After suffering a 4-6 season in 2012, Peachtree Ridge needed to get off on the right foot in 2013. The Lions did just that Saturday when they beat Walton 23-17 in the second game of the Metro PCS Corky Kell Classic.
It looked like the Lions were going to suffer another loss in the Kell Classic as they were down 14-3 early in the first quarter. But thanks to running back Jordan Ellis, who rushed for 125 yards and one touchdown, as well as costly penalties by Walton, the Lions rallied for a 23-17 win.
“It’s a big win,” Lions head coach Mark Fleetwood said. “It’s a big win for the community and everybody. We’re excited.”
The Lions got things started on the opening kickoff as Myron Burton returned it 75 yards. That led to a 29-yard field goal by Evan Pantels to put the Lions up by three.
Walton was able to answer on the ensuing drive, going 10 plays and 68 yards, and it ended with a Price Wilson 14-yard touchdown pass to Maurice Gibson go up by four.
The Raiders were able to increase their lead to 14-3 with 4:16 left in the first quarter when Wilson threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Jordan McCray.
The first quarter ended with Peachtree Ridge imposing their will, as quarterback Chance Thrasher threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to Burton to cut the Walton lead to four.
Things were quiet most of the second quarter until Walton kicker Christian Lucas kicked a 32-yard field goal to increase the lead to seven at 17-10.
The Lions ended the first half with momentum as they scored six points in the final two minutes. After Lucas’s 32-yard field goal, Pantels nailed a 35-yarder to cut the Walton lead to seven. Peacthree Ridge got the ball back when Wilson’s pass was intercepted by Dru Moody with 16 seconds left in the half. That led to a Pantels 53-yard field goal to cut the Raiders lead to one at halftime.
“I just don’t think we were settled down on both sides of the ball,” Fleetwood said. “We were excited. We just had to stick to what we’ve been doing and not panic.”
They did just that in the second half. The Lions’ defense settled down and did not allow Wilson and the Walton offense get anything going. At the same time, the Raiders hurt themselves all game, committing 10 penalties for 81 yards.
The Lions’ offense came up big late in the third quarter when Ellis ran for a 6-yard score. Ellis was also big for the Lions in the fourth quarter as the offense burned six minutes off the clock and gave the Raiders little chance of making a comeback. Walton did have a strong performance from sophomore running back K.K. Brooks who rushed for 120 yards on 22 carries. Wilson also was solid, going 14-of-27 for 170 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
With the win, the Lions improve to 1-0. They will have their home opener Friday when they take on Parkview. Walton drops to 0-1 and have lost three straight games dating back to last year. The Raiders will look to get their first win of 2013 next Friday when they face Hillgrove at McEachern in the Battle of the Big Chicken.
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