by Matt Wright
The weather cooperated but the Fayette Academy Vikings did not. The Lakeland Prep Lions played its first game of the season Thursday evening (August 27, 2020) on their home turf but went down in defeat in a low scoring affair 12-8. Lakeland is coming off a successful 2019 season which saw them enter the state playoffs for the first time.
Kicking off the game at 6 pm on the Lakeland Prep campus the socially distanced crowd was glad to be back to something familiar. Tickets for the game were only available to players and cheerleader families due to COVID-19 restrictions. Thankfully the game ended before the remnants of Hurricane Laura pushed into the Lakeland area.
The game started quickly for the Lions with a completed pass from new quarterback Jackson Lyons to wide receiver Houston Walker. The next play saw a jet sweep handoff to Miller McCormack for a 40-yard run pushing into Viking territory. But the opening drive stalled and Lakeland turned the ball over on downs. The Lions struggled running the ball effectively during the contest but seemed to find success in the air. With less than 2 minutes before halftime, Jackson Lyons rolled out to his right and found wide receiver Leo Red open for a nice catch and run resulting in the Lions only TD of the evening. A 2 point conversion was successful with another pass, this time to Hudson Drew.
Moments later, in what would end up being a critical part of the game, Fayette Academy scored themselves on a long touchdown pass with only 1:07 left before half. The 2 point conversion was not successful and the score at halftime was Lakeland Prep 8, Fayette Academy 6.
The second half started just how the Lions wanted with a surprise onside kick and recovery. The opportunity was squandered when they could not move the ball down the field. Fayette Academy scored once again at end of the 3rd quarter but the 2 point conversion was intercepted by Houston Walker. The score was 12-8 going into the 4th quarter and neither team would score again ending the game with a Viking victory.
Lakeland Prep looks to get back on track next week when they play Millington at Lions Field.
