RICHMOND HILL – If the Richmond Hill Wildcats were going to really put pressure on Lowndes, the No. 4 Class 6A team in Georgia, this was the drive to do it.
The Wildcats had scored the last nine points to close to 35-23. They had fourth-and-2 at their 40 with 8:49 remaining in the fourth quarter. They went for it to keep the drive alive.
Instead, they were all but dead after Israel Harrison picked off Gunner Mobley’s pass and returned it for a touchdown as the Vikings went up 19 points en route to a 49-23 victory on Friday night.
“We can’t turn the ball over and win games, period,” said Richmond Hill coach Matt LeZotte, whose squad fell to 6-3 overall and 2-2 in Region 1-6A.
“The last two games, we’ve been plagued by turnovers, and all the other games, we haven’t,” he said in reference to a 41-0 region loss at Valdosta in the Wildcats’ previous game on Oct. 10. “We’ve got to be a lot better when it comes to putting the ball in the air.”
Mobley finished 21-of-32 passing for 226 yards and one touchdown as he was mostly on-target, but the junior also was intercepted three times -- once on a deflection off his receiver on a night when neither team fumbled away the ball.
LeZotte had said that the Wildcats needed to play a complete game against the Vikings, who improved to 9-0 and 4-0 to lead the region. Lowndes of Valdosta has now outscored its opponents 366-91, but Richmond Hill was not intimidated.
“We’re going to show up and play ball and expect to win every single game,” LeZotte said. “That’s how we build it, how we’re going to build it. I’m proud of the guys for the effort they put forward.”
Richmond Hill led 14-7 in the second quarter in a strong response to Lowndes's marching 71 yards for a touchdown on the game’s first drive. Quarterback Jayce Johnson completed four of five passes, including a 37-yarder to standout receiver Ar’Tavian Brown for the score.
The Wildcats dropped a pass on fourth-and-4, resulting in a turnover on downs, but the defense forced a 3-and-out.
Richmond Hill’s offense didn’t squander its next opportunity, with Eli Grant making a diving catch while blanketed by the defender for a 33-yard gain to the 1-yard line. On the next play, the second of the second quarter, running back Amire Miller took a direct snap and scored to tie the game.
Grant also plays cornerback, and the junior snagged the first of his two interceptions in the game on the next Lowndes possession to give Richmond Hill a short field.
On third-and-5 from the Lowndes 24, Mobley handed off, only to get the ball pitched back to him. He fired to the end zone, where Nick Swain made a leaping grab over the defender with 8:38 left in the second quarter. Cannon Kuryla’s extra point pushed the lead to 14-7.
“We’ve worked on that stuff all summer,” LeZotte said. “We have some nuances that we throw in there (when) game-planning stuff. We work on trick stuff – trick kicks, trick plays, all kinds of stuff, all year long. Our guys expect to be able to do that at a high level and execute those.”
The Vikings had been averaging close to 300 rushing yards per game, but yards on the ground were hard to come by for both squads on Friday night. Johnson was relying on short- and medium-range passes before Brown got a step on his defender to haul in a 36-yarder on a post pattern. Kaevone Thomas ran untouched around the end on the next play for a tie game with 6:09 remaining in the second quarter.
Ty’Lon Jennings got the ball back for Lowndes by intercepting a pass in the end zone with 2:30 left. The Vikings had enough time to drive 80 yards – the big play was Brown’s 35-yard catch and run on the right sideline.
Johnson threw a dart to Joe Henry in the back of the end zone for a 16-yard score and a 21-14 lead with 51 ticks before halftime.
Johnson went in at the break 11 of 17 for 197 yards, two TDs, and one interception. He finished the game 14 of 24 for 239 yards, two scores, and two picks by Grant, who now has five on the season.
The Wildcats had the ball to start the second half, but were undone when a pass bounced off a receiver to a Vikings defender. Lowndes started at the Richmond Hill 25 before Nathan Allen cashed in the turnover by scoring on a 5-yard run for a 28-14 lead.
The advantage was 35-14 when Johnson bulled in from 3 yards out. He had been averaging 60 rushing yards per game but was limited to 22 on nine carries. The key play on the drive was Brown’s 29-yard reception on a ball that he tipped in the air and caught while on the ground.
Grant intercepted Johnson and made a strong return to the Lowndes 4. Miller took the direct snap and scored from the 2 with 1:07 before the end of the third quarter. Miller, who rushed for 563 yards in the first eight games, had 17 carries for 49 yards and touchdown runs of 1 and 2 yards, increasing his season total to 12.
The ensuing kickoff was mistakenly fielded at the 1 as the returner stepped out of bounds. The Wildcats gained two points when Johnson was called for intentional grounding for throwing the ball away while in the pocket in the end zone.
Harrison’s pick-6 boosted the Vikings’ lead to 42-23. Star running back Mason Woods took it from there on the next Lowndes possession. After two consecutive runs for no gain, he broke through the line for 13 yards. It was like a dam had burst when, on the next play, he crashed into the line and emerged upright and alone for a 73-yard race to the end zone and a 49-23 advantage.
Woods entered Friday with 1,009 yards and an average of 126.1 yards per game. He finished with 15 carries for 131 yards – most on his 73-yarder on the team’s final possession, which increased his season total to 14 rushing touchdowns and 15 total.
“If we’re going to win, we’ve got to play better,” LeZotte said. “The guys had really good energy, really good preparation. We’ve got to have a little bit better results.”
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Lowendes 49, Richmond Hill 23 |
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| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total | |
| LHS | 7 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 49 |
| RHHS | 0 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 23 |
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First Quarter |
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LHS—Ar’Tavian Brown 37 pass from Jayce Johnson (Aiden Andrews kick) |
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Second Quarter |
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RHHS—Amire Miller 1 run (Cannon Kuryla kick) |
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RHHS—Nick Swain 24 pass from Gunner Mobley (Kuryla kick) |
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LHS—Kaevone Thomas 11 run (Andrews kick) |
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LHS—Joe Henry 16 pass from Johnson (Andrews kick) |
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Third Quarter |
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HS—Nathan Allen 5 run (Andrews kick) |
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LHS—Johnson 3 run (Andrews kick) |
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RHHS—Miller 2 run (Kuryla kick) |
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Fourth Quarter |
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RHHS—Safety (Johnson penalized for intentional grounding from the end zone) |
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LHS—Israel Harrison 40 interception return (Andrews kick) |
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Records—Lowndes 9-0, 4-0 Region 1-6A; Richmond Hill 6-3, 2-2 region. |
FINAL SCORES
WEEK 11
Lowndes 42, Richmond Hill 23
Lakeside-Evans 38, Bradwell 21
Effingham County 45, Glynn Academy 42
Statesboro 27, South Effingham 17
Benedictine 41, Perry 17
New Hampstead 34, Wayne County 13
Beach 18, Liberty 7
Long County 43, Southeast Bulloch 21
Calvary Day 48, Groves 8
Jenkins 21, Islands 0
Windsor Forest 32, Johnson 15
Savannah Christian 45, Swainsboro 13
Savannah Country Day 17, Episcopal School (FL) 14
McIntosh Academy 35, Savannah High 20
Bethesda 49, Pee Dee Academy 0
Frederica Academy 49, St. Andrew's 16
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Photo Credit: Courtesy Gilbert MIller Photography
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