Lawence County Cougars escape Terry in 29-24 win
Published 5:00 am Monday, October 16, 2000
TERRY – The Lawrence County Cougars defeated Terry 29-24 inDivision 6-4A football action Friday night.
TERRY – The Lawrence County Cougars defeated Terry 29-24 inDivision 6-4A football action Friday night. The Cougars held on towin despite a Herculean 199-yard rushing effort by Terry fullbackBobby Kendrick, who almost led his Bulldogs to an upset win.
With the victory, Lawrence County improved to 5-3 overall, and2-1 in Division 6-4A play. The Cougars remain in the hunt, alongwith undefeated division rivals McComb and Brookhaven, for one ofthe division’s two playoff spots. Terry fell to 3-4 overall, and0-3 in the division.
En route to its 14-0 state championship record in 1999, LCHSdefeated Terry 60-10. This year’s contest proved to be nothing likethat rout. Terry ran right down the field for a touchdown on heopening possession, setting the tone for a night in which theBulldogs’ running game would ravage the Cougars for 327 yards on 34carries, almost 10 yards per haul.
It took four interceptions by the Cougar defense to salvage thevictory, which in the end came down to extra-point conversions.Lawrence County converted all of its PAT attempts, while Terryfailed to convert any of its extra point efforts. Both teams scoredfour touchdowns.
Terry took the opening kickoff and drove 60 yards in 10 runningplays. Lorenzo Wesley’s 21-yard run put the stunned, sluggishCougars in a 6-0 hole, but LCHS defenders did break through toblock the extra point.
Lawrence County quickly responded after a 49-yard kickoff returnby Jamar Sibley. Sibley’s 37-yard run then set up a Jerry Smithtouchdown, and Eley’s extra point kick gave the Cougars a 7-6lead.
A blocked Terry field goal and a series of turnovers dominatedthe action after that. Sibley and linebacker Wayne Hardy picked offpasses that halted Bulldog possessions. Sibley’s pick and 28-yardreturn set up Lawrence County’s second touchdown. Smith againscored on a seven-yard run and the Cougars held a 14-6 lead.
Hardy’s interception and a 37-yard Smith-to-Jason Snell pass setup the final score of the half. It came on Eley’s three-yardplunge. When Terry got penalized half the distance to the goal onthe extra point, LCHS decided to go for two, and Smith ran it infor a 22-6 halftime lead.
That lead turned out to be far from comfortable. Midway throughthe third quarter, Terry got back into the game when Wesley scoredon a 24-yard screen pass. The Bulldog halfback miraculously escapeda host of LCHS tacklers along the Cougar sideline before findingpaydirt. That made it 22-12.
Just moments later, things really got hairy as a Cougar puntsnap sailed high over the head of punter Jerry Smith. On the nextplay, Kendrick scored on a two-yard run, and the lead was down to22-18.
With their playoff lives on the line, the Cougars managed tosnap out of it long enough to put together a game-winning touchdowndrive. It was anything but easy, but the Cougars drove 64 yards innine plays, scoring on Smith’s 16-yard option run.
Terry came right back, ripping off runs of 27, 25, and 26 yardson consecutive carries to cut the lead to 29-24. The Bulldogs gotone last chance to win the game, but Mathew Aultman recovered aBulldog fumble late to seal Lawrence County’s ugly, but important,win.
Though it was a monumental struggle for the Cougar offense,three rushers did have effective nights, led by Eley’s 94 yards on19 carries. Eley surpassed 1,000 yards on the season with thateffort. Sibley (14-74) and Smith (17-86) were also productive.
Smith completed 3 of 6 passes for 61 yards. Snell (1-37), Eley(1-14) and Sibley (1-10) caught passes.
The Cougars get a much-needed week off before reenteringdivision play against Crystal Springs the following Friday. LCHSwill close out the regular season after that, at Brookhaven.