LaGrange Still In Playoff Mix With 24-10 Win Over Trinity Christian
As the end of the regular season for Georgia High School Association football sits just weeks away, teams throughout the state are finding themselves in the midst of key region match ups as was the case Friday night for the Lagrange Grangers and Trinity Christian School Lions. Although the Lions headed into Friday’s contest unbeaten in region play, they would still be in need of a win to keep their chances of winning the region title favorable heading into a match with Troup County next week.
However, for the Grangers, Friday’s results would have more of an impact on their post season hopes as they entered Friday’s game at 2-2 in the region standings and on the outside looking in, sitting in the fifth position in the standings. With a win, LaGrange would keep their playoff chances very much alive and thanks to a three touchdown night from quarterback Jaylan Brown and a defense that held strong after appearing to be on the ropes early, the Grangers defeated the Lions 24-10.
The game started with Trinity Christian putting together a solid drive using a combination of run attack and swing and screen passes. The drive would result in a field goal giving the Lions a 3-0 lead, but more importantly, they were able to use a lot of time off the clock. With the opening quarter ending 3-0, the Grangers got off to a quick start in the second quarter scoring twice early in the period as two of Brown’s touchdowns were 50 plus yard passes to Jaylon Jordan giving LaGrange a 14-3 lead.
The Lions would eventually get into the end zone and keep the Grangers within striking distance after a Jamarion Harris two yard touchdown run and go into the locker room down 14-10. While the third quarter would see neither team putting any points on the board, LaGrange would give themselves a little cushion after a Brown 32 yard touchdown run would make a two score game as the Grangers led 21-10. The Lions would continue to struggle offensively against the LaGrange defense and the Grangers would tack on a late field goal and go on to pick up the win.
“They’ve got a special, talented defensive team and we knew we’d have to play our A game,” LaGrange head coach Matt Napier said after the win on Friday over Trinity Christian, who defensively has kept a few high scoring teams in check. “We just knew we needed to make enough plays to win the game and we slowed the tempo down and controlled the ball at the end like we needed to do,” Napier said of his team’s performance. With two regular season games remaining, Fayette County on Thursday then Troup County the following week, Napier and his team knows they will have to “battle each week” to make their playoff push. “We just have to make sure we finish out the right way and get in there,” Napier said.
