T.K. Morgan and his LaGrange High teammates run onto the field before the start of Friday’s game against Newnan. The Grangers fell 27-13 in their season opener.
The Grangers were trying to end the Newnan Cougars 28-game regular season winning streak, but it was not to be as some turnovers and missed opportunities contributed to the Grangers falling to the Cougars 27-13.
The Grangers tied the game at 13-13 after falling behind 13-0, but Newnan scored the game’s final 14 points.
LaGrange got a 10-yard touchdown pass from Braxton Smith to John Wagner, and Chauncey Smith returned an interception for the other touchdown.
“We had some chances to get some points and we didn’t get them,” LaGrange head coach Steve Pardue said, “but I thought that our kids competed hard. We still like this team. We feel good about them. They are going to keep battling and keep fighting out there.”
The Cougars fumbled the ball on the first play from scrimmage,which was recovered by Price Oliver, setting the Grangers up at the Cougar 18-yard line.
The Grangers couldn’t move the ball, though, and they missed a 26-yard field goal.
The Cougars would make the Grangers pay for the miss, driving 80 yards, with quarterback Lamont Anderson capping the drive with an 11-yard run.
The Grangers went three-and-out on their next possession, and after the Cougars started at the LaGrange 37-yard line, they needed just three plays to score again, with Anderson scoring again.
With the missed extra point the Cougars were up 13-0.
The Grangers came out fighting in the second quarterback
Smith guided a drive from the Granger 37-yard line in which he went 6-for-8, including a 10-yard touchdown pass to Wagner.
With eight minutes left in the half the Grangers were down by six.
It was time for the Granger defense to answer.
With the Cougars facing third-and-five from their own 20 yard line, Smith intercepted the ball and took it in for the tying score.
“We got down 13-0 early and it looked as though things could have gotten away from us,” Pardue said. “We battled back and were able to tie it up which was uncharacteristic of us, but then we gave up a long run.”
That long run came on the next play from scrimmage, when Arnold scampered 79 yards down the field for a touchdown, giving the Cougars a 20-13 lead with only two minutes left in the half.
The Grangers moved back down the field to the Cougar 26-yard line, but an interception ended the threat.
“We got a chance to tie the game right before the half and we turned it over,” Pardue said. “Those turnovers hurt us”.
The third quarter was a story of strong defense for both teams, with neither squad able to get a drive going.
That trend continued for both teams into the fourth quarter until Cougar running back Chris Robinson broke free and ran 57 yards for a touchdown.
Despite the loss, Pardue said that he was “proud of the effort that our kids gave. I thought that in the second half we were battling, but we got beat up a little bit. I knew that if we made mistakes against them, they would show and they did.”
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