Sherwood Christian falls to Lanier Christian

ALBANY — Football can be a tale of halves and Sherwood Christian found that out Saturday afternoon at Legacy Park.

After looking strong through the first half, the Eagles gave up 28 unanswered points in the second half and fell to Lanier Christian Academy 34-21.

The Eagles allowed just six points in the first half and came up big on multiple drives, but the mistakes added up in the third and fourth quarters.

“When you get tired, it causes mental mistakes,” Sherwood Christian coach Chad Evans said. “It’s bad snaps and not lining up where you are supposed to.”

Sherwood’s offense looked strong at the start of the game as they drove inside the red zone on their first offensive possession. They failed to put points on the board after a missing a field goal.

The Eagles (0-4) finally broke a scoreless game late in the second quarter when Blake Shepard hit Anthony Adams on a 19-yard touchdown pass.

Shepard had four completions in the first half that went for more than 15 yards.

After holding Lanier scoreless for a quarter and a half, the Lightning broke through when Jacob Ross found Orey Ferrell for a 26-yard touchdown catch. The touchdown made it a 7-6 game after the extra point failed.

The Eagles offense opened the second half with another strong drive. They marched down the field and scored on a seven-yard run by Shepard.

On Lanier’s first drive of the second half, the Lightning faked a punt. Lanier would have had the first down, but Sherwood forced and recovered a fumble.

The Eagles capitalized on the mistake when Shepard found Will Alderman for a 17-yard touchdown. The touchdown made it a 21-6 game.

Just before the end of the third, Lanier answered when Christian Thrift punched in a one-yard touchdown. The score cut it to 21-13.

Sherwood had numerous opportunities to make stops on the drive, but the Eagles were plagued by missed tackles.

“These guys are so young,” Evans said. “We’ve just got to keep plugging along. These guys have come so far in the past two or three weeks. They have really raised their football IQ. We can’t get frustrated as coaches, we just have to keep teaching them.”

Lanier continued to chip away at the lead. The Lightning cut the score to 21-19 when Ross scampered just inside the pylon from 10 yards out.

The sweltering heat seemed to impact both teams. As the game progresses, the pace got slower and numerous players went down with cramps.

Sherwood’s lead completely evaporated midway through the fourth when the snap went over Shepard’s head on a punt. He was tackled in the end zone for a safety that tied the game at 21.

With just under six minutes left to play in the game, Lanier took a 27-21 lead on a one-yard run by Ross.

Then late in the fourth quarter, Sherwood was once again plagued by a high snap on a punt. This one was recovered in the end zone for a touchdown that would make it 34-21 and ultimately seal the game for the Lightning.

Sherwood will play host to Life Christian Academy next Friday at 7:30 p.m.