the best players from the local rec league’s seven regular-season squads, recently maneuvered its way through the Peach State’s best youth teams to win the Georgia Parks and Rec State Championship in Cartersville.

“Everyone knows that Lee County ain’t never won a state title,” said Richard Davis, proud grandparent of one of the players on the team. “These kids are the future of Lee County football.”

Coached by Bubba Snyder, Lee County qualified for state by winning a Thanksgiving tournament in Tifton.

“I think that was the first time a team from Lee County had even won the Turkey Bowl in something like 10 years,” Snyder said this week. “Not since the days of (former Florida State and current MLB prospect) D’Vontrey Richardson.”

Of course, even Richardson — arguably the best player to ever come out of the Trojans’ prep football program — could only led Lee County, 10-2 that year, to the second round of the state playoffs his senior season in 2005 in what’s still the most successful campaign in school history.

And Snyder agrees this group could have the makings to one day surpass that.

“These kids just never gave up the whole time; played hard every game,” Snyder said. “And now they’ve experienced winning early.”

After the Turkey Bowl came the state playoffs, where the path only got harder for Lee.

On Dec. 5, Lee County opened the GPRA State Tournament in nearby Americus against the Cedartown All-Stars.

Lee won that game, 28-12, behind what Snyder called a “spread out, team effort.”

“They looked really confident going into that first game,” Snyder began, “and I think they just got (more so) afterward.”

From there came a trip to the semifinals in Cartersville, where Lee County faced Calhoun out of Gordon County in North Georgia on Dec. 12.

And while the offensive output wasn’t nearly as high this time from Lee, an 8-6 final in favor of the little Trojans was good enough.

Especially with Lee County’s secret weapon, Cecil Kinny.

In GPRA youth football, an extra point is worth two points, rather than one, making the PAT attempts following each touchdown even more crucial.

And the difference in the semifinal win — highlighted by Lee County’s Austin Davis running back the opening kickoff for the Trojans’ only TD — ended up being Kinny’s kick after that score.

Calhoun did score on a 25-yard TD pass in the third quarter, but because its kicker missed the PAT, Lee County was able to hold on.

“Having a kid on your team that puts it through the uprights is huge,” said Snyder, whose son Jacob, and teammate Dextric Green led the team in interceptions with once each in the semifinal win. “Kinny did a great job and so did our defense to hold them off after we scored on the very first play and then never scored again.”

But Kinny, nor the defense, was done.

In the championship game on Dec. 13 the next day, Lee County faced a final showdown against the Baldwin County All-Stars.

Landon Cooper, who scored on a three-yard TD run — followed by a Kinny PAT — put Lee ahead early, 8-0. Then Kinney booted a 25-yard field goal with three second to go before halftime to put the Trojans ahead by two scores, 11-0.

“You’re not allowed to rush (the kicker) in this level of football, so we knew as long as he kicked it straight, it had a chance,” Snyder said. “We knew Cecil had the leg (to make it).”

In the third quarter, however, Baldwin County scored on a 50-yard running play to pull within 11-8, but Green and the Trojans responded on their next drive when he took a 50-yarder of his own to the house.

Kinney made yet another PAT to put Lee County ahead, 19-8, and the Trojans never looked back as Snyder credited his defense for the shutdown effort, including stellar play by Tyler Boutwell, Josh Pollock and Ronald Wilson.

“We were all really proud of the kids and I hope it’s a sign of good things to come for them and Lee County football,” Snyder said. “Just to make it to the finals was a victory in itself for a (town) not known for its football.”

And maybe — just maybe — a few years from now, that will all finally change.