Lamar clinches division crown

By By Austin Bishop/EMG regional sports director
October 25, 2003
GALLMAN Looks aren't everything.
The visiting Lamar School Raiders were certainly slow starters in their plodding 35-7 win over Copiah Academy on Friday night, but in the end, they came away with what they were looking for.
And that's exactly what the Raiders did.
Once Lamar reeled off three unanswered touchdowns in the second quarter to go up 21-0, the game was pretty much decided.
The Raiders travel to McComb on Friday night to face Parklane, before ending the regular season by hosting Hillcrest Christian. Lamar is now 3-1 in league play and have defeated all three of its District 2-AAA Division 2 foes (Copiah, Central Private and Adams Chrisitan).
The only loss on Lamar's district ledger is a setback to District 2-AAA Division 1 foe Jackson Prep.
Lamar's defense was once again dominating, holding the 1-9 Colonels to just 88 yards of total offense, with only 37 of that coming in the first half.
The only Copiah points of the night came late in the game after Lamar had fumbled the ball away at its own 3-yard line.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Raiders finally dented the scoreboard when Drew Moffett hit junior tight end Justin Smith with a 7-yard scoring strike. The kick by Tommy Edgerton put the winners up 7-0 with 9:50 left in the first half. The scoring drive covered 34 yards on seven plays.
Two possessions later Lamar put together what was perhaps its best drive of the night, marching 74 yard in just five plays with Lane Rush scoring on an 15-yard run with 4:54 left in the half. Edgerton's kick made it 14-0.
The biggest play of the drive was a 35-yard run by Rush, who finished the night with 82 rushing yards on 12 carries.
Lamar's last touchdown of the half came on a 11-yard pass from Moffett to Blake Olmstead with 51 seconds left in the second quarter. The scoring opportunity was set up by a nice punt return by Rush, giving Lamar the ball at the Copiah 20-yard line. Two plays later the Raiders scored.
The winners opened the third quarter by marching 64 yards on six plays to score on a 18-yard run by Rush. The kick by Edgerton made it 28-0 with 9:57 to go in the the third.
The Colonels got their lone touchdown the first by Copiah in 18 quarters on a 3-yard by quarterback Steven Sims with 4:46 left in the game. The kick by Price Henley was good. The touchdown came one play after Copiah recovered a fumble at the Lamar 3.
The Raiders added a touchdown on an 8-yard run by Dylan Anderson with 1:52 to play in the game.