Woodward Academy 44 LaGrange 25

The Grangers make second half adjustments better than most teams I have seen. Unfortunately LaGrange was in too deep of a hole in College Park Friday night. The Grangers outscored Woodward 25-20 in the second half, but the War Eagles went ahead 24-0 in the first half.

The Grangers started out slow, going three and out their opening drive. They then gave up a 49 yard run by Woodward to the Granger 18. But the defense would hold the War Eagles to a field goal. 3-0 early in the game. The next play saw Zach Giddens throw an interception but Woodward could not score from the miscue, punting the ball away four plays later. The teams exchanged punts and with two minutes left in the quarter, Quenton Jackson did a small forward toss to Dee Smith running by, but Smith could not find the handle and the officials ruled it a fumble. This time Woodward would get points. A 38 yard, five play drive ended when Kyle Hawkins ran into the end zone from nine yards out. 10-0 Woodward. The Grangers' offense sputtered again and the War Eagles scored on a 63 yard run by Quincy Wolff giving Woodward a 17-0 lead. LaGrange would punt again, but Woodward muffed it and the Grangers recovered atthe War Eagle 33. But six plays later, Alex Edwards' 28 yard field goal attempt sailed wide left. Woodward then put together their longest drive of the half going 80 yards in 12 plays. Jollyce Myrick crossed the goal line from 24 yards out and Woodward would go to the locker room with a 24-0 lead.

Woodward would start the second half with a five play, 58 yard drive. Danny Bosse scored with a 25 yard catch to put the War eagles up 31-0. But the Grangers would answer. After punting and Woodward muffing again, the Grangers took one play to find the end zone. The Dome play, this time from the spread, first done by the Grangers in the 2003 semifinals saw Jackson's pass to Dee Smith complete in the end zone. 31-7 LaGrange. You have to see it to understand it, so check out the videos on lagrangefootball.com. LaGrange then recovered an onside kick and completed a 45 yard drive. On the eighth play, Javon Cameron would catch a pass in the end zone and LaGrange cut the Woodward lead 31-13.

But the War Eagles did not fold and answered back. A 71 yard drive ended with a one yard scoring run by Myrick. 37-13 Woodward. LaGrange punted, but Demoton Boyd intercepted a War Eagle pass late in the third quarter, and the Grangers would get points from it. Seven plays and 80 yards went the Grangers, finishing with a 25 yard shuttle pass to Dee Smith made the score 37-19 Woodward. But Woodward would not let LaGrange hang around. Their next drive went 65 yards in three plays finishing with a 35 yard run by Ron Johnson into the end zone. 44-19 Woodward. The teams exchanged punts and the Grangers final drive went 71 yards in six plays. Dee Smith caught a 28 yard pass at the pylon for a touchdown, cutting the deficit to 44-25. And that is how the game would end.

The Grangers finish the season 4-7 and their first back-to-back losing seasons since 1966-1967. But I saw some talent and did not see any quit from this team down the stretch, and there are plenty of good players coming back. I mentioned the seniors name by name toward the end of the broadcast, as I always do the last game of the season. I appreciate all the hard work they put into the program and wish them success in the future.

Thank you, also, to LaGrange High School and WCJM 100.9 FM "The Bull" and all our sponsors for allowing us to bring you the games via the radio and internet. Also to John Strother and lagrangefootball.com for linking the webcasts and allowing these recaps to be on the website. With Woodward putting the video online and matching it with play-by-play, I have been asked if we will do the same. Woodward has a lot more money to do things with, but I would like to see it happen for the Grangers. This program deserves the best we have to offer.

Troup 27 LaGrange 14

In a battle of two good defenses, a football game usually comes down to mistakes. This game was no different as the Grangers had a 14-9 lead midway through the fourth quarter, but two costly errors gave the Troup Tigers the win.

The Grangers opening drive ended with a Cole Kemp punt, giving Troup the ball at the Granger 49 yard line. Three plays later, Eric Bridges ran into the end zone from 24 yards out, giving the Tigers a 6-0 lead. After an exchange of punts, Troup started their third drive at their own 46. First and goal from the Granger four wound up being fourth and goal from the one, as the Granger defense stiffened. Troup settled for a field goal extending their lead to 9-0. The Grangers would punt the ball away, but on Troup's next drive Qwa Baldwin intercepted a pass from Bridges and ran it in. 9-7 Troup. The Tigers would go three and out, giving the Grangers the ball at their own 32. two plays later, Demoton Boyd would be wide open down the near sideline, make the catch, and outrun everyone to the end zone. LaGrange took the lead 14-9 into the locker room.

The second half was a defensive slugfest as six of the first seven possessions ended with the ball being punted. Troup's second drive ended when the ball was fumbled away at the Granger 11, but LaGrange could not capitalize. With 6:27 left in the game, Quinton Jackson tried to pitch the ball, but former Granger Joe Sanders batted it away, picked it up, and ran in for the touchdown. 17-14 Troup with the two point conversion. On the ensuing kickoff, the Grangers muffed it and Troup recovered 16 yards from the goal line. Three plays later, Bridges scored on the quarterback keeper. 24-14 Troup. The Grangers' next drive ended when they turned the ball over on downs at their own 34. Troup tacked on a field goal to extend their lead to 27-14.

Two of Troup's touchdowns came on drives inside of Granger territory or on the fumble return. One of LaGrange's touchdowns came on a 68 yard pass play. Otherwise it was a defensive battle with big time players making big time plays. Did you expect anything different from these two teams?

The Grangers next travel to Woodward Academy for the first round of the playoffs Friday. Airtime on 100.9 WCJM is 7:00. I'll see you there.