(ELBERTON, GA) Lincoln County survived an offensive onslaught here last Friday to defeat the Elbert County Blue Devils 24-17.
The two teams combined for an amazing 114 offensive plays. Big Red rushed 42 times for 209 yards and completed four of seven passes for 31 yards. The Blue Devil quarterback threw 44 passes, completing 29 for 297 yards with two interceptions. The home team ran 21 times for 29 yards.
The Blue Devils snapped the pigskin 22 times inside the LC 20. The Devil Defense contained their blue cousins to two touchdowns and one field goal.
Red Devil faithful questioned several of the penalty calls and no-calls. LCHS was flagged ten times for 88 yards while Elbert was only penalized three times for 25 yards.
Lincoln County took the opening kickoff with Kelby Glaze rushing 19 yards to near midfield on the first play of the drive. Glaze would lead the Devil ground game with 60 yards on eleven carries. QB Mekhi Wade capped the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. Fortson Partridge booted the PAT and the Red Devils led 7-0 with 9:26 left in the opening period.
Short passes moved Elbert to midfield before Walter Thornton grabbed an interception at the LC 35 and returned to the EC 49. Three plays later Jonathan Norman made a diving catch in the endzone for a 29-yard TD pass from Wade. Partridge made it 14-0 with 5:22 remaining in the quarter.
After the teams traded punts, the Blue Devils again used short passes to reach the LC 25. Partridge stepped in front of the receiver and intercepted at the goal line to end the threat.
After a Red Devil punt, Elbert County drove to the LC 1 on passes and aided by three penalties. The middle of the Devil Defense stopped the drive on fourth down. On its next possession, the home team booted a 27-yard field goal with a minute left in the half. Lincoln County led 14-3 at the break.
Elbert County drove from their 10 on twelve plays to score on an 8-yard pass. A Devil Defender tipped the pass and then it was caught in the endzone. With the kick, LCHS' lead was cut to 14-10 with just under seven minutes left in the third quarter.
Glaze returned the kickoff 40 yards to midfield. The drive ended on downs at the EC 26. The home team needed two feet at their 35 for a first down, but the Devil Defense threw them back a yard with a minute left in the third. Nasir Gartrell ran for eleven followed by eight and five yards by Jacobe Moss. Partridge booted a 26-yard field goal with 10:31 left in the game. LC led 17-10.
After a trade of punts, LCHS drove from its 39 to the EC 12. Gartrell ran untouched into the end zone from there. Partridge put the Devils up 24-10 with just over three minutes left in the game.
One minute later the Blue Devils had a 1st-&-goal at the LC 6. Glaze sacked the QB for a five-yard loss. Norman then knocked away a pass, forcing a fourth down at the 11. Norman grabbed the next pass attempt five yards deep in the end zone, and returned it for a touchdown 105 yards later. The play was nullified by a roughing-the-passer penalty that gave Elbert another chance at the five. Two plays later the Blue Devils scored on a two-yard pass with 48 seconds remaining. The kick cut the lead to 24-17.
The Red Devils recovered the onside kick to secure their fourth victory of the year.
In other games involving Region 8-A Divison II teams, Washington-Wilkes improved to 2-3 with a 36-16 win over Butler. Lake Oconee Academy also whipped a Richmond County school, 49-6 over Glenn Hills. Warren County got its first win of the season with a 28-6 victory over its arch-rival Hancock Central. Greene County remained winless with a 38-0 loss to Laney.
This Friday LCHS makes its first visit to Silver Bluff High, located at 64 Desoto Drive in Aiken for USPS purposes. The Bulldog stadium is located next to the main school building just off US 278. From Lincolnton, the primary route is Bobby Jones Expressway and then Beech Island. Others will prefer to travel through North Augusta and then Atomic Road. The pigskin will fly in the Palmetto State at 7:30 Friday night.
The Red Devils will make their first trip to Aiken County since a 1947 loss to Langley-Bath (a predecessor to today's Midland Valley High). That Lincolnton team, coached by John Hawkins, lost 7-0. Their only other visit to Aiken County came in 1940 when they fell to North Augusta. The Red Devils actually have a 2-1 record against North Augusta all-time thanks to wins in 1932 and 1933.