Lakeside’s High School football playoff run ended as Houston County routed the Panthers 63-12 on Friday, Nov. 22.
“Guys getting hurt early, so we kind of lost a couple of offensive series there,” said Lakeside Coach Steve Hibbits. “They (Houston County) were a little bit quicker to the ball on both sides. We had some alignment issues on defense, and when you got No. 1 and No. 2 over there, they are going to exploit that. We were playing catchup all night.”
Going into Friday’s matchup, it was projected to be a battle of two high powered offenses with Lakeside averaging 30.7 points per game and Houston County 37.4. Both teams are led by two of the top quarterbacks in Georgia 5A football.
Antwann Hill Jr., a 4-star senior quarterback committed to Memphis, led the state with 3,186 passing yards before Friday night’s game against Lakeside.
Lakeside senior quarterback Ty Jones was announced as the Region 1 5A Player of the Year earlier this month and is a dual threat, rushing for 1,197 yards and passing for 1,388 this season. He also is one of the top defensive players and returners in the 5A.
The Panthers began the game going three and out on offense and the Bears took advantage with a 29-yard touchdown rush by running back Austin Stinson.
Behind 7-0 early, Lakeside failed once again to move the ball. Wide receiver Isiah Mitchell punched in the 2-yard rushing touchdown, putting the Bears ahead 14-0 with 7:34 remaining in the first quarter.
Two big runs by Lakeside running back Brandon Grissom helped the Panthers get inside field goal range. Kicker William Brandenburg made the 32-yard field goal to put Lakeside on the board, down 14-3.
Mitchell helped extend the Bears leading, scoring his second touchdown of the night on a 46-yard catch after a pass from Hill.
Hill threw another touchdown on a 12-yard pass to wide receiver MJ Mathis, putting Houston County in front 28-3.
Brandon Grissom tried to help the Panthers gain some momentum, forcing a safety after a punt to the 2-yard line late in the first half.’
Mitchell earned his third touchdown of the half after a swing pass from Hill for a 46-yard touchdown, putting the Bears ahead 35-5 at the half.
Houston began the second half just like the first, this time with an 80-yard end around pass to Mitchell for a touchdown.
The Panthers only score in the second half would come late in third quarter as Ty Jones broke off for a 36-yard touchdown run.
Hill passed for three more touchdowns in the second half, leading the Bears to the 63-12 win.
Despite this lopsided loss, the Panthers finished 10-2 on the season, which is much improved from last season’s record of 3-7.
Hibbits said he is very proud of his team and is excited for the future.
“They are going to do great things. A combination of talent, great leaders, good kids that will do anything for the team and I can’t be prouder of them,” Hibbits said.
About 17 seniors have led the team this year, and Hibbits said they have meant a lot to the program. Hibbits also said he was happy to see them come together and play well this season.
“Most of them has been starting since they were freshman,” he said. “They give everything they got. I most enjoyed this year seeing them come together because that was one of the things we wanted to work on in the offseason.”
Houston County will now will now travel to undefeated Milton in the Elite Eight next Friday, Nov. 29.
Christopher Rickerson, an Augusta University graduate, has covered area sports for Augusta University, The Augusta Press and Augusta Good News. Subscribe to the Augusta Good News newsletter here.
