NORTH AUGUSTA — North Augusta scored touchdowns on the first three drives of the second half to turn a one-touchdown halftime deficit against Lakeside into a 28-21 home win — the first victory of the year for the Yellow Jackets after a pair of season opening losses.
Senior running back DJ Curry gained 165 rushing yards and scored three touchdowns, including a 55-yarder early in the fourth quarter that gave North Augusta its first lead of the game. Curry’s go-ahead scamper came one play after a key 30-yard completion on third-and-20 from Colson Brown to fellow senior Taylon Washington. Brown completed 12 of 18 passes for 177 yards and Washington grabbed seven of those completions for 125 yards.
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North Augusta’s offense put together consecutive touchdown drives of 80, 80 and 75 yards the first three times it possessed the ball after coming out of the halftime locker room trailing 14-7. Lakeside answered the first of the three scoring drives when Mikeal Grissom returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown to give Lakeside a 21-14 advantage.
Grissom’s return seemed to swing the advantage firmly back in favor of the Panthers, but the Yellow Jackets were unshaken. The next two drives featured a balanced attack that got going when Brown connected with Washington for a key 40-yard completion down the right sideline to set up a 9-yard touchdown run for Curry at the end of the third. The aforementioned third down completion to Jackson on the go-ahead drive was a real momentum turner because, on the preceding play, Lakeside’s Justin Barnes had sacked Brown to set up a daunting third-and-20 for North Augusta on its own 15-yard line.
While North Augusta’s offense hummed, the Yellow Jackets’ defense matched it stride for stride. After surrendering 205 rushing yards in the first half, Lakeside’s offense managed only 75 total yards from scrimmage in the second. Isaiah Weathersbee, Colyn Moore and Andres Florido each made stops on third down to keep Lakeside at bay during the first 16 minutes of the second half, a period when the Panthers only managed to gain 36 total yards from scrimmage and convert just two first downs. After gaining possession with two minutes remaining, Lakeside managed to move the ball from its own 35 yard line to North Augusta’s 30. But the drive and the game ended on fourth-and-15 with an incomplete pass.
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Temarcus Elam gained 103 yards and scored on a 77-yard touchdown run that gave the Panthers a 14-7 lead with 4:14 remaining in the second quarter. Shamarion Washington rushed for 80 yards for Lakeside.
In addition to Curry’s three touchdown runs, Brown managed a one-yard scoring dive to tie the game at 14 with 3:13 left in the third quarter. Lakeside’s first touchdown run came from Kaleb Key on a one-yard dive early in the second quarter. Key’s score was the first of the game for either team.
North Augusta will play Greenwood at home next Friday, Sept. 9. Lakeside will travel to play Veterans on Friday, Sept. 16.
Chad Cook has covered sports for several years under AugBball. Follow him on Instagram @AugBBall
