The Sidney Lanier offense was nearly unstoppable as the Poets routed visiting Stanhope Elmore on Thursday night.
Sidney Lanier beat the Mustangs, 41-17, in a crucial AHSAA Class 6A, Region 2 matchup. The Poets (5-2, 3-1) scored touchdowns on their first six possessions as they totaled 426 offensive yards on the night.
Stanhope Elmore, which has given up over 40 points in three of its last four games, falls to 1-6 and 1-3 in region play. The Mustangs have lost four straight games.
“They have tremendous athletes over there and we didn’t do a good job of execution and tackling,” Stanhope Elmore coach Brian Bradford said of his defense. “That cost us the game. We just didn’t do a good job of executing and tackling on defense.”
While Stanhope Elmore’s defense could not get a stop for nearly the entire game, the offense played well in spurts. But to start the game, the Mustangs quickly turned the ball over.
After a long catch and run, the Mustangs fumbled the ball at midfield just a few plays into the game. The Poets responded with a 40-yard touchdown pass from Ques Thompson to Jamarcus Howard.
After a Stanhope Elmore field goal, Lanier scored again on a touchdown catch by Tacaris Bozeman.
The Mustangs then missed a field goal, and Lanier’s Bozeman scored this second touchdown to put the Poets up, 21-3.
Stanhope Elmore was able to score two touchdowns on back-to-back drives to end the first half, but that was all the Mustangs could muster up. Jackson Thomas scored on a 1-yard touchdown run and Jacob Bryant found Colton Adams for a 18-yard touchdown pass, but Lanier led 27-17 at halftime.
Stanhope Elmore’s first two offensive possessions of the second half resulted in a second fumble and an interception, and the Poets turned those two turnovers into two touchdowns and led, 41-17, midway through the third quarter.
“We did good in spurts but we shot ourselves in the foot a time or two,” Bradford said. “We didn’t capitalize on a couple of drives early and they did. That was the difference in the first half. We came out in the second half and couldn’t find any rhythm. Hats off to them. They have a great football team.”
