Lovett stems Woodward rally for win

By JEFF HAWS

For the AJC

Lovett controlled the ball much of the first half, but Woodward Academy evened the score a few minutes into the second quarter.

The Lions needed an answer, and they took their time in making an emphatic one.

After Woodward’s first touchdown, Lovett methodically marched 82 yards on 19 plays, capped by Drew Stockton’s 6-yard scoring catch. The touchdown gave the Lions the lead for good in their season-opening 23-13 victory.

That 8-minute, 2-second drive swiped the momentum from the host War Eagles, whose triple-option attack looked difficult to stop as their touchdown tied the game 6-6. But Lovett used a nice mix of eight passes and 11 runs to quiet the crowd and regain control.

“What it did was give our kids confidence as the drive went on,” Lovett coach Mike Muschamp said. “We converted some big third downs; we even converted a fourth down [on a fake punt]. We’ve got some kids who have an awful lot of experience, and they know how to do it.”

One of those is senior quarterback Jonathan Carkhuff, who finished 17 of 25 for 155 yards and a touchdown. He regularly hit his targets while rolling out of the pocket, and a steady diet of short passes helped keep multiple drives alive on third down.

His precision allowed Lovett to keep its offense from being one-dimensional and keep an experienced Woodward defense off balance.

“The kid is as accurate a passer as I’ve ever coached,” said Muschamp, in his fifth year coaching Lovett and 10th in Georgia. “He makes a lot of good decisions when he’s on the field.”

He didn’t have to do much of anything on the play that put the game out of reach, handing it to Zach Boden on an end around on the Lions’ first play of the second half. Boden turned the corner, then ran diagonally to the other side of the field before scampering down the sideline for a 66-yard score that made it 20-6.

Runs like that helped Lovett balance 155 passing yards with 129 on the ground and, especially this early in the season, gave the offense the confidence it takes to play keep-away.

“With our running game, we knew we could run the clock down,” Carkhuff said. “With Woodward’s option, the way they run the ball, it’s really crucial to keep their offense off the field.”

Juwan Thompson ran for 103 yards for the Eagles, and teammate Marcus Polk had 94 on the ground.

LOVETT 23, WOODWARD ACADEMY 13

Lovett 6 7 7 3 — 23

Woodward 0 6 0 7 — 13

L — Austin Mills 25 FG

L — Mills 28 FG

W — Juwan Thompson 5 run (kick failed)

L — Drew Stockton 6 pass from Jonathan Carkhuff (Mills kick)

L — Zach Bolden 66 run (Mills kick)

L — Mills 28 FG

W — James Minor 1 run (Michael McDonald kick)