Americus-Sumter blanks Westover

ALBANY — With power out at school through late Wednesday evening following Tropical Storm Irma, Americus-Sumter didn’t have much time to prepare for its GHSA Region 1-4A opener against Westover.

What preparation the team was able to put in however, worked out well for the Panthers.

Americus-Sumter found success in all three phases of the game as the Panthers shut out Westover 21-0 on Friday at Hugh Mills Stadium.

“We only had two short days of practice and only one day in full pads,” said Americus-Sumter’s Kobe Lewis, who accounted for all but one of the Panthers’ points Friday. “This game here showed us that we can play ball. We really weren’t prepared for the game, but we came out and played with heart, knowing that we can play and that football is football.”

While Lewis made another strong contribution, defense and special teams played pivotal roles in deciding the game in the Panthers’ favor.

The Americus-Sumter defense, known for packing the line of scrimmage in running situations, shut down a pair of Westover scoring opportunities deep in Panthers territory. One of the stops was a goal-line stand, stuffing a fourth-and-goal play from the 2 after Westover picked up a first down inside the Americus-Sumter 5. The other stop resulted in missed field goal attempt that went just wide.

That big front was backed up by a secondary that caused issues for the Westover passing game. Americus-Sumter (2-2, 1-0 region) recorded three interceptions, helping to preserve the shutout.

“Defense, we’ve been playing pretty solid,” Americus-Sumter head coach Erik Soliday said. “We feel like if we don’t give up a big play we can come up with a stop somewhere, and we played that way (Friday).”

Lewis, who committed to Central Michigan over the summer, had his moments. He scored both of the Panthers’ touchdowns in a 49-14 loss last week at Lee County, the top-ranked team in GHSA Class 6A, and he had three touchdowns and a 2-point conversion against Westover (2-2, 0-1).

The senior punched in a 1-yard run five minutes into the game and stretched out a 21-yard run for a score five minutes into the second quarter. He also hauled in a 38-yard touchdown pass from Kierston Harvey late in the third quarter.

“He’s a good player, and he plays hard,” Soliday said. “We count on him pretty heavily. It’s going to be that way as long as we can ride him.”

Two of those Americus-Sumter touchdowns were aided by special teams plays.

Prior to the first touchdown, the Americus-Sumter defense got to the Westover punter on a fourth-down play before he could get the ball away, setting up a short field.

Later, right before the second-half touchdown catch, the Panthers caught another break in the punting game when an errant snap caused the punter to field the ball with a knee on the ground.

“We couldn’t take advantage of the field position when we had it, but I preached to the guys all week that, now, that’s a heck of a football team that we (were facing),” Westover head coach Octavia Jones said. “The teams that beat them were ranked in their classifications.

“They just beat us up front, didn’t allow us to get any push on the offensive side of the ball. Their defensive line got off the ball faster than we did, and they took it to us.”