Mays ends Lee County’s season

ATLANTA — Lee County players walked slowly to the sidelines.

A handful of players stumped to a knee, while many fans headed for the exits.

After a promising start, Mays held Lee County scoreless in the second half and scored 27 unanswered points to hand the Trojans a 35-22 loss Friday in the second round of the Georgia High School Association Class AAAAAA state playoffs at Lakewood Stadium.

It was another second round appearance for Lee County and another second round loss. The 2016 edition had its dreams dashed in the second round, much like the 2013 and 2014 teams.

And this one, for Lee County players and fans, will hurt for a while.

The Trojans (8-3) managed just one first down in the second half, while the offense threw three interceptions, including a pick-six that Mays returned 40 yards for the game-clinching touchdown with Lee attempting to mount the potential game-tying score.

After Lee held a commanding 22-8 advantage at halftime, Mays scored on its opening possession of the second half to trim the deficit to 22-15.

But the momentum seemed to slowly slip away from Lee County on a gutsy fourth-and-1 call from its own 39 at the end of the third quarter.

The Raiders’ defense stuffed Lee and a few plays later tied the game at 22. The Trojans never recovered as their offense failed to sustain any drive the rest of the game.

However, the game didn’t start the way it ended.

The Trojans moved the ball almost at will on Mays on their opening drive, getting a three-yard run from Mark Robinson. Then, the Trojans used a pair of defensive specialists to score the 2-point conversion pass when Tory Carter fired a short pass to Aubrey Solomon and an early 8-0 advantage.

After the Trojans held Mays on fourth down on the Raiders’ ensuing possession, Lee County went ahead 15-0 on another Robinson touchdown, a seven-yard scamper.

But Mays cut the deficit to 15-8 before Lee County put together its most impressive drive. Quarterback Jase Orndorff tossed a three-yard touchdown strike to Terrian Wester and a 22-8 lead. The biggest play of the drive was a gutsy eight-yard pass play from Orndorff to Josh Asbury on fourth-and-four from the Mays 19.

Mays spent the first half trying to play catch-up. Early in the fourth quarter, they caught Lee, then passed them with an air attack that was near flawless in the final two quarters.

The Raiders (11-1) scored on two straight possessions in the fourth quarter and grabbed the lead for good, including the go-ahead score on a 17-yard touchdown pass with 3:12 left.