Counting down Southwest Georgia’s Top 10 sports stories of 2014; No. 6: Lee County football enjoys strong season

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Herald’s sports staff has chosen Southwest Georgia’s Top 10 sports stories from 2014. Today marks the fifth of the 10 we’ve picked as having a significant influence as we count down to No. 1, which will appear in the Jan. 1 addition. Look for No. 5 in Sunday’s Herald.

LEESBURG —Dean Fabrizio still smiles when fans ask him about Lee County’s 2014 football season.

While most believe an 8-3 record and a playoff berth is somewhat average for solid high school football teams, nobody gave Lee County a chance when the Trojans had to move up to Class AAAAAA and compete in Region 1, perhaps the strongest region in the state.

The Trojans, the smallest Class 6A school in the state, had momentum after winning the Region 1-AAAAA title in 2013, but a school more known for its baseball and Major League standout Buster Posey was given no chance to compete — much less make the state playoffs.

In what many called the greatest Lee County football season in school history, the Trojans finished third in the region and made the second round in the state playoffs. Two of their three losses were to Class AAAAAA state championship game participants Archer and Colquitt County. Their third loss was to Valdosta, the nation’s all-time winningest high school program.

It was truly a season where Lee County went from top dogs in Region 1-AAAAA to the underdogs of Region 1-AAAAAA but still managed to hold their own in the toughest region in the state.

Fabrizio was optimistic from the start. He was hoping their new state of the art stadium would give the team a bit of confidence heading into the new year in the new region.

“There’s a tremendous amount of excitement with this program,” Fabrizio said. “Coming off a region championship season and rolling into this year with the improvements we have made at our facility and the excitement we have with our team and all the returning starters — it’s a great time to be a Trojan.”

Their first game was a nationally televised 13-0 shutout against Westover High on ESPNU. From there, the Trojans went on to win their first game against Tift County before getting blown out by top-ranked Colquitt County. Fabrizio said after that game they had to put it behind them and start fresh the next week as they prepared to take on another top-ranked opponent.

“We got it taken to us pretty good by a very good football team,” Fabrizio told the Herald in October. “We didn’t feel like we played very well, but you know Colquitt County probably had a lot to do with that. We’re gonna bounce back from it. Our kids are all here today, Monday, ready to work hard and we’re gonna come back from it strong. We’re gonna learn from it, bounce back and get better here this week.”

They then pulled off a huge 42-30 upset at home against Lowndes that week, which turned heads across the state. Then they beat Camden County in Kingsland to earn a playoff spot.

Even after a tough 22-21 loss to Valdosta that came down to the final play and some questionable officiating, the Trojans punched their ticket into the postseason. They defeated Lovejoy in the first round, but fell to the eventual state runner-up Archer by a final score of 56-13.

When it was all said and done, the Trojans competed well in a region gave them a chance in. Fabrizio said while they accomplished a lot, the true test for the program will be building on it.

“We just ran out of gas tonight,” Lee Coach Dean Fabrizio said after falling at Archer. “Archer’s got a great team and they were hitting on all cylinders … we were not. But I am proud of this team … our seniors won more games than any other class in the history of the school. We still had a great season, we accomplished more than many people said we could.

“We’ll move on. The big question is can we build on this season next year? That is our challenge.”