In just a few hours, there will be a high school football game happening in the Augusta area that will bring with it an early-season playoff atmosphere.
Yep, we’re talking Lakeside at Evans. Go ahead and shut the entire town of Evans, Georgia down Friday night. Certainly there will be other games happening Friday night — in fact, it’s going to be quite the busy night with 28 of our 33 coverage-area teams in action.
But Lakeside at Evans stands out for several reasons. And here are a few of them:
1. It’s a county rivalry. Enough said, right? But not only is it a county rivalry, it’s a cross-town rivalry. The schools are 3.9 miles apart. You can drive from one to the other in nine minutes. Ride your bike there in 19. And, as the old saying goes, whenever it’s a hotly contested rivalry, go ahead and throw the records out. Both teams could be 0-9 playing in the last game of the season, and it’s going to matter like a high school Super Bowl to them, simply because of who’s on the other sideline. Many of these athletes have played against or with each other since they were old enough to play. Families know each other. A cheerleader at Evans may have a boyfriend at Lakeside. It just matters more when it comes to two teams in close proximity playing each other on a Friday night. They’ve made movies about this, for crying out loud. And on this Friday, Evans, Georgia will get its own version of Friday Night Lights with this marquee matchup.
2. It’s a county rivalry with playoff implications. Just a few lines ago we said, “throw the records out,” right? Well, in this one, keep the records in play. It makes it more intriguing, and here’s why. Our sports staff did some digging this week, and we discovered that, with both teams coming into this one at 2-0, it’s the first time since the two schools began playing back in 1990 that both teams have come in undefeated at a minimum of two games played? Throw in the fact that these two teams are opening region play in this game, which means that this game has region championship and playoff positioning implications, right off the bat. Region 1-AAAAA is a big, nine-team region that includes schools such as Glynn Academy, Statesboro, Bradwell Institute and, another Columbia County foe in Greenbrier. But only Evans and Lakeside remain undefeated in this still-young season. After Friday night, instead of two, there will just be one.
3. Evans-Lakeside is an historically competitive game. Since 1990, these teams have played 33 times. Evans has won 21 of those contests to Lakeside’s 10. Both schools have a tie between them — that happened in 1992. Despite Evans’ edge, these games have rarely been blowouts. The average margin of victory in the first 33 matchups is 15 points. The most lopsided Evans win came in 2020 when it routed Lakeside 55-6. For the Panthers, their 30-0 victory at Evans back in 2010 was the most decisive. The past two matchups have been decided by one point each. The one before that, 2021, was a 37-29 Evans win. So even when these two teams haven’t been very good, the games themselves have rarely disappointed, often coming down to the fourth quarter or even the final drive or play. How much more competitive should this one be since it’s pitting too talented, evenly matched squads who have legitimate region championship and postseason goals?
MORE COVERAGE: We unveiled our first high school football power rankings this week.
4. Did we mention these two teams are good? Evans shook the local scene up early with its season opening win against Class AA powerhouse Thomson. Thomson has gone on to struggle a bit in the early part of the season, but the Bulldogs still have ample talent, and that win is a major feather in the Knights’ cap. Evans proceeded to dominate a lesser foe in Grovetown, which is what good teams are supposed to do. Meanwhile, Lakeside also easily handled Grovetown in a 30-12 season opening win. But last week’s 28-19 victory over what should be a decent South Aiken squad, with arguably the best running back in the CSRA, was an eye opener. Three-star prospect Jevon Edwards got his yards — 156 on 21 carriers to be exact. But Lakeside’s defense held the rest of the Thoroughbreds not named Edwards to just 139 yards of total offense. Offensively, the Panthers have averaged 330.5 rushing yards per game. With dual-threat senior quarterback leading the way. Evans’ ground game isn’t far behind, rushing for close to 230 yards per contest. EJ Hogan has weapons in the passing game in Buddyrow Garrer and Christian Scott that give the Knights solid versatility.
5. Both programs have something to prove. Ultimately, forget the records. Forget the stats. Even throw out the rivalry aspect for a moment. Both of these coaches in Evans’ Barrett Davis and Lakeside’s Steve Hibbitts feel like they have teams that are finally and truly poised to make deep playoff runs. Lakeside hasn’t clinched a postseason berth since 2021 and haven’t enjoyed a winning record since 2019. That 7-3 Lakeside squad was Hibbitts’ best so far during his 11-year tenure at the school. Meanwhile, Davis’ Knights have been to the postseason in each of his previous three years. His 9-3 2021 playoff squad that made it to the second round is the high-water mark so far in his tenure. Both teams have arguably more talent than they’ve had in recent years. Of course, Evans has 4-star offensive lineman and Georgia pledge Mason Short. But Garrer is also a Division I prospect (committed to Kent State). Meanwhile, Hibbitts called Ty Jones “the best player I’ve seen” since coaching at Lakeside. Both teams feel like this could be a true breakthrough year for them, and we should expect them to play like it in this game.
The only thing left to say about this one is, get there early. With game time temperatures expected to be in the lower to mid 70s, and no real chance of precipitation, it should be a fantastic Friday night for a fantastic high school football game.
Augusta Press sports writers Justin Gray and Jaxon Garner contributed to this report.
