By Kevin Eckleberry

Sports Editor

There was no need for any late-game heroics this year.

After gutting out two close victories over the Troup Tigers the past two years, the LaGrange Grangers were able to relax in the second half of this year’s annual county showdown.

The Grangers moved the ball with ease in the first half on the way to a 21-0 lead, and they went on to capture a 42-0 victory in the final regular-season game for both teams.

The Grangers (8-2 overall, 5-1 in Region 2-AAA) earned the No. 2 seed in the region, and they’ll be at home next week in the first round of the state playoffs.

LaGrange will host Liberty County on Nov. 14, probably at 6 p.m.

Troup (6-4, 4-2) finished third in the region, and it will be on the road next Friday at Washington County for its state opener.

“All in all, it was a great win,” LaGrange head coach Steve Pardue said. “It was a great defensive effort, and the special teams were good. No complaints. It was a total team win.”

After the way the previous two games went, with LaGrange winning the games by a combined seven points, this year’s matchup figured to offer plenty of drama.

It didn’t play out that way, though.

LaGrange controlled things on both sides of the ball.

The Grangers ran the ball at will, with running backs Ocie Salter and Xavier Heard and quarterback Jamius Gunsby taking advantage of the big openings offered by the offensive line.

LaGrange’s defense did its part, giving up fewer than 70 yards.

It was domination, pure and simple.

“We were practicing hard all week, and it paid off on Friday night,” said junior linebacker Chauncey Smith, who was part of a defense that held Troup to fewer than 50 yards.

Troup will have to regroup quickly since it has a stern first-round test.

The teams have played once already, with Washington County overwhelming Troup 48-6 on Sept. 18.

“I still love ‘em all,” Troup head coach Bubba Jeter said. “We’ll regroup.”

Asked what went wrong Friday night, Jeter said, “I don’t think anything went right.”

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of Friday’s game was LaGrange’s ability to run the ball so well against a Troup defense that has been solid all season.

Heard led the way with 166 yards, and he scored on runs of 55 and six yards.

Salter contributed 137 yards on 18 attempts, and he had touchdowns of 29 and 50 yards.

Salter also caught a couple of passes for 19 yards.

Gunsby chipped in with 38 yards, and 30 of those yards came on a second-quarter scoring run.

Q Ferrell even got into the act in the fourth quarter, scoring on a 27-yard run.

“Coming in, coach (Pardue) told us the running game would be big,” Heard said. “We just had to trust his word. The plays they gave us were pretty good. It all connected, and we made good things happen.”

Heard gave plenty of credit to the offensive linemen.

“Excuse my language, but they did a hell of a job,” Heard said. “That’s the best job I’ve seen them do so far, and I thank those guys a lot.”

The Grangers’ first possession ended in a failed fourth-down conversion deep in Troup territory, but they found the end zone when they got the ball back following a Troup punt.

After an 11-yard run by Salter and an 11-yard completion from Gunsby to Heard, Heard took a handoff and went untouched 55 yards for the game’s first score.

Joseph Mansour’s extra point, his first of five, gave the Grangers a 7-0 lead with 2:28 left in the opening quarter.

On the Grangers’ third possession, Gunsby capped a 75-yard drive with a 30-yard touchdown run.

Heard had runs of 12 and 16 yards to get the Grangers deep in Troup territory.

The Grangers needed just five plays to go 53 yards for their final score of the half.

Heard’s 13-yard run got the Grangers going, and Salter finished things off with a 29-yard touchdown run on third-and-long.

Mansour’s kick put the Grangers up 21-0 with 1:25 showing on the clock.

The Tigers desperately needed to get something positive going at the start of the third quarter.

Instead, Troup went three-and-out, and the Grangers went right back to work, going 71 yards in nine plays, and Heard bulled his way into the end zone from six yards out to cap the drive.

Heard also had runs of 13, 27 and 13 yards on the drive.

After another punt, it took the Grangers just one play to add to their lead.

Salter took a handoff from Gunsby and raced 50 yards for a touchdown, and the extra point put the Grangers up 35-0.

Ferrell had 49 yards on the Grangers’ final drive capped by his 27-yard run, and E Smith converted the extra point to cap the scoring.