The Lamar County Trojans pulled off a huge upset Friday night, opening the Jeff Sloan era with a 27-6 win over Mt. Zion. The loss knocked the Eagles out of the Class AA Top 10 where they had been ranked #7 going into the opener. LC entered the game as a 22-point underdog and won by 21. The Trojans held Mt. Zion scoreless until just 12 seconds were left in the game. Sloan’s squad left points on the field via penalties in key moments. ’We are extremely happy with the intensity and energy our guys came out with and played with throughout the game Friday night. We have a ton of work to do this week which must start with eliminating penalties. Penalties let Mt. Zion extend drives and killed our drives. We will also be focusing on keeping our composure in high-energy situations, operating efficiently in all phases of the game and creating a culture of selflessness,’ Sloan said. For a time, it appeared the dawn of the Sloan era would be delayed by a week as lightning dominated the evening sky around Trojan Field as kickoff drew nigh. The game got underway at 9 p.m. after a 90-minute delay. LC got its first touchdown of the season at the 2:57 mark the first period when Joey Stratton scored on a seven-yard run. Josh Moore’s PAT made it 7-0. Lamar, backed up by multiple penalties, converted a third and 40 on the drive. LC got another score with 1:27 left in the second quarter when quarterback Devin Bateman scored on a 21-yard run. KT Brownlee hit Drew Stout with a pass to give LC the two-point conversion and it was 15-0 at the half. With 8:01 left in the third period and the Eagles backed up deep in their own territory, Grayson Jett forced a short punt which Keilyn Tyus returned 16 yards for a TD. This time Lamar’s two-point trickery failed and it was 21-0. Lamar got its final score of the night midway through the fourth quarter when Bateman heaved a deep pass which was batted around then grabbed by Tyus who took it in for a 68-yard score. Again, the PAT failed and it was 27-0. The Eagles got their lone, meaningless TD on a two-yard run late. The PAT failed. Lamar (1-0) goes to Greenville Friday night for a non-region contest which will be the season opener for the Patriots who are also breaking in a new coach in Tyler Wynn. Greenville went 3-7 last year under Vex Farley including a 24-8 loss to LC at Trojan Field. ’Greenville has a ton of people returning from last year’s team. They are a team that pounds it out on offense, mainly out of the I-formation. They play a smashmouth defense and will look to make us earn every yard. They have some very talented athletes and we are looking forward to the challenge and opportunity,’ Sloan said. More from the head coach’¦ OFFENSE: ’We were happy with the way our offensive line fired off the ball Friday night. They were able to get movement all night long. Our guys were also able to win outside on the perimeter.’ DEFENSE: ’We liked the fact we were able to create turnovers on defense which has been a theme throughout the first two scrimmages and continued Friday night. We were more disciplined in our defensive execution which was an emphasis for the week.’ NOTES: LC was the only Region 5AA team to record a win last week. Callaway lost 10-7 to Opelika (Alabama) and dropped from #1 to #3 in the Class AA poll. Heard County lost to Lagrange 24-9 and fell from #5 to #9. Bremen lost to Rabun County 34-13 while Jordan fell 35-12 to Monroe. Spencer lost 20-14 to Columbus. Temple did not play.
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