GREENE COUNTY
The Lake Oconee Academy football team just played its second road game in the past two weeks, and in both contests, the Titans came out on top.
After defeating Loganville Christian Academy a few weeks ago, head coach Patrick Stewart’s team drove to Roberta to take on Crawford County. The Titans won that game 42-14 and moved to 4-3 on the season with three games left.
It was the first time in school history winning back-to-back away games, and Stewart attributed this week’s success to the performance of his defense and the intensity it played with.
“We have been studying teams that lead in tackles-for-losses and see how they create pressure, stunts, etc.,” Stewart said. “That was our main goal as a defense was to increase our activity in the backfield, and they did just that. We have created a lot of pressure in the backfield and are dominating up front.”
Lake Oconee Academy held Crawford County to under 50 rushing yards and 200 passing yards – giving up only two touchdowns over four quarters.
The Titans’ defense was also good situationally. They held the Eagles to a 29-percent conversion rate on third downs and forced them to turn the ball over on downs on their only fourth down try of the game.
On the other side of the ball, the Titans were effective both through the air and on the ground.
Hayes Fleming led the team in rushing with 153 yards and two touchdowns. He got the bulk of the carries, but plenty of other Titans contributed as well. Quarterback Ike O’Neal threw for 126 yards on five completions, two of which were touchdowns.
Even though they didn’t have to throw the ball much, Stewart acknowledged how important it is to have a guy like O’Neal behind center directing the offense.
“If you can make teams honor the run and have to load the box then that opens up the back end for passes,” Stewart said. “Our offensive line has continued to get better every day and allow our running backs to have success. Ike [O’Neal] is everything you want in a player – a natural leader, selfless, and when his number is called, he makes plays.”
The Titans have found this recent success without the luxury of having a bye week. The team actually doesn’t get a week off until after their October 13th contest against Cherokee Christian.
The logistics have made it difficult, but Stewart believes their practice routine has kept the kids fresh and wanting to play with intensity.
“Since we are non-region, we do not have traditional bye weeks in the middle of the season,” Stewart said. “Our kids and staff have been going non-stop since May 1st. We have had to continue to make practice intense and engaging throughout this long grind. We try to have a competition of some sort each day to raise the focus and edge at the start of each practice.”
With one more win, Lake Oconee Academy will have won the most games in program history, and it will have three more opportunities this season to make that happen.