Lee County cuts down top-ranked Houston County

LEESBURG —The fans stood on their feet.

Defensive back Demarcus Haire raised his hands in celebration.

And none of Lee County’s students left their seats in the end zone.

Everyone wanted to enjoy this one.

Behind a bruising defense that kept top-ranked Houston County’s air raid grounded and an old-school ground game, Lee County emphatically routed the Bears 55-29 in a state showdown Friday night at Trojan Field.

After Houston scored 22 unanswered points following Lee County’s early 15-0 advantage, the Trojans impressively scored the next 40 points and turned the game into a rout.

With Georgia head coach Kirby Smart watching quarterback commit Jake Fromm, Lee County’s defense made it a nightmare for the star quarterback, intercepting four passes and forcing two fumbles.

And perhaps no turnover was more impressive than defensive lineman Aubrey Solomon sacking Fromm, stripping the ball in the process and returning the fumble 20 yards for a touchdown with 3:56 left in the third quarter. The play stole what little momentum Houston had.

“First touchdown of my football career felt pretty good,” Solomon said. “I just had to catch (Fromm) off guard on that one.”

Lee County built a 41-22 lead at halftime, mostly by cramming the ball down the Bears’ throat with a shifty rushing attack. Running back Mark Robinson finished with 205 yards rushing on 30 carries and scored three times.

Following a Houston fumble late in the third quarter, Kareen Wilson scored on a five-yard scamper to make it 55-22, giving Lee a 33-point advantage and making the fourth quarter a running clock. Lee County Dean Fabrizio said his staff believed they could have success running the football.

“That’s been a part of our package this year,” he said. “That is that old-school, single-wing offense that we put in. It’s been our short yardage offense. We’ve used it more and more. We felt like it could be effective tonight for us and it was.”

Lee started quickly against the Bears, getting a touchdown run from Giavonte Daniels on the Trojans’ first drive, then used a touchdown pass to take a 15-0 advantage.

But Fromm quickly helped Houston answer. He tossed a 22-yard touchdown pass on fourth down, then hit Amari Colbert on a 65-yard pass to tie the game.

The Bears then took a 22-15 lead with 9:56 left to play in the second quarter.

But nobody knew it would be Houston’s final touchdown until Fromm hit Colbert on a 24-yard touchdown pass late in the game.

Demarcus Haire, Tay Mayo, Otis Reese and Kermit Solomon intercepted passes. Kermit Solomon, the younger brother of Aubrey, intercepted Fromm at the Houston 32 and returned the interception to the one-yard line before getting tackled. That set up the last of three Robinson touchdowns late in the second quarter.

“I was just happy the offense did what they had to do and scored after that,” Kermit Solomon said. “It’s just a team game. I don’t want to be selfish. I wanted a touchdown, but I just wanted my team to win … that’s all that mattered.”

It wouldn’t have been as fun for the Trojans had it not been for a little trickery. Fullback Tory Carter threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Drequan Garmon and also tossed a two-point conversion pass to Reese on a jump pass that former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow made famous in a victory over LSU in 2006.

The Trojans can enjoy this one for a little while, but they will play at McConnell-Talbert Stadium next Friday against perennial power Northside-Warner Robins.

“We’re just so proud of these guys,” Fabrizio said. “Houston County was the No. 1 team in the state for a reason. Jake Fromm, if there is a better player in the country, I’d like to see him because he’s phenomenal. We knew coming in it was going to take a monster effort. It was a great group effort by the defense. We really were able to pound it out and I’m just really proud of this team.”