By By Ryan Satcher/staff writer
October 26, 2002
What started out as a football game at Lamar School on Friday night turned out to be a battle for survivor as Lamar and visiting Copiah Academy fought on a wet field.
In the end, the Raiders of Lamar held on to take a 7-0 win over the Colonels. The exciting win moves the Raiders to 6-4 on the season and secures a winning record in regular season play for Lamar. It is the first time since 1988 that the Raiders have finished over .500 in the regular season.
The Raiders were able to stop Copiah on the final play of the game at the four-yard line to secure the win, but the victory didn't come without costs. Lamar lost quarterback Drew Moffett and lineman Jeff Tate to injuries in the game.
The defense for Lamar was able to hold the Colonels out of the end zone time after time to help the Raiders grab the key MPSA Class AAA win to move to 3-2 in division play.
Copiah moved the ball to the Lamar 18 before stalling on its first possession. The Colonels missed a field goal and the game remained scoreless.
On the Colonels' next possession they moved down to the Raider 25 before turning the ball over on downs.
Lamar followed with a 17-play drive. The Raiders moved to the two-yard line before being pushed back and stopped on fourth down.
The Raiders put the only points on the board on its next possession. After a bad punt, Lamar took over at the Copiah 46. Moffett hit Monroe Mayfield on a 15-yard pass to move the ball deeper into Copiah territory and on Lamar's fourth play Moffett broke loose on a 29-yard touchdown run. The extra point by Randy Thompson made the score 7-0.
The Colonels moved the ball down to the Lamar 26-yard line on their next possession before turning the ball over on downs. Lamar took over possession and on the first play Moffett went down with a broken collarbone.
Owen came out and led the Raiders down the field in the first possession of the second half. Most of the carries went to sophomore Jeff Parke who was filling in for Lane Rush and Dylan Anderson this week. The Raiders drove down to the Copiah 29-yard line before turning the ball over on downs.
Lamar also moved the ball down to the Colonel eight-yard line before missing a field goal on its next possession.
Copiah was able to move the ball down to the Lamar nine-yard line with 8:22 left in the game. The Raiders stopped the Colonels on a fourth-and-one play to keep Copiah out of the end zone.
The Colonels also moved the ball down to the nine-yard line with under a minute to play in the game. After two penalties moved the ball back to the 20, Patrick Williams hit Trae Roberts with a pass to the four-yard line. On the final play of the game the Colonels dropped a pitch on the option and had to fall on the ball in bounds. The time ran out and Lamar held on for the dramatic victory.
Parke finished the game with 101 yards on the ground to lead the Raiders. Moffett finished with 87 rushing yards.
Williams and Charlie Nunnery both finished the game with 99 rushing yards to lead Copiah Academy
Lamar will now have a week off before traveling to play Hillcrest Christian School. The Raiders can win the district with a win over the Cougars.