A Lassiter offense that struggled for the better part of three quarters found itself at just the right time.
Quarterback Will Anderson threw three touchdown passes in a nine-minute stretch of the second half to lead the Trojans to a 28-21 victory over Walton in a Region 5-AAAAAA game Friday.
The victory gave a big boost to the playoff hopes of Lassiter (3-3, 2-1), which came into the game in fourth place, but moved into a tie with Walton and Milton for second in the region. Walton (3-3, 2-1) had a three-game winning streak snapped and lost to its rival for the second consecutive season.
Anderson’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Quincy Perdue on the Trojans’ first possession of the second half tied the score 14-14 with 8:33 to play in the third quarter. Oris Lawhorn gave the Trojans the lead for good five minutes later when he took a screen pass, weaved to the right and then cut back to the middle, running 80 yards for the score. Perdue caught another touchdown pass, a 29-yarder on the third play of the fourth quarter, for Lassiter’s final score.
Walton made it close with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Price Wilson to Maurice Gibson with 1:20 left, but Lassiter recovered Walton’s onside kick and ran out the clock.
Lassiter was outgained 327-270, in large part because of a big disadvantage in the first half. Anderson finished the night 12-of-20 passing for 279 yards and three touchdowns. The Trojans were sacked five times and finished with minus-9 yards rushing.
Despite its early struggles, Lassiter stayed close throughout the first half. The Trojans went three-and-out on three of their five possessions, made just three first downs and had 73 yards of offense, including minus-6 rushing, in the first two quarters. But when Corey John scored on a 3-yard run with 7:53 to play in the second quarter, it tied the game 7-7.
Walton got the lead back with a 10-play, 74-yard drive that ended with D.J. Smith’s 4-yard touchdown run with 2:48 to play before halftime. The Raiders had 213 yards in the half, with Wilson completing 11 of 16 passes for 171 yards and K.K. Brooks rushing for 41 yards on 16 carries. Brooks finished the night with 80 yards on 28 carries and had no rushes of more than 8 yards. Wilson was 21-for-40 passing for 277 yards and two touchdowns.
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