FRIDAY NIGHT NOTEBOOK: Defense makes up for Lee County shortcomings at Corky Kell

On a day where special teams weren’t clicking, Lee County found its answer on defense.

The Trojans had their hands full in Thursday’s Corky Kell Classic game against Mary Persons. Fumbled returns and blocked field-goal attempts put the Bulldogs in charge for much of the contest.

Lee County’s defense, however, prevented things from getting out of hand early on before coming up with an important fourth-quarter stop that set up a 21-17 victory.

Mary Persons created all sorts of momentum for itself early in the second quarter with two special teams plays. A blocked Austin Beaver field goal attempt turned into a 78-yard touchdown for the Bulldogs’ Bralen Harvey, then a fumble on the ensuing kickoff gave the Bulldogs the ball at Lee County’s 34.

Lee County’s defense, however, prevented further disaster. Mary Persons quarterback JT Hartage was stopped for a 6-yard loss on the second play of the series, fumbling the ball to Lee County’s Qwan Kendrick.

On the next play, Kyle Toole stepped in at quarterback and threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Josh Asbury to tie things up.

“We needed momentum, or we were going to be down,” Kendrick said. “We just needed a good play for Lee County.”

The defense stepped up again early in the fourth quarter, denying Mary Persons a conversion on a fourth-and-5 play from the Lee County 8. The Trojans then drove 92 yards for the game-winning score.

Closing the gap

While Sherwood Christian opened the 2017 season Friday with a loss to Fullington, the scoreboard looked a lot better for the Eagles this time around than it did last year.

A year ago, Sherwood fell to Fullington 61-0. This time around, the game was much more competitive, with Fullington winning 46-38.

Fullington jumped out to a 30-8 lead and led 46-24 with six minutes to go. Sherwood made things interesting late, however, scoring two touchdowns in the final four minutes to close within eight.

Ketavion Curry ran for 166 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries for Sherwood.

Around the Albany area

Leroy Hood’s debut as Turner County head coach turned into a back-and-forth affair, with Turner County rallying to beat Dougherty 29-28 after leading 13-0 early on … Baconton Charter blanked Pataula Charter 46-0 in the second meeting between the area’s two football-playing charter schools … A talented and experienced Taylor County squad shut out Terrell County 39-0.

In GISA action, Westwood edged Windsor 13-9 in Macon … A field goal and a late interception allowed Brookwood to claim a 21-12 victory at Terrell Academy.

Around Southwest Georgia

GHSA Region 1-7A: Lowndes snapped Valdosta’s three-game Winnersville Classic winning streak, trouncing the defending GHSA Class 6A champion Wildcats 45-0 … Tift County trounced South Effingham 42-0 in the Erk Russell Classic in Statesboro … Jakaree Gadsden ran for two touchdowns as Camden County beat Oakleaf (Florida) 19-6.

GHSA Region 1-6A: With Dylan Fromm, younger brother of Georgia freshman Jake Fromm, under center, Warner Robins topped Northside-Warner Robins 28-17 … Jameon Gaskin had two offensive touchdowns and also scored on an interception in Coffee’s 35-20 win over Effingham County in the Erk Russell Classic … Teldrick Ross rushed for 161 yards and passed for 107 as Jones County took down Houston County 42-3 on Thursday in the Corky Kell Classic.

GHSA Region 1-5A: Harris County beat Carver-Columbus 46-45 in double-overtime … Nick Carter ran for 171 yards and two touchdowns as Northgate beat Veterans 21-3.

GHSA Region 1-4A: In a game delayed by lightning, Thomasville beat Cairo 37-8, with Carl Blackmore hitting a program-record 53-yard field goal for Thomasville … Northside-Columbus topped Kendrick 40-8 … Troup edged Hardaway 41-38 on Thursday.

GHSA Region 1-3A: Brooks County blanked Cook 20-0 … Crisp County rolled past Dooly County 40-18.

GHSA Region 1-2A: In a rematch of last year’s Class 2A semifinals, Hapeville Charter edged Fitzgerald 25-22, blocking a field goal attempt as time expired …Irwin County shut out Berrien 31-0.

GISA Region 3-3A: Clay Owens ran for 156 yards and two touchdowns, Saige Batten caught two passes for 114 yards, both touchdowns, as Southland beat Westfield 44-13 … Tiftarea topped Creekside 28-16 … Valwood blanked Memorial Day 34-0.

GISA Region 3-2A: Southwest Georgia improved to 1-1 with a 47-0 win over Northside Methodist.

GICAA South: Georgia Christian edged Aucilla Christian (Monticello, Florida) 22-16.

Note to coaches and statisticians

Email scoring summaries and statistics to [email protected] no later than noon on Saturdays for inclusion in the Sunday Albany Herald. We use that information to write about games we are unable to cover in person. We would like to include as many teams as possible in the Friday night roundup, and we can’t do that without your help.