Dynamite Dozen: Lee County’s Tay Mayo can change the game

LEESBURG — The last time a regulation high school football game was played in Lee County, Tay Mayo was the final person to touch the football.

It was a special moment. Mayo’s pick of a Coffee pass in overtime sealed Lee County’s wild, all-too-strange journey to the GHSA Class 6A title. After a season of overtime thrillers, thrilling comebacks and unexpected surprises, the Trojans were first-time state champs.

Mayo didn’t even have to remember to take a knee or run out of bounds — plays are blown dead on an interception or defensive fumble recovery in overtime under Georgia high school rules. After a slight pause for an inconsequential penalty flag, the time for celebration was at hand.

“When you see a couple of pictures, it makes you think about it — you finally did it, you made history,” Mayo said.

Any talk of that championship moment at this moment, however, quickly turns to the present and the start of the 2018 season. Lee County, which had its scrimmage Friday at Tift County called off midway through the first quarter because of weather, opens the season Friday at the Albany State Coliseum against Dougherty.

“You’re like, ‘OK, (the championship is) in the past. You want to move on and do it again,’ ” Mayo said.

Lee County’s 2017 championship team had a loaded secondary, with three senior starters signing with NCAA Division I programs. Otis Reese, the Albany Herald Player of the Year, signed with Georgia, while TJ Harris and Kermit Solomon went with Troy and Mercer, respectively.

Mayo, the fourth starter, returns for his senior year. He, too, is likely bound for a spot on an FBS-level roster after a season in which he had nine interceptions, including five returned for touchdowns.

“He’s been our leader all summer,” Lee County head coach Dean Fabrizio said. “He works extremely hard. He squats over 550 pounds, which for a kid his size is just phenomenal. And, on the field, he’s a playmaker. A lot of guys back there can cover people, but I haven’t had too many in my career that can make plays like he does.”

Ranked 142nd among all athletes in Georgia’s Class of 2019 by 247sports, Mayo is a 2018 Albany Herald Dynamite Dozen selection.

A 5-foot-11, 180-pound cornerback, Mayo’s interest list includes Georgia Tech, Nebraska and West Virginia, as well as Duke and Iowa State.

“It’s unreal what he brings,” Lee County offensive lineman Griffin Carder said. “He can get picks in the trenches, or he can get picks whenever the game is on the line. That last pick (in the championship game) that sealed the deal, you can’t beat something like that.”

Lee County’s already deep defensive roster became even more stacked at the start of preseason practice. Jammie Robinson, a four-star defensive back ranked 34th among all athletes in Georgia’s class of 2019 by 247sports, transferred from Crisp County alongside defensive tackle DeAngelo Griffin, a Minnesota commitment who is ranked 158th.

It’s a reloaded defense, a unit Mayo is excited about leading this season.

“We know what we’re in for,” Mayo said. “Everybody is going to be at us. What we’re trying to do is stay humble and stay hungry.”