Varsity football tops Riverside 61-7 in opener

On a rain-soaked night in Dahlonega, the Lumpkin County varsity football team put on a display of dominance versus Riverside Military Academy of Gainesville.
Using mostly a powerful ground attack, the Indians earned a 61-7 victory against the visiting Eagles.
Lumpkin showed strength in the running game early in the contest to establish a lead the team would never relinquish against their non-region opponent.
New Lumpkin head coach Heath Webb said he was proud of the way the offensive line took over the game.
“In such weather conditions, we weren’t able to throw the ball around as much as we’d like,” Webb said. “We had to rely on the big guys up front and they led us to victory. And the same can be said defensively. Efficiently throwing the ball was going to be tough for either team so it was important to win the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.”
Lumpkin fans waited all spring and summer to see the team under the new head coach, and the Indians didn’t disappoint.
Junior fullback Mason Sullens found the endzone for three rushing touchdowns in the first quarter to help the Indians go up 21-0.
As the clock ran out on the first quarter, Riverside quarterback Jeremiah Shaw completed a 79 yard pass to Idan Azani for the Eagles’ only touchdown of the game.
Webb said the coaches expected the Lumpkin defense to play well.
“In our two scrimmages, we only allowed one touchdown so a solid performance wasn’t a surprise,” said Webb. “I know our defensive coaches and players would like to have that one play back where we allowed a touchdown. It shouldn’t have happened.”
Lumpkin starting quarterback Cooper Scott left the game after a tackle down the sideline, but would eventually return to the Indians sideline.
In the second quarter, Lumpkin backup quarterback Cal Faulkner scored a 28-yard rushing touchdown to extend the lead to 27-7.
Sullens added his fourth touchdown of the game, an 11-yard run to give the Indians a 34-7 lead.
Still in the second quarter, Faulkner scored again on a 1-yard run.
And before half-time, Will Wood retuned a fumble 16 yards for another Indians touchdown.
After halftime and a lightning delay, with the teams playing with a running clock, Lumpkin’s Gerald Walker ran in a 19-yard touchdown as the team went up 53-7.
To round out the scoring, freshman Nolan Matthews scored on a 17-yard run as the Indians won comfortably 61-7.
“Some may look at the score and assume that it was a fairly flawless performance but there’s always opportunity to improve,” Webb observed. “We didn’t play special teams fully live in our scrimmages so this was the first time we got live game looks at our special teams. Improvement there will be a big focus for us moving into next week.”
Lumpkin racked up 20 first downs in the contest, while Riverside had 9.
Sullens led the running attack for the Indians with 121 rushing yards on 13 attempts and four touchdowns.
Kicker Will Staples was 5-for-5 on extra points in the game, while Josue Nieto was 2-for-4 on the night.

NEXT UP

This Friday night, Lumpkin will travel over the mountain to Blairsville to take on 8-AA opponent Union County.
Last time the two teams met in 2017 the Panthers defeated Lumpkin 31-24 in Dahlonega.
A week ago Union County earned a close 14-7 win at home against Fannin.
“Union has a good football team,” Webb  said “They are solid on both sides of the ball. Their win over Fannin last week was impressive. They had a goal line stand on the last two plays of the game to preserve a win.
Webb said the Panthers are battle tested.
“They’ve faced adversity and overcame it where we cruised to victory with little adversity,” he added. “We’ve got to match their intensity to have a chance to win.”