Lamar stuns McBee in football
By: Don Gearhart
The McBee Panthers invaded Donald R. Poole stadium with a 3-1 record and averaging 28 point per game. It was Homecoming night in Lamar in what is now fondly called “Big Daddy’s House” and the 2-2 Silver Foxes were not about to spoil the night.
Lamar held McBee’s Wing-T offense to a three-and-out. Starting at their own 33 yard line, the Silver Foxes engineered a ten play drive highlighted be a 19-yard quarterback draw by Tyler McManus. On the final play of that drive, McManus plunged one yard to paydirt. After a McBee penalty, McManus also ran for the two point conversion to put Lamar on the scoreboard at 8-0 with 6:28 left in the first quarter.
McBee had a long drive of their own but failed on a fourth down play and turned the ball over to Lamar at the 29 yard line. Lamar was unable to get a first down and the quarter ended with Lamar still holding an 8-0 advantage.
Neither team was successful on their next two possessions and with just 0:43 seconds remaining in the half, McManus scampered 36 yards and passed to Xavier Jackson for 18 yards to the McBee 18-yard line. With 0:05 on the clock, McManus spiked the ball to stop the clock but for some reason, time expired leaving the Lamar sidelines, the fans, and even the officials somewhat bewildered.
Lamar received the second half kickoff and it only took three plays to find the endzone. This time it was all Daveon Martin who carried all three times with the final carry resulting in a 28-yard touchdown run. The 2-point conversion attempt failed but Lamar now held a 14-0 lead.
Penalties derailed the Panthers on their next drive and were forced to punt. They got the ball right back when a McManus pass was intercepted with 4:12 left in the quarter. Starting at their own 33 yard line, McBee was in position to get a first down when a fumble was scooped up by Nyshaun Quillen and returned for another Lamar score with 2:06 on the clock. Grayson Booth kicked the extra point to give Lamar a 21-0 lead.
The fourth quarter did not have much action until Lamar saw a 30-yard pass reception by Prince Johnson and with a fourth and five at the McBee 18-yard line, Booth had just enough leg to connect on a 35-yard field goal with 1:53 left in the game to set the final score at 24-0.
The Lamar defense shined in this game. They refused to give up big plays and most of the tackles were by committee. Now, with a 3-2 record, the travel to Kingstree next week.
