The Sidney Lanier Poets relied on their running game and a key defensive play to beat Lee-Montgomery 20-6 on Thursday at Cramton Bowl.
The Poets scored the first points of the game just before halftime and pulled ahead for good with two touchdowns in the third quarter in the Class 6A, Region 2 matchup. The win was the Poets’ first against Lee since 2017 and snapped a four-game losing streak to the Generals.
Tied 0-0 late in the first half, Sidney Lanier put together a six-minute, 16-play drive that was capped by Tacaris Bozeman’s 2-yard touchdown run. Tied 6-6 in the third quarter, the Poets put together a 12-play drive to regain the lead. After running the ball on 10-of-11 plays, the Poets capped the drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Braylon Jones to Zariah Marks.
An interception by Lanier’s Terrance Watkins and a 30-yard return to the Lee 3-yard line set up the Poets’ final score, a 7-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Rawkeeb Dauda.
Lee’s Julius Johnson scored the Generals’ touchdown on a 9-yard run in the opening minutes of the third quarter.
Star of the game: Tacaris Bozeman. Bozeman carried the ball on 28 of the Poets’ 37 rushing attempts and finished with 100 yards and a touchdown.
By the numbers: 151 – rushing yards for Sidney Lanier, 150 of which came in the first three quarters … 3 – passes completed by Lanier on three attempts in the second half. Quarterback Braylon Jones’ three completions accounted for 43 yards and two touchdowns
Coachspeak: “Tacaris is a handful for most defenses. We have an offensive line that is committed to blocking, and staying on their blocks, and he runs hard behind them. Lee has a good team, but there was a point in the game where we could tell they were getting tired, so we just tried to keep playing at a fast tempo and we tried to take advantage of their mistakes.” – Sidney Lanier coach Marvin Cunningham
They said it …: “We didn’t come out ready to play and Lanier wanted it more than we did. I take full responsibility for that. We’re going to go back to work and be ready to play next week.” -- Lee-Montgomery coach Eric Hudson
“My offensive line did a great job. The guys up front were able to stay on their blocks and we kept pushing the ball forward. This was a game we knew we could win if we all came out and did our jobs.” – Lanier running back Tacaris Bozeman
“We came out and just hit them in the mouth on defense. This was a good win. We don’t want to lose any more. We want to keep getting better each week.” -- Lanier defensive end Jamarcus Hamilton
“This is the first time we’ve beaten them (since 2017). We’ve had some close games with them in my four years, but our class had never beaten them. It feels good to get a win against them as a senior.” – Lanier offensive lineman Keldrick Banks
“I think Jamarcus is one of the top-five juniors in the state. He is a special player. We can put him at safety or defensive end and he makes plays for us. He is a player you can a do a lot of things with on defense.” -- Cunningham
What’s next? Lanier (3-1, 1-1 Class 6A, Region 2) hosts Valley on Sept. 18. Lee-Montgomery (2-1, 1-1 Class 6A, Region 2) plays at Russell County on Sept. 17.
Briarwood 42, Woodlawn 21
Class 6A fourth-ranked Briarwood scored 35 first half points and cruised to the Region 5 victory to stay undefeated.
The Lions (4-0, 2-0) got three first half scores from quarterback Christopher Vizzinia, two passing and another running, on the way to the 35-7 halftime lead.
Vizzinia completed 13-of-17 passes for 278 yards and three scores to go along with his 4-yard running touchdown.
Cooper Higgins ran for a score and caught a pair of Vizzinia passes, including a 65-yarder, for touchdowns. Higgins caught three passes for 106 yards.
Riley Margene ran for a score and Jay Butler caught a scoring pass.
Briarwood compiled 430 yards of total offense – 320 passing – to 240 yards for the Colonels.
Woodlawn’s Chris Allen ran for two touchdowns and Jacoriian Vassar ran for the final score for the Colonels (1-3, 0-2).
THURSDAY SCOREBOARD
Briarwood 42, Woodlawn 21
Decatur Heritage beat Vina, forfeit
Early Co. (Ga.) 31, Charles Henderson 9
James Clemens 31, Austin 14
Pleasant Grove 43, Wenonah 7
Sidney Lanier 20, Lee-Montgomery 6
Sweet Water 46, Fruitdale 6
Williamson 26, St. Michael 23