The Colts did some things well in their season opener against Magnolia Heights, but the bigger 5A Chieftains mixed the short pass with a straight ahead running game to take the win 21-6.
Lee Academy came out strong and both sides were scoreless after one quarter. Magnolia put a touchdown on the board early in the second quarter and then added additional touchdowns in the third and fourth.Lee got on the scoreboard with 3:06 to go in the fourth.
“Ninety percent of what we did, we did well,” said Lee football coach Rick Johnston. “They hurt us on some big plays, but we stayed after them and didn’t quit.”
Johnston told his team after the game, not to be proud of the score but to be proud of the effort.
“No one hates losing more than I do,” said Johnston. “You played a good team and we’re making progress. This is a non-conference game and I want you to stick with us, we’re going places.”
Johnston said the Colts had their share of first game jitters and there were players who have to prove they want to play.
“We got too many flags and we’ve got to clean some stuff up,” said Johnston. “They had some good skill people, they were bigger and they just wore us down.”
Magnolia took the opening kickoff and drove to the Lee 44, where defensive lineman Andrew Williams recovered a fumble.
Lee earned a first down but then punted and stopped Magnolia when Colt linebacker Gage Murphy sacked runners twice in the backfield.
“We did some good things on defense,” said Johnston, who also pointed to Graydon Gullick’s play at linebacker.
Magnolia scored their first TD on the second play of the second half with a 10-yard pass. The point after was no good.
The game ebbed back and forth with Lee driving to the 12-yard line and 16-yard line in the second quarter. The Colts had some success with sweeps to the corner, but never got the passing game going and never connected on the long throws.
Lee got the kick to open the third quarter but went four and out.
Magnolia scored their second touchdown at the 8:23 mark on a 9-yard run up the middle and the two-point conversion to the right was good. The Generals got in scoring position on the drive with a 46-yard run by senior running back Kyle Brewer.
Magnolia scored again in the fourth on a 32-yard QB keeper by Blake Kirby. The PAT by Kirby was also good.
Lee got on the scoreboard with a 31-yard pass from quarterback Russell Cook to wide receiver Brett Wilson. The point after kick was no good.
“A play here or there and the game would have been very different,” said Johnston. “I was pleased with our conditioning. They’ve worked hard and we just need to play hard.”
Lee Academy travels to 5A Bayou Academy in Cleveland for another non-conference game at 7 p.m. Friday. The Bayou Colts lost to Indianola Academy 21-14 last week.
