Lakeview Academy caps perfect season on gridiron
JASPER – The Lakeview Academy Lions completed an improbable run Thursday, wrapping a 7-0 regular season with a 27-12 win over the Pickens junior varsity.
Lakeview Academy mounted a 17-0 halftime lead, but Pickens pulled back to 17-12 early in the second half. Lakeview, which lost leading rusher Dalton Munday in the first quarter and starting quarterback Houghton Carswell in the third, rallied behind strong defense and special teams.
“Lex Little had 10 tackles and Matt Reynolds also helped pick it up for us,” said Lakeview Academy Head Coach Matthew Gruhn.
Little starred on both sides of the ball, and scored the first touchdown of the game on a 10-yard run. Nick Saye booted the first of three extra points to make it 7-0.
Later in the first half, Carswell roamed 45 yards for a touchdown, and Saye’s kick made it 14-0. Saye also added a 45-yard field goal just before the half.
“We wanted to try it from 60 yards,” said Gruhn, of Saye’s field goal try. “We had the wind with us and thought we’d give it a shot. But Nick got roughed and we got another 15 yards, so he made it from 45 yards.”
After Carswell’s injury in the third quarter, sophomore Jordan Chastain came in at quarterback for the Lions. Chastain also picked off a Pickens pass and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown in the third period. Saye’s PAT made it 24-12, Lakeview.
Saye later added some insurance points with his second field goal of the game, a 37-yarder.
Gruhn said Thursday’s game was typical of the way the Lions’ season has gone.
“We lost a couple of kids, but we kept making plays. Things like that seemed to happen all year. Good things happened and we caught breaks. The kids made plays when we needed it.”
This season was an intermediate step for a program that went 2-4 in its inaugural season. The 2007 slate included one game versus a true varsity opponent (Towns County) and two games against similar talent level squads in Pace Academy and Hebron Christian Academy.
Gruhn says 2008 will bring the program’s next major growth step.
“We will play all of our games on Fridays,” said Gruhn. “Right now, we are deciding whether to play a region or a non-region schedule. If we do play a region schedule, it could be in region 8-A.”
For now though, the Lions will enjoy the fruits of 2007.
“I don’t think anyone, including me, though we would have an undefeated season,” said Gruhn. “It’s kind of unbelievable.”
|
