BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — Leading up to and following last Friday afternoon, Lee-Scott Academy head coach Jacob Ozment had heard plenty of times that his team deserved to have a win by that point in the season.
On Oct. 9, that talk finally ended as the Warriors picked up their first win of the season, routing Westminster Christian Academy 49-6 in a Class Private AA Region 2 game at Jud Scott Field.
Lee-Scott (1-7, 1-5) built a 35-0 halftime lead behind four first-half touchdowns from Brooks Zachry, while the Wildcats (0-7, 0-5) fumbled three times in the first quarter alone.
The win was also the first of Ozment’s career, who said the win was like getting “an incredibly heavy monkey off our back.”
“The most important thing is the fact that our guys were able to get their first win of the season,” Ozment said. “Nothing, in my opinion, is deserved. It’s earned. They earned the right to win this past week.”
Ozment said the Warriors had shown flashes all season but hadn’t put four quarters together until Friday
“What kind of got us over the hump was just continued attention to detail, continued focus on getting better, correcting our things on film and then ultimately putting together a complete game,” he said.
Zachry finished with 115 rushing yards and three rushing TDs on 11 carries and caught a 22-yard TD pass, Griffin Gaston ran for 172 yards and two TDs on four carries and Porter Dean added 71 yards and a TD on four carries as Lee-Scott piled up 397 rushing yards. Logan Wilson also completed 4 of 6 passes for 46 yards and a TD.
On defense, Gaston forced a fumble, and Preston Huguley and Samuel Turner each recovered one.
Bryce Gothart led Westminster with 163 rushing yards on 12 carries, including a 76-yard run.
Ozment credited defensive coordinator Erik Speakman, whose practices include a turnover circuit every Tuesday and tackling drills every day.
“As a coach, you love to see when indie periods come alive in the game,” Ozment said. “If you’re practicing something that isn’t in the game, what’s the point in practicing it?”
The game was played under unusual circumstances. Because of Hurricane Isaias, kickoff was moved up four hours, and the night had originally been scheduled as Lee-Scott’s senior night. Westminster traveled more than three hours from Huntsville for the region matchup.
“Let the adults do the adult stuff, and you guys go do the player stuff and just go play ball. Go be kids,” Ozment said he told his players. “This is going to be one of those games you’re going to look back on and want to talk about. So don’t squander the opportunity you have to make a really cool memory of getting to play in a hurricane.”
Westminster broke off a long gain on its first play from scrimmage, but Gaston chased the ball carrier down from behind and stripped the ball, and Huguley recovered. Zachry carried the load on the ensuing possession, rushing for 67 yards on the drive before scoring on a 3-yard TD run to put the Warriors up 7-0 with 9:08 left in the first quarter.
Turner recovered a bad handoff on the Wildcats’ next possession, and three plays later Zachry scored again, running over a defender on a 6-yard TD run to make it 14-0.
Zachry added his third TD of the quarter from 6 yards out with 1:19 left, extending the lead to 21-0.
After Westminster’s third fumble of the quarter, Wilson hit Zachry on a 22-yard screen pass for a TD with 12 seconds left in the period, making it 28-0.
Gaston needed just one play on Lee-Scott’s next scoring drive, bursting outside for a 67-yard TD run with 7:46 left in the second quarter. That score gave the Warriors a 35-0 lead that held through halftime.
Gaston struck again in the third quarter, taking a sweep off left tackle and outrunning the defense for a 74-yard TD with 10:45 left to make it 42-0.
Dean added the Warriors’ final score later in the quarter, taking a sweep off left tackle and cutting back into the heart of the defense for a 44-yard TD with 4:05 left to make it 49-0.
Westminster avoided the shutout on the final play, scoring as time expired with numerous Lee-Scott freshmen on the field.
Lee-Scott will host St. John Paul II Catholic High School (0-7) in a region game Friday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m.
“They’re a much better team than their record shows, and I’m not giving you coach speak,” Ozment said. “Let’s not be the authors of our story and then just put a period after getting one win. Let’s take some momentum and continue to run with that momentum into another region game.”
