Homecoming was a night to remember for the Lake Oconee Academy Titans, who kicked off region play with cross-town rival Greene County Oct. 2. The Titans (6-1) made history on Friday night with their 24-14 victory, marking the program’s first win over the Tigers.
With the recent victory, the Titans head into a bye week and will hit the road Oct. 16, destined for Washington-Wilkes High School.
“This is our first win over Greene County,and our first region win ever since we’ve been in region play,” Titans head coach Patrick Stewart said. “It’s amazing for the school and definitely amazing for the football program, but most definitely just for the school and student body as a whole.”
Both teams kicked off Friday night with a fast start, as the Tigers quickly added points to the board when junior quarterback Kaden Cummings ran the ball into the end zone from five yards out.
The Titans responded shortly after with a five-yard rushing touchdown from junior running back Alden Barreras.
Stewart credited his team for “winning the turnover battle,” which ultimately helped the Titans maintain momentum throughout the evening. Shortly after Barreras’ touchdown run, the Tigers made their first fumble turnover of the evening, which senior tight end Keenan Parham recovered.
“Greene County has some great athletes and great coaches. We were physical at the point of attack, and won the turnover battle, so when you do those two things, and our guys play with great effort, then you win the game,” Stewart said. “Those were our goals going into pre-games to be most physical, most effort, and then get some takeaways.”
The Titans recovered two more turnovers during the game, as senior running back Ty Hiter intercepted Cumming’s pass on the 50-yard line in the second quarter. Senior wide receiver Kam Geter picked off the Tigers on LOA’s 35-yard line late in the fourth quarter, allowing McDonald to take victory formation.
The Titans’ offense produced 283 yards overall, relying on a run-heavy game with 134 rushing yards. Junior quarterback Jake McDonald went 10-for-17 in passing and ran for a one-yard touchdown in the second quarter, giving the Titans a 17-3 lead at halftime.
Junior running back Alden Barreras accounted for 85 rushing yards over the evening, and capped off the Titans’ victory with a 35-yard run into the end zone late in the fourth quarter.
“Our offensive line did a great job blocking. I mean, all their guys on the defensive line are bigger than ours, and they kept fighting, played with great pad level, and showed a lot of resiliency,” Stewart said.
“Alden had a great game, and our offensive line did a great job blocking,” he continued. “I mean, all their guys on the defensive line are bigger than our guys, and they just continue to fight and play with great pad level and just showed a lot of resiliency.”
Overall, Stewart said his team will take time to focus on the weight room and improve fundamentals over the bye week. He noted that the Titans will face a test on the road at Washington-Wilkes, and need to prepare for the challenge in the meantime.
“Washington-Wilkes is leading in Class A with the most points scored, and they have a high-powered offense. We’re just going to focus on us this week and get better at fundamentals.” Stewart said. “This was one of our most significant wins, so we just gotta continue to build off of it and not let this just be our ceiling. Now we know we can do it, and we need to keep pushing.”