Lakeside owned the first three minutes of its Region 3-AAAA game at Evans on Friday night. The rest belonged to Evans, as the Knights dominated their region rival in a 37-10 win.
"We came into the game knowing that we were better than them," Evans senior quarterback Kevin Millward said. "We knew we could pull a lot of points out of them."
The Panthers mounted a quick 10-0 lead less than three minutes into the game. A 20-yard field goal by Michael Combs, and a fumble recovery returned 30 yards for a touchdown by Tom Mudrak did the damage.
It only got Evans mad.
"There was no panic," Evans coach Marty Jackson said. "Sure, nobody likes to start off a game like that, but there was no panic. Not on the sideline, not with the players on the field."
The Knights climbed out of their hole by rattling off 24 points in 12 minutes, beginning with a 50-yard touchdown pass from Millward to Jonathan Nicely with seven minutes left in the first quarter. A field goal, a 55-yard touchdown reception by Brandon McCladdie and a 12-yard touchdown run by Trey Henderson completed the 24-10 halftime lead.
The only thing that could stop the Knights was a 30-minute lightning delay that suspended play with 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Evans picked up where it left off after the delay. Once the game restarted, it only took the Knights five plays to find the end zone in the form of a Taylor Hooven 2-yard dive.
They padded the lead with a 28-yard scoring strike from Millward to Henderson to end the third quarter.
The Knights' defense also picked it up a notch in the second half with five tackles for a loss, including four sacks.
Lakeside quarterback Chad Chandler was pressured heavily most of the night, and the Evans secondary picked off two passes.
"The defensive front helped out there," Jackson said. "They were putting the pressure on that quarterback, and we tried to put as much heat on him as we could."
Reach Billy Byler at (706) 863-6165 or billy.byler@augustachronicle.com.
EVANS 37, LAKESIDE 10
Evans 10 14 13 0 - 37
Lakeside 10 0 0 0 - 10
First Quarter
L-Michael Combs 20 field goal, 9:26
L-Tom Mudrak 30 fumble recovery (Combs kick), 9:11
E-Jonathan Nicely 50 pass from Kevin Millward (Matt Dickerson kick), 7:05
E-Dickerson 30 field goal, 3:36
Second Quarter
E-Brandon McCladdie 55 pass from Millward (Dickerson kick), 8:16
E-Trey Henderson 12 run (Dickerson kick), 6:56
Third Quarter
E-Taylor Hooven 2 run (kick failed), 8:23
E-Henderson 28 pass from Millward (Dickerson kick), 0:05
First Downs E10 L9
Rushes-Yards E36-170 L24-40
Passing Yards E182 L145
Comp.-Att.-Int. E5-12-0 L14-26-2
Fumbles-Lost E2-1 L2-2
Punts-Yards E4-35.5 L6-26.4
Penalties-Yards E7-40 L4-41
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Evans: Trey Henderson 11-84-1, Sean Matthews 2-7, Joseph Saldana 2-(-4), Brandon McCladdie 3-2, Jair Grant 3-12, Bobby Edwards 3-3, Glenn Cassedy 1-0, Troy Griffith 1-12, Jonathan Finch 8-36, Kevin Millward 2-18. Lakeside: Patrick Tynan 2-10, Jay Price 3-7, Levi Hanks 1-(-5), Preston Pye 1-(-1), Chad Chandler 17-29.
PASSING-Evans: Kevin Millward 5-12-3, 182. Lakeside: Chad Chandler 14-26, 145.
RECEIVING-Evans: Jonathan Nicely 1-50-1, Brandon McCladdie 2-67-1, Trey Henderson 2-65-1. Lakeside: Dustin Banks 4-89, Levi Hanks 6-44, Preston Pye 1-(-2), Wes Mikec 2-12, Michael Paul 1-2.
Play of the game: After trailing 10-0, Evans came back with a field goal and a 55-yard touchdown pass from Kevin Millward that caught receiver Brandon McCladdie in stride early in the second quarter. Evans took a 17-10 lead that only increased throughout the night. Why Evans won: The Knights didn't panic after getting down 10-0. Instead, they answered with 24 first-half points. Why Lakeside lost: The Panthers gave up too many big plays. Millward completed only three passes in the first half, but they went for 50, 55 and 37 yards and two touchdowns. Star of the game: Millward's early season battle with a quad injury appears a thing of the past as he threw for 182 yards and three touchdowns. What's next: Evans will stay at home to face Greenbrier next week. Lakeside will face off against Richmond Academy at home.
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