After two tough losses to open up the season, Lake Oconee Academy (1-2) finally got one in the win column against Walker High School (1-2) on Friday night at Tucker Field.
The Titans defeated the Wolverines 36-18 for head coach Patrick Stewart’s first program win. It was a full-game effort as LOA dominated Walker for four straight quarters.
“It felt great,” Stewart said about the win over the Wolverines. “It was perfect for the kids because they needed a morale boost to show that their hard work is paying off.”
LOA’s rushing attack led its offense on Friday night. The Titans got some big plays out of Sumner Coleman, Reid Davis and Cameron Kelley, who combined for five TDs.
Kelley had a career night on the ground, rushing for a team-high 152 yards and two scores. Coleman got in the end zone twice, while Reid rushed for 100 yards and a TD.
“Our goal for the week was putting some points up on the scoreboard,” Stewart said.“Offensively, we switched up a couple of things and put our guys in the right places where they could be successful. We had the mindset going into the game that we needed to run the ball effectively and score some points. That’s what we did.”
The Wolverines’ forte is their run game, but LOA held them in the negative in that category. They rushed for a total of -42 yards as the Titans’ defensive front shined in the win.
LOA gave up a season-low 18 points to Walker on Friday. The Titans’ defense is currently allowing 27.7 points per contest, but the totals have gotten lower each game.
“Two of those touchdowns that they (Walker) scored were actually special teams touchdowns,” Stewart said. “So, from a defensive perspective, we held them to one. I think the main goal was to try and get a shutout, and we did that in the first half.
They had a few special teams plays, but other than that our defense played great.”
LOA is getting better as the season goes on. The Titans played extremely well in all three phases - offense, defense and special teams - against the Wolverines in Week 3.
George Walton Academy defeated LOA 42-6 in the season opener at home. Two weeks ago, Towns County bested the Titans 23-0 after they gave up a season-high six turnovers. So, a victory over Walker in Week 3 was huge for their confidence.
“You could see a huge difference from George Walton to Towns County. Each week, we’re getting better at tackling, blocking and gap integrity. We’re starting to understand the game more and more,” Stewart said. “Offensively, we spread the ball around to our playmakers; defensively, we had some big pass break-ups and stopped the run. Things are all coming together, but we need to be more consistent.”
LOA will face Oglethorpe County (1-1), a class 2A program this Friday in Lexington. The Patriots are coming off a close 21-14 loss to Banks County this past week.
The Patriots are trending in the right direction under head coach Mike Holland in year two of his tenure. They knocked off East Jackson in Week 1 before falling to the Leopards last week. This will be the first meeting between the Titans and OCHS.
“With our guys, we wanted to get them that feeling of winning, but now we’ve got to teach them about the new week. We can’t hang on to that feeling,” Stewart said. “Our mentality is that we’re going into this week 0-0. We want to go 1-0 this week.”
Oglethorpe County has a massive size advantage upfront in the trenches. The Patriots are a run-first team, which is similar to the three programs that LOA has already faced.
The Titans will rely on their speed on defense. They hope to fly to the ball and clog up running lanes just as they successfully did against Walker.
“We’ve got to be able to hold our own and create some pressures with movement on defense,” Stewart said.“Offensively, I believe we will be the most in shape from sideline to sideline. We need to keep the ball in our hands and moving, but the most important goal isn’t about winning or losing. It’s all about how we compete.”
The kickoff between LOA and Oglethorpe County is set for 7:30 p.m. at Patriot Stadium in Lexington.