Lake Oconee Academy is riding a three-game losing streak after falling to Lincoln County 34-3 last Friday.
The Titans started the year 5-0 but have found themselves in a hole. Their playoff chances are now in jeopardy with their most recent loss to the Red Devils, a top-10 team in Class A Division II.
“You know, man, minus what the scoreboard says, I’m extremely proud of them,” Lake Oconee Academy head coach Patrick Stewart said. “Lincoln County is a really good football team.”
Lincoln County had a dominant opening two quarters, racing out to a 20-0 lead at the half. The Red Devils used their strong running game to thrash the Titans, with each score coming on the ground.
Lincoln County added 14 more points in the second half as Lake Oconee Academy had no answer. The Red Devils rushed for 379 yards, led by Kelby Glaze, who totaled 114 yards and two scores.
Jonathan Norman, Mekhi Wade, and Aiden Jones also were productive, combing for 216 yards and three scores.
“At the end of the day, sometimes the Jimmies and Joes are better than the Xs and Os,” Stewart said. “So they had a good plan, and that’s a really good team.”
LOA’s defense struggled in the first half but found itself after the break. Still, Lincoln County’s first-half performance made it hard for the Titans to mount a comeback, and their offense never got going.
“You know, they were getting that edge on us with those two first touchdowns,” Stewart said. “Once we adjusted, we started trying to keep them in that tackle box, which greatly helped us out.”
The Titans must improve defensively before taking on Greene County. They need to get back to the basics.
“We’ve got a lot to work on with tackling and always focusing on the fundamentals,” Stewart added.
Offensively, Stewart is excited about where the team is going despite last week’s poor performance.
“Man, we could go into next week with a lot of fire,” Stewart said. “Ike did a really good job controlling it and controlling the clock, and that’s something we have to do against Greene.”
Stewart’s message to the team is that losers don’t get back up, but winners always get back up.
“We’ve had three straight losses, so I hope our kids get that message across to everybody and get back up off the ground and try to win this next one,” Stewart said.
Lake Oconee Academy is now 5-3 on the year and 0-2 in region play but will have a chance to return to the win column this Friday.
The Titans will make a 3-minute drive down Highway 44 to face rival Greene County this Friday night. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.