Lake football coach Tate Hanna was worried about Pisgah’s big offensive line heading into last week’s contest.
But in the end, it was Lake’s offensive line that controlled the football game.
The Hornets used a strong rushing attack to break open a close game and handed Pisgah its first loss with a 27-7 victory on Friday night.
With the win, Lake improves to 6-0 on the season and will put their unbeaten record on the line against Philadelphia on Thursday night.
Lake coach Tate Hanna was proud of the way his team played, especially in the second half with 20 unanswered points after being tied 7-7 at the half.
“I thought we played real good in the second half,” Hanna said. “They were real physical and real good up front. I was pleased with how we played in the second half and how the defense stepped up. I thought our offensive line took over in the second half and Johnny Johnson did a good job of running the football.”
After forcing a punt on the first series, Lake was pinned deep on their own 7. But the Hornets then went on a 20-play drive and scored as Brady McGee hit Marquon Hughes on a 6-yard touchdown pass. Frank Pazos’ PAT was good and Lake led 7-0.
Pisgah responded with a long drive of its own as the dragons went 75 yards in 12 plays and scored on a 5-yard run. The PAT tied the game at 7-7, a score that held until the half.
“The main thing is I thought we made some adjustments at halftime,” Hanna said. “We only really had two possessions in the first half and one of those was 20 plays. It just seemed like we played behind the sticks most of the second quarter. But we were able to make some adjustments and I thought controlled the game in the second half.”
While Lake was starting to find some holes in the Pisgah defense, it was a defense play that turned the game. With Pisgah driving, Lake got a fumble recovery by Kolin Ramzi early in the fourth.
Lake then drove 82 yards in seven plays. Thanks to a 34-yard run by Rogers, Lake took the lead when Brady McGee scored on a 1-yard run with 8:06 left in the fourth. Pazos’ PAT was good and Lake led 14-7.
Lake got the ball right back when Pisgah fumbled the kickoff and Tarius McNair recovered. Lake then went 25 yards in four plays as Johnson scored on a 6-yard run. The Try for two failed and Lake led 20-7 with 6:21 left in the game.
Pisgah gave the ball right back to Lake when J.D. Evans force a fumble and Ramzi recovered. Lake went 73 yards in eight plays. Behind the strong running of Rogers and Cornelius Mayers, Rogers finished off the drive with a 10-yard run with 2:01 left in the game. Pazos’ PAT was good and Lake led 27-7.
Rogers a big game with 195 yards rushing on 21 carries. Mayers had 50 yards on 12 carries. Magee was 5-of-10 passing for 45 yards and also rushed for 29 yards on 14 carries.
On defense, Rogers had eight solo tackles and four assists while Shelton Porter had five solo tackles and two assists. Zywon Ledbetter had six tackles and an interception.
