Lee County’s first true road playoff game since 2016 took the Trojans 208 miles to face upstart River Ridge in Woodstock on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Class 6A playoffs.
River Ridge acquitted itself well in its first appearance in the state quarterfinals, but ultimately top-ranked Lee County had too much Caleb McDowell.
The senior running back, a three-star recruit who has committed to South Carolina, scored five touchdowns for the second consecutive week, this time in a 49-31 victory that put the Trojans in the semifinals for the third time in four seasons. Lee County (11-1) will be at home next week to face third-ranked Westlake, which advanced with a 27-24 victory over No. 4 Allatoona, last year’s state runner-up.
McDowell had 134 yards rushing on 11 carries and scored on runs of 21, 22 and 62 yards. He also scored on a 77-yard kickoff return and a 49-yard punt return.
“What can you say about Caleb,” Lee County coach Dean Fabrizio said. “We talked all year about when you get to this point in the playoffs, big-time players have got to make big-time plays, and Caleb was big-time tonight, no doubt.”
The Trojans are 15-1 in the playoffs with two state championships since their last postseason road game, a 35-22 loss to Mays at Lakewood Stadium in the 2016 second round. Their only other game in that stretch played outside of Leesburg was a 14-0, neutral-site win over Northside-Warner Robins at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the 2018 final.
The loss marked the end of the best season in school history for River Ridge (11-1), which opened in 2009. The Knights set a school record with 11 wins, earned their first region championship and won a playoff game for the first time.
“This has meant the world to our school, our community, these young men, and I’m just so happy to be a part of what these young men have accomplished this year with everything that’s been going on and everything that’s still going on,” River Ridge coach Michael Collins said. “It gave us something to hang on to for a while. It was just an unbelievable run. I hate that it’s over, but now we can sit back and appreciate how good of a run it was.”
Added Fabrizio, “My hat’s off to River Ridge. Coach Collins and his staff have done a great job there. They’ve got a really, really good football team, and we knew coming up here it was going to be a tough game. They certainly proved it. Our kids had a lot of respect for them coming in, and they certainly showed why.”
Lee County seized control on the opening kickoff, which River Ridge was unable to field and Lee County recovered at the 10-yard line. Three plays later, Chauncey Magwood threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Tyrus Washington to put the Trojans ahead for good.
Magwood threw another touchdown pass - a 24-yarder to Jevell Fugerson - on Lee County’s second possession for a 14-0 lead. Magwood, committed to Kentucky as a wide receiver, was 10-of-16 passing for 92 yards and rushed for 55 yards on eight carries.
River Ridge eventually got back within four points after a 77-yard touchdown run by Amehre Morrison and a 39-yard field goal by Scotty Rutherford made it a 21-17 game with 4:17 remaining in the first half, but Magwood returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown and later scored on a 22-yard run to give the Trojans a 35-17 halftime lead.
Lee County built the lead to 49-17 on Magwood’s punt-return touchdown on the third play of the fourth quarter before River Ridge got two touchdown passes from Carson Lathem to Jackson Head in the final nine minutes for the final margin.
Morrison and Lathem accounted for all but four of River Ridge’s 302 offensive yards. Morrison ran for 123 yards on 19 carries, and Lathem was 17-of-30 passing for 175 yards. Head had 95 yards receiving on five catches.
Lee County’s Preston Simmons ran for 101 yards on 16 attempts, carrying the bulk of the load in the fourth quarter as the Trojans focused on running out the clock. Lee County finished with 294 yards rushing and 386 overall.
“Obviously you can always get better, you can always improve, but we’re definitely playing our best football right now in the playoffs that we’ve done all year,” Fabrizio said.
Lee County - 21-14-7-7 - 49
River Ridge - 7-10-0-14 - 31
First quarter
L - Tyrus Washington 6 pass from Chauncey Magwood (Austin Hunt kick), 10:25
L - Jevell Fugerson 24 pass from Magwood (Hunt kick), 6:03
R - Andrew Bingham 19 pass from Carson Lathem (Scotty Rutherford kick), 2:15
L - Caleb McDowell 21 run (Hunt kick), 0:29
Second quarter
R - Amehre Morrison 77 run (Rutherford kick), 9:12
R - Rutherford 39 field goal, 4:18
L - McDowell 77 kickoff return (Hunt kick), 4:02
L - McDowell 22 run (Hunt kick), 1:29
Third quarter
L - McDowell 49 punt return (Hunt kick), 4:17
Fourth quarter
L - McDowell 62 run (Hunt kick), 11:40
R - Jackson Head 15 pass from Lathem (Rutherford kick), 8:36
R - Head 10 pass from Lathem (Santiago Lozano kick), 1:25
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