MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The LaGrange College football team lost 15-11 at Huntingdon College in USA South Athletic Conference action on Saturday at Samford Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama.
THE BASICS
Score: LaGrange 11, Huntingdon 15
Records: Panthers 6-2, 4-1 USA South | Hawks 6-2, 5-0 USA South
TOP PERFORMERS
- LaGrange senior running back Michael Hays (Jacksonville, Fla.) rushed for 71 yards on 16 carries while freshman running back Amire Miller (Richmond Hill, Ga.) – last week's USA South Offensive Rookie of the Week – rushed for 56 yards on ten carries with one touchdown.
- LaGrange senior quarterback Henry Brodnax (Newnan, Ga.) threw for 193 yards on the day.
- LaGrange junior linebacker Ched Smith (Macon, Ga.) led the Panther defense with eight tackles.
- Huntingdon freshman running back Xavier Finley (Pensacola, Fla.) rushed for 91 yards off eleven carries to lead the Hawk offense.
- Huntingdon sophomore defensive lineman Taj Aubert (Long Beach, Miss.) led the Hawks with two sacks.
TOP PLAYS
- The first score of the game came off a safety with 5:30 left in the first quarter when a bad snap on a punt ultimately rolled out the back of the Huntingdon end zone to put LaGrange ahead 2-0.
- On the very next drive, the Panthers drove all the way down to the one-yard line with a first-and-goal before the Hawks defense stuffed the LaGrange rushing attack on four consecutive plays to turn the ball over on downs.
- With 11:13 left in the second quarter, LaGrange senior cornerback Jaden Sanders (Springfield, Ga.) picked up his first interception of the season at the LC 38, returning it 27 yards to give the Panther offense a new drive starting in Huntingdon territory. LaGrange rushed it on six straight snaps, finally watching Miller punch it in from the one with 6:28 remaining to give the visitors an 8-0 lead.
- With 33 seconds left in the half, LaGrange sophomore kicker James Whatley (Birmingham, Ala.) nailed a field goal from 26 yards out, as the Panthers took and 11-0 lead into halftime.
- On their first drive of the second half, the Hawks drove down to the Panther 36 before senior linebacker Dezmond Jones (Thomasville, Ga.) picked up the hurry on third down to force an incompletion, forcing the punt.
- The Hawks finally got on the board with 6:33 left in the third when junior quarterback Knox Roberts (Nashville, Tenn.) found freshman wide receiver Brayden Collins (Lincoln, Ala.) for a 21 yard touchdown reception, then hit Collins again on the two-point conversion to cut the lead to three.
- With 7:14 left, the Hawks started their drive at their own nine and marched down the field on a 12-play drive, punching it in on a carry from sophomore running back Kenyon Watkins (Douglas, Ala.) to go up 15-11 with 1:48 to go.
- With the game on the line, three huge completions from Brodnax to junior Aaron McLaughlin (Alpharetta, Ga.) kept the Panthers alive as they reached the Hawk 6 yard line. But with 18 seconds left, Brodnax was picked off in the endzone by Huntingdon sophomore defensive back Nathan Jones (Helena, Ala.), giving the Hawks the win and giving the Panthers their first conference loss in nearly two years.
UP NEXT
- LaGrange is back on the field next Saturday when they travel to Belhaven University for a 1:00 p.m. game.
For continuing coverage of LaGrange College Athletics, visit lagrangepanthers.com and follow the Panthers on Instagram ( @lagrange_panthers ), Twitter ( @lcpanthers ) and Facebook ( LaGrange Panthers ).
