GREENE COUNTY
The Lake Oconee Academy football team recently went on the road and shocked one of the best teams in the GAPPS association.
The Titans defeated the Warriors of Skipstone Academy 44-34 last Friday and found most of their success on the ground against a team that thrives off its own rushing attack.
The team carried the ball 40 times for 226 rushing yards, its most this season, and head coach Patrick Stewart acknowledged that his offensive line was able to match the opposing team’s physicality.
“Our offensive line definitely stepped up big time,” Stewart said. “Skipstone’s defensive line outweighed ours by 40 to 60 pounds across the board, but our kids played with all-out effort and grit to move them. You could definitely tell that our main pillar of strength and conditioning [over the offseason] helped us.”
Lake Oconee Academy was able to match Skipstone in the trenches, and it also paid off on the defensive end when they needed it.
It was a back-and-forth contest through its entirety, and Stewart attributed securing the victory to his defense’s ability to get off the field on third downs.
“Skipstone had a lot of success running the ball coming into the game against us, so our number one goal was to load the box and stop the run,” Stewart said. “Once we got them out of their rhythm and made them pass the ball, we had them where we wanted them, and we were able to make big stops on third downs because of that.”
It took the Titans' defense some time to slow the Warriors down, though.
Skipstone Academy began the game scoring a touchdown in the first couple minutes of the contest, but Lake Oconee Academy turned around and answered with a score of its own. Walker Poyner ran one in from 30 yards out to tie the game at 7-7. The Warriors would eventually score toward the end of the first quarter but missed the extra point making it 13-7.
Midway through the second quarter, senior Titan athlete Cameron Kelley scampered into the end zone, giving Stewart’s team its first lead of the game after they made point after attempt.
After another Skipstone touchdown, LOA ended the first half with a field goal from Knox Van Mol to cut the deficit to three points heading into the locker room.
The second half is when Stewart’s defense really stepped up on crucial drives. The Titans’ front seven stood tall early in the third quarter and forced the Warriors to turn the ball over on downs deep inside their own red zone.
Quarterback Ike O’Neal would find Hayes Fleming moments later on a 20-yard touchdown pass.
On the very next drive, Kelley intercepted the Skipstone quarterback and took it all the way back for six more points and a 30-20 Titan lead. LOA’s offense matched the Warriors’ the rest of the game with the Titans winning by 10 points.
Stewart attributed the win to his players’ willingness to work at practice this past week in preparation for the game.
“Our main theme last week was ‘Do More,’” Stewart said. “We had kids who stayed after practices to run extra routes, work on extra tackling, conditioning, and it all paid off. Now, our theme is ‘Consistency’ going into this week. We need to consistently be able to do more every week because you get what you put into this sport.”
Currently sitting at 2-1, Lake Oconee Academy now prepares for a matchup against Oglethorpe County, a team it is very familiar with after last season.