The Oglethorpe County High School Patriots football team took the on Lincoln County High School Red Devils, in a scrimmage on Friday. The two teams met at Patriot Stadium in Lexington and got started around 7:30pm.
The game started off slow with Oglethorpe being forced to punt on their first drive, and the ball swapping hands multiple times. However, with 3 minutes left in the first quarter and facing a 3rd down and 10, sophomore quarterback Hunter Hall threw a deep pass to the home sideline, intended for Darius Heard. Heard was able to catch the ball, and break the defenders tackle to take it in for the Oglethorpe touchdown.
From there, it went downhill. The Red Devils responded with a touchdown of their own, which would cap off the first quarter of play.
The score remained tied throughout the majority of the second quarter. Possession went back-and-forth between the two teams, until Lincoln County dialed up an explosive run-play that took them to the end zone. However, the score would remain tied due to a holding penalty that overturned the touchdown, and forced the Red Devils back. They responded to this with a 3rd and 10 touchdown pass, which gave them a 14-7 lead entering halftime.
As the teams headed back onto the playing field following the halftime break, they were both aware of the small deficit on the scoreboard. Lincoln County took advantage of this, scoring a touchdown on 4th and GOAL from the one yard line, and again on a first down play that ended the third quarter with a score of 28-7.
The Red Devils dominated the rest of the game scoring early in the final quarter which put them up by four possessions. By this point, Oglethorpe had substituted the majority of their starters, in order to give younger players a chance to compete. This would not have an impact on the scoreboard. During a 3rd and 32 play, Lincoln made a tackle in the end zone resulting in a safety, putting them up by two more points.
Lincoln scored two more times in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter, which ended the game with a 48-7 score and a Lincoln County victory.
Luckily for Oglethorpe, this game posed no real threat as it was a scrimmage. However, many fans wonder if the team’s performance Friday was a preview of their upcoming season. The Patriots were flawed on both sides of the ball, and had multiple injuries throughout the game. The defense was repeatedly tricked by a play in which the Red Devil quarterback pitched the ball over to another player which resulted in explosive chunk plays for Lincoln.
The Patriot defense was also unable to make crucial third down stops which would have forced Lincoln to punt.
The Patriot offense was also flawed in their air and ground game. Despite this, both sides of the ball had multiple power plays which helped Oglethorpe.
Oglethorpe finished the 2023 season with an overall record of 4-7, and a region record of 1-2. They lost in the first round of the playoffs to Elbert county with a final score of 34-27.
For the 2023 season, the Patriots were in Region 5 of D1 Single A, in which they finished third overall. This year, they will be playing in Region 8 with six other schools, which is a big step up from Region 5 in which there were only three other teams.
Despite the loss Friday, Oglethorpe still has time to perfect their game plan before the start of the season.
The Patriots are set to play the Social Circle Redskins this Friday, August 16, for the first game of the regular season. The game will kickoff at 7:30pm at Patriot Stadium in Lexington.
The Pats played the Redskins last year, in which they lost 14-10.
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