PRATTVILLE-LEE: Lions tame Generals for region win
Prattville running back Mario Parks fights through the tackle of Lee’s Jeremy Ruffin in the Lions’ win on Thursday at Cramton Bowl. (Tim Gayle)
By GRAHAM DUNN
The Prattville Lions got a nice warmup before facing their toughest tests of the season with a comfortable 42-18 victory over Robert E. Lee at Cramton Bowl on Thursday night.
The win kept the Lions in the playoff race with the top two teams - Auburn and Central-Phenix City - remaining on their schedule.
“We focus on the next game regardless of who it is,” Prattville coach JB Wallace said. “This game we played today, we didn’t treat them any different than we’re going to treat the team we’ve got next. Yeah, the teams we’re playing (in the next two weeks) are very competitive but we’re in a very competitive region. So we’ve been battle tested, we’ve had to win one in overtime, so our guys know what it takes to win big games.”
The Lions led by as many as 36 points before the Generals tacked on two scores late in fourth quarter.
Prattville totaled 356 yards with quarterback Cam Richardson doing most of the damage in the air. He finished with 161 yards and a TD on 10-of-16 attempts with one interception. Joshwa Browder added another touchdown pass for 30 yards to KJ Blue for the Lions’ final score in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.
“We came out and we handled business the way we’re supposed to,” Wallace said. “We played well. In all three phases of the game, we made big plays so I was proud of that. We’ve got plenty of stuff we’ve got to clean up, but it’s easier to clean it up after a win.”
Lee stayed close early. After Mario Parks gave the Lions a 7-0 lead, Generals quarterback Bryson McGrew broke for a 77-yard touchdown run with 5:49 left in the first quarter. Lee failed on the two-point try and trailed by a point. But it would be as close as Lee would get the rest of the evening.
Prattville scored 35 unanswered points top pull away. The held a 28-6 lead at halftime. Albert had a 3-yard run for a score while Kam Shanks had a 38-yard reception and a 68-yard punt return for scores.
Richardson added a 2-yard run for a touchdown in the third quarter. He had 192 yards in total offense. Shanks had 212 all-purpose yards.
McGrew had 105 yards passing and 101 yards rushing with a touchdown for Lee, which stayed winless (0-8, 0-6) in Class 7A, Region 2 play.
Antwan Barnes added a 55-yard run for a score for Lee.
Prattville (6-2, 4-2) kept pace for a playoff bid with the win. The Lions play host to Auburn next week. The Tigers are undefeated and ranked first in the ASWA 7A poll.
Should the Generals lose their final two games to Smiths Station and Enterprise, it will culminate the school’s third winless season in history, joining the teams in 2007 and 2016.