The Evans Knights beat the Lakeside Panthers 34-15 at Panther Stadium on Friday, Sept. 4.
Key performances for the Knights came from running back/defensive back Brycen Gault, who had 108 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries and an 85-yard pick-six, kicker Nicholas Farmer, who made all his kicks (two field goals and four extra points), and defensive lineman CJ Johnson, who had a strip sack and a forced fumble.
The Panthers saw a more committee-driven effort, with five different players combining for 124 rushing yards. The leading passers were Grant Deal for Evans, who went six-for-seven for 56 yards, and Ben Herrington for Lakeside, who went for 13-for-27 and 169 yards, alongside two touchdowns and an interception.
Evans opened the game with a drive that stalled out at the 50, and momentum seemed to be in the Panthers’ favor as they blocked the resulting punt. This was further cemented by a pass interference against the Knights, placing Lakeside inside the Evans 30-yard.
Things can change in an instant in this sport, though, as evidenced by a fourth down being called back on a holding and then a real back breaker of a play when the attempt to convert a fourth-and-12 from Evans’ 32 resulted instead in the Knights’ Gault intercepting Herrington at the 15-yard line and taking the ball down the right sideline and to the house. Farmer’s PAT kick made it 7-0 in favor of Evans.
Lakeside looked back to get back on track with a 41-yard rush by Herrington to start its next drive but again stalled out. Evans put together a grinding, run heavy 75-yard effort that took the rest of the first quarter and four minutes into the second to make the game 14-0 in their favor.
The Panthers, needing a response, kicked off their next drive with a scare, as Gault dropped an easy pick-six as he jumped a screen.
It wouldn’t ultimately matter, though, as Herrington would finally find his groove and connect on a 26-yard pass to Andrew Cowart before an even bigger 41-yard touchdown pass to junior Dawson Springs. Herrington and Springs would connect again on a fake kick two-point conversion to bring the margin to 14-8.
Both teams ended the half with frustrating drives, Evans making it all the way to Lakeside’s 11-yard line before a pair of huge sacks forced them to punt from the 43. The Panthers responded by establishing themselves in the ground and then resorting to an air attack within a minute to go. This almost had dire consequences as Panthers’ faithful were treated to another heart attack, this time by way of the Knights’ CJ Johnson. He strip-sacked Herrington on the last play of the quarter, almost completing a 60-yard return for a touchdown before Brice Swailes caught him at the Panther 15.
The second half kicked off with Lakeside taking their first lead of the night. Initially going three and out, a muffed punt by Evans saw the Panthers continue their efforts from the Knights’ 39. They capitalized the very next play, with some great improvisation by Herrington in the pocket, buying him enough time to find Springs downfield for a touchdown. The extra point made it 15-14 in favor of the home team.
They Panthers would force a three-and-out on Evans’ next possession and look in control until midfield, where CJ Johnson would force Lakeside running back Robbie Russell to fumble. The game would turn on Johnson’s big play.
A 15-yard pass by Deal to Christian Scott set Gault up for a huge 28-yard touchdown run. The score and PAT kick had the Knights back up, 21-15.
It was a story of mishaps from here on out for the Panthers. A four-and-out drive of their own due to dropped passes allowed Evans to dominate on the ground and kick a field goal to make it 24-15 with 9 minutes left. A bad return stranded the Panthers at their own ten, where once again plagued by drops, they turned the ball over on downs at their own 27 yard-line, allowing Evans to bring the clock down to two and a half minutes before kicking another field goal to make it 27-15.
One last ditch attempt by Lakeside resulted in yet another turnover on downs with a minute left, and Gault sealed the deal with a 28-yard touchdown run; the final score was 34-15.
Evans Coach Lee Hutto was proud of his team’s ability to control the line of scrimmage.
“We were able to run the ball, and we were able to stop their run game,” the Knights’ coach said. “That’s who we are and that’s who we want to be.”
Coach Brett Johnson of the Panthers was proud of his team despite the loss, looking at their insecurity with the ball as the deciding factor.
“It’s all about putting four quarters together in all three stages of the game,” he said. “We had some costly turnovers—two fumbles and a pick-six. You’re not going to beat a good, well-coached team like that.”
Both teams are looking forward to a week off before their next contests. Hutto is looking to “refocus [his] team” while Johnson is looking to “maintain their ability to gain chunk yardage while minimizing turnovers.” Neither team will play a game next Friday, with Evans traveling to Jenkins on the Sept. 18 and Lakeside hosting Effingham County the same day.
Cooper Brady is an Augusta University student. Subscribe to the Augusta Good News’ free weekly newsletter here.
