Elite defenses, power offenses showcase Lee County-Northside battle

The first round of the weekly football brawls known as GHSA Region 1-6A play offered a pair of games worthy of great discussion.

Lee County went from up 15-0 to down 22-15 in the second quarter against then-No. 1 Houston County, only to lead 41-22 at halftime en route to 55-29 win.

Northside outgained Valdosta 349-123 in total offense and almost had a pair of 100-yard rushers, only to lose 14-6 to the Wildcats.

The games shook up the polls a little, but four region teams remained ranked, and No. 1 visits No. 4 on Friday when Northside hosts Lee County.

And pads will be popping with a pair of run-oriented offenses and elite defenses going at it.

Lee County (6-0, 1-0 region) moved up to No. 1 in the latest Georgia Sports Writers Association poll with the win, while Northside fell only two spots, to No. 4 with the loss.

Northside head coach Kevin Kinsler said his team had no time to grumble about outplaying the opposition and losing.

“It’s disheartening,” he said. “The penalties, we have to eliminate them. We can’t dwell on what we didn’t do, we have to move forward. In a four-game season, you can’t afford to dwell on the one you just played, you’ve got to get ready for the next one.

“It was a little bit difficult to try and handle something they’re not used to doing. We showed them the video right off the bat to get it out of their system, and we went out and went to work.”

The Eagles did everything but finish, one time facing an and-goal situation only to commit three straight pre-snap penalties. And Valdosta’s defense came up with just enough plays in the red zone.

“We played well on both sides of the ball,” Kinsler said. “We did everything but put the ball in the end zone.”

The Trojans go from facing an offense that passes 35 or so times a game to one that’s prone to run 40 or so times a game.

The Eagles have less of an adjustment, going from one run-oriented team to another. But Lee County uses a version of the old single-wing offense in short-yardage situations or to change the pace. That offense dictated the pace against Houston County.

“It seems like every time we run it, we’ve done well,” Lee County head coach Dean Fabrizio said. “So we’ve run it more and more.”

Fabrizio said a good chunk of his offense gets a little amped when the Trojans get into that single-wing set.

“The great thing is our kids love it,” said Fabrizio, who was an assistant at Peach County before taking over at Lee County. “The receivers don’t. The quarterback doesn’t. But the rest of ’em — the backs, the linemen — they love it. They can’t wait to line up in that thing.”

There’s not much fancy about this matchup, a lineman’s dream game since both teams run.

Lee County runs 63.8 percent of the time, Northside 71 percent.

Lee County might be more balanced, so to speak, but Fabrizio’s defense is facing another playmaking quarterback in Tobias Oliver, who is different than Houston County’s Jake Fromm but has a major resume.

“You’re talking about a kid that won the state title as a quarterback as a sophomore,” Fabrizio said. “He makes things happen. We’re really going to have to own up and play well across the board.”

Northside gets the region’s top rusher, Mark Robinson, who has 972 yards and 13 touchdowns on 150 carries, to deal with. Quarterback Jase Orndorf is second in the region in yards with 962, completing 58.8 percent of his passes with eight touchdowns and three interceptions.

Lee County faces three of the region’s top six rushers: No. 3 Oliver (615 yards, nine touchdowns), No. 5 Daniel Neal (471 yards, six touchdowns) and No. 6 Desean Dinkins (443 yards, seven touchdowns). And Oliver is fourth with 834 yards passing, completing 59.8 percent with eight touchdowns and two interceptions.

But defense will draw attention, especially highly touted Lee County noseguard Aubrey Solomon, who had a strip-and-score play last week against the Bears. Northside doesn’t have quite the star power as Lee County, but the Eagles — led by linebacker Kam Burnett, cornerback Tae Daley and defensive lineman Taykwan Northern — are athletic.

“You can’t cheat, so to speak, in any area because they’re just so solid,” Fabrizio said. “We have to play well in all positions to come out of there with a chance to win.

“There’s no good time to play them. It doesn’t matter if they’re coming off a win or a loss. They’ve got a lot of pride, and they’re going to play hard.”

This story was originally published October 13, 2016 at 5:53 PM with the headline "Elite defenses, power offenses showcase Lee County-Northside battle."