NAHS brings Lexington down
Lexington High School's Shaq Roland had North Augusta on some unstable footing for the first few minutes Friday evening, but Loranzo Hammonds, Vinny Miller, Matt Hazel and their teammates turned the tables with gusto in the second half, turning on the power and taking off for a 41-29 win in Region 5-AAAA action.
Coach Dan Pippin's squad fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter, as Roland led two quick scoring drives, but after North Augusta's first two drives stalled out, Hammonds hit the jackpot - and his receivers - on the next two drives.
A couple of hours later, the Yellow Jackets stood at 9-1 overall and 5-1 in the region. Lexington dropped to 4-6 and 3-3. North Augusta's defensive leaders included L.J. Perry, with 17 tackles and 12 solos; and Montel Hughes, with 13 stops, including eight solos. Cam Alston added an interception.
Aiken is the only remaining obstacle in the Jackets' regular season. The Hornets most recently played at home, dumping Dutch Fork by a 35-20 margin Friday. It was Aiken's second straight win on the heels of a six-game losing skid. Aubrey Johnson led the way for Aiken, rushing for 168 yards and four touchdowns.
Referring to Aiken, Pippin said, "They're back on track. I think they lost some games there in the middle when they had some kids hurt, and everybody's healthy now."
In the Lexington game, Hammonds connected on 17 of 20 passes, piling up 245 yards and five touchdowns in the process, including three to Hazel. Miller contributed 135 yards on five carries, including a 40-yard scoot on third-and-38 late in the fourth quarter, helping deflate the Lexington crowd and nail down the win.
Lexington took a 22-15 lead on its first second-half drive, marching 52 yards in eight plays, but the North Augusta defense stiffened, not allowing another score until there were 32 seconds left in the game. North Augusta's offense, quiet in the first half, went on four scoring drives of at least 52 yards over the next 12 minutes to nail down the victory.
"Being down 14 points, that's the biggest comeback since I've been here," Pippin said. "That's pretty good. After those first two series, we only gave up two touchdowns the rest of the game, so that's pretty good, and that was when we had in the second team ... I think we realized that we've got to be ready to play everybody. That was a good lesson, and we still won the game."
Pippin pointed out that Friday's game includes the Senior Night activities, starting at 7:05 p.m. Honorees will include several players, such as Perry, Alston and Charles Coleman, who were on board for a tough initial season when the Jackets went 1-10 as Pippin first came on board as coach. The Jackets, however, proceeded to strengthen their record and earn playoff berths in each of the following seasons.
"They're not just really good football players, but they're great kids, too," the coach said, citing activities such as donating more than $6,000 to the American Cancer Society, along with working at a carnival at Hammond Hill Elementary School, donating bookbags loaded with school supplies and helping run the local Punt, Pass and Kick competition.
Friday's kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
