Capitalizing on a solid 33-6 lead going into the fourth quarter, Lakeside went on to shut down the visiting Malvern Leopards as the hosts closed out the non-conference season with a 41-19 rout Friday night at Chick Austin Field.
"I'm really excited about our kids," said Lakeside head coach Jared McBride. "They came out and played well from the very beginning. We were able to get some big plays going early and some good defensive stops to get out in front. That's what I challenged them to do, and they played hard all the way to the end."
Moments into the final quarter, Lakeside (2-1) invoked the mercy rule after junior running back Isaac Echols ran four yards into the end zone. Junior quarterback Will Ross found junior receiver Logan White on the conversion play to give the Rams a 41-6 lead.
"We came out in the second half, made some adjustments, got right back in the groove and got some points back on the board," McBride said. "We played well out of the half, and that's something we hadn't done a lot, so I was glad to see the kids respond at the very beginning of the game and at the very beginning of the half."
Malvern freshman quarterback Cedric Simmons, who finished with 15 carries for 141 yards, broke free about halfway through the fourth for a 32-yard rushing touchdown, but the kick was no good, leaving the Leopards (1-2) with a 29-point deficit.
"I thought our freshman quarterback Cedric Simmons got better tonight," noted Malvern first-year head coach J.D. Plumlee. "That's what he needs -- to grow every snap this year and keep growing."
Six plays later, Malvern junior Malique Reliford scooped up a Lakeside fumble to set up another scoring drive. Junior Kieth Caradine rushed for one yard into the end zone with 1:30 remaining, and sophomore Jesus Rodea booted the kick for an extra point, setting the final.
Caradine carried the ball 11 times for 106 yards with one touchdown.
"We had some bad breaks early, and coach McBride was dialing it up on us," Plumlee said. "Like I said earlier in the week, that's a great coaching staff. We have so much youth on defense; right now there's only one senior really playing on defense. We have sophomores in the secondary, and their eyes were wrong. They were throwing and catching some good balls, jumped out on us early, and we just couldn't get in a rhythm."
An unstoppable defensive unit led by Lakeside junior Will Perrigo, wreaking havoc for the Leopards' offense with 10 solo stops, held Malvern scoreless in the first quarter.
Sophomore Chance Cross and Perrigo each had one fumble recovery, and senior Riley Benton sacked Malvern's quarterback.
Ross gave an early look to White while connecting on an eventual 42-yard pass for a touchdown in the early stages of the period just two minutes into the game. Daniel Gaston's point-after attempt was no good, leaving the Rams with a quick 6-0 advantage.
Ross found sophomore Chase Cross on touchdown passes of 88 and 29 yards to give the Rams a 19-0 lead with 9:51 left in the second after Gaston split the uprights on the second score.
Simmons put the Leopards on the scoreboard four minutes into the second frame, rushing in from the 2 yard line to cap a four-play, 45-yard drive.
"I was proud of our guys; we fought," said Plumlee. "We just didn't seem to have anything go our way tonight. We're going to worry about us. With three sophomore linebackers, we've got to get back to tackling every day.
"Our biggest thing is being disciplined with our eyes and teaching those young guys how important it is at this level of football that we play. You look at our schedule and there's not one cupcake out there. We're going to go up on the fly, get better and clean up a lot of stuff."
Ross picked up his fourth passing touchdown of the half at the 6:01 mark as he connected with Brock Garner on a 27-yard toss to the end zone. Gaston's kick pushed the Rams to a 26-6 lead.
"I think Will Ross put the ball in great position for our receivers to make plays," McBride said. "Our offensive line blocked well, and our running backs are running really hard. Defensively, Will Perrigo [and] Austin Brooks covering the field tackling; we just all played altogether a good team win."
Ross was 15-for-21 passing for 252 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions.
In the third, Malvern's defense managed to hold the Rams back until Ross found Echols on a 7-yard touchdown pass for a 33-6 lead.
Echols paced the Rams with 17 touches for 93 yards and one touchdown while logging three catches for 28 yards, and senior Dealond Lewis had 18 carries for 96 yards. White caught three passes for 55 yards with one score while Chase Cross reeled in two more for 117 yards and two touchdowns. Garner had two catches for 27 yards and a score while Perrigo caught four for an 18-yard gain.
In addition to the fumble recovery by Reliford, senior Jason Lambel had a sack for a seven yard loss. Junior Daylan Ross and classmate Jacobe Hart each had one pick.
"It's a lot of motivation for us," added McBride. "It proves that with a good week of practice, we can compete and play hard. We're going to have to continue to do that because we've got a really good Camden team coming up."
The Rams host Camden Fairview on Friday at 7 p.m. at Chick Austin Field. The Leopards travel to Bauxite to kick off their conference season.
Sports on 09/22/2019