(Near LAKE OCONEE, GA) Lincoln County earned a 34-3 victory over Lake Oconee Academy here before a standing-room-only group of visiting fans making their first visit to the Titan field. The Red Devils are now 7-0 overall and 2-0 in Region 8-A Division II.
Three Red Devils each ran for over 80 yards. Kelby Glaze ran four times for 103 yards and two touchdowns. This included runs of 53 and 31 yards. Jonathan Norman carried nine times for 83 yards with one TD including a 56-yard scamper. Mekhi Wade ran for 82 yards on five plays with one TD and a 60-yard long-gainer. The team totaled 374 yards on thirty carries, with 67 added on five completed passes. Wade was four of five for 58 yards. CJ Crite caught two passes for 27 yards.
The Titans' excellent quarterback completed 16 of 30 pass attempts for 148 yards, but the Devils intercepted twice and did not give up a pass completion longer than 19 yards. LOA ran 24 times for 65 yards.
On the second play from scrimmage, Norman took the handoff while running a jet sweep toward the Titan bench. He turned up field and zoomed untouched to the end zone. With Fortson Partridge's kick, the Devils went up 7-0 less than a minute into the contest.
The Devil Defense stopped the home team from earning a first down, with LC taking over at the LC 35 after a 39-yard punt rolled dead. Christian Elam ran for nine. Three plays later Glaze rolled around the right side with a line of blockers. He scored 31 yards later. Partridge booted the PAT and LCHS led 14-0 with 7:38 left in the opening quarter.
The Titans, winners of five games before last Friday, systematically drove to the LC 26 on twelve plays mixing passing and rushing. Freshman Aiden Jones sacked the Titan QB for a nine-yard loss to the LC 35 and forced a punt into the end zone.
Norman ran for eleven and Wade connected with Crite for 15 to near midfield. Glaze then found the right sideline for 53 yards to score with 9:36 left in the half. The kick was blocked, but the Devils led 20-0.
LOA picked up two first downs to reach their 43 before Walker Thornton made a great interception while falling backward at the LC 15. The Devils wore five minutes off the clock and reached the LOA 6 before the pigskin squirted loose and the Titans recovered at their 5. The home team ran out the clock with the Devils leading 20-0 at the half.
The Titans put together another long drive to start the second half, marching 56 yards before kicking a 41-yard field goal. With just over five minutes left in the third, Big Red led 20-3.
Glaze returned the kickoff about 25 yards to the LC 31. Three plays gained eight yards, leaving LCHS with a 4th-&-2. The defense took the fake to the left as Wade took off right. He was caught just shy of the goal line, but a quarterback sneak covered the final half-yard for a Wade TD. The PAT kick gave the Devils a 27-3 lead with 2:40 left in the quarter.
Nictavious Cain intercepted at the Titan 41 to end their next drive. Norman ran for 14 for a first down before the Devils turned the ball over after fourth down at the Titan 19.
The Titans drove to midfield before a fourth down pass fell incomplete. Jones broke through the line and scored 49 plays later. Partridge's PAT closed out the scoring with 7:30 left in the game. LC led 34-3.
Bryson Dawkins recovered a Titan fumble with five minutes remaining. The two teams exchanged punts before the Devils took a knee to end the game.
The Red Devils have won at least seven games in 22 of the last 23 seasons and in 50 of the last 52 seasons. Devil head coach Lee Chomskis is now third among the school's coaches with 38 victories. He recently passed founding coach W. T. "Tutt" Dunaway's 36 wins (36-5-6). Thomas Bunch 11-year record was 78-30-6 while Larry Campbell set the Georgia state record with a 42-year mark of 477-85-3. At three schools over twenty seasons, Coach Chomskis is 143-79. He has won at least seven games for seven straight seasons.
Lincoln County is the last remaining undefeated team in Class A Division II. Top-ranked Irwin County suffered its first loss of 2024 last Friday at the hands of fifth-ranked Clinch County, 34-28. Along with Brooks County, those three teams from Region 2-A Division II were ranked in the top five last week. Region 8 matches up against Region 2 in the first round of the playoffs, so Red Devil fans need to keep an eye on that very strong region. In Class A Division II, Lincoln's Region 8 has the best winning percentage versus outside (non-region) opponents, 0.759 (22-7).
In other region action, Greene County scored late to defeat Washington-Wilkes 28-21 in a battle of Tigers that was closer than expected. The region championship may come down to Greene County's visit to Lincolnton on the first Friday in November.
The Red Devils will continue on the road this Friday as they travel to Warren County to face the Screaming Devils. The blue and yellow clad group is 5-2 with both losses coming to schools currently ranked in the top four of Class AA. Their victories include 30-14 over Lake Oconee Academy and 28-20 over Johnson County. The Screamers had an open date last week to prepare for our Devils to visit. The pigskin will fly at 7:30 Friday night at WCHS on US 278 northwest of Warrenton.