The Lincoln County Red Devils (3-1) defeated the Harlem Bulldogs (2-2) 36-29 on Friday, Sept. 17 in a tight-knit game.
Lincoln County struck first on the second play of the game after receiving the ball on the kickoff from Harlem, and Tevin Gartrell ran the long ball in for the first touchdown of the night. Cameron Miller kicked for the extra point, and the score was 7-0, not even 15 seconds into the game.
On Harlem’s first possession, the team drove all the way to the 19-yard line, but a fumble put the ball back in Lincoln County’s hands.
Lincoln County put up their second touchdown on a 1-yard touchdown run with less than a minute left in the first quarter. Miller’s kick was good to make the score 14-0 going into the second quarter.
Harlem got things started in the beginning of the second quarter on a touchdown run from running back Jason Williams. Brett Sterner kicked for the extra point and cut the score in half, 14-7.
With about nine minutes to go, Lincoln County’s Semaj Jenkins fumbled the ball and gave possession back to the Bulldogs.
Taking advantage, Harlem quarterback Ryan Newman threw a long pass to wide receiver Jon Howard to get the Bulldogs into scoring position. With less than five minutes in the second quarter, running back Corey Boyd scored on a touchdown run, but the kick was no good, so Harlem was down by one, 14-13.
With less than a minute and a half left in the first half, the Red Devils fumbled the ball away again.
The Bulldogs drove all the way to 1-yard line and with 14 seconds remaining in the half, scored on a touchdown pass from Newman to wide receiver Sean Dodds. Harlem failed the 2-point conversion, and the score going into the second half was 19-14.
With 8:27 to go in the third quarter, Harlem got close to touchdown territory but kicked a field goal to push even further ahead, 22-14.
With less than five minutes left in the third, the Red Devils made it to the red zone. Gartrell then scored on a 5-yard touchdown run. The 2-point conversion was complete, and the score was tied 22-22.
Harlem answered quickly on a touchdown pass from Newman to Howard. Sterner kicked the extra point and the score was 29-22.
But Lincoln County didn’t end the third quarter without making another move. With just 10 seconds left on the clock, Semaj Jenkins ran for a 47-yard touchdown. Miller’s kick was good, and the score at the start of the fourth quarter was tied once more at 29-29.
The Red Devils finally got the lead again with less than eight minutes in the game. Jenkins intercepted a Bulldog pass on the goal line and ran it back 20 yards to give Lincoln County the ball.
Gartrell ran the ball in for another Red Devils’ touchdown. Miller’s kick was good, and the final score was 36-29.
Next Friday, Sept. 24, Harlem will travel to Academy of Richmond County, and Lincoln County will host Elbert County.
Shelbie Summerlin is a Sports Contributor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at ssummerlin@augusta.edu
