Evans, Lakeside go head-to-head in Game of the Week

EVANS, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - It’s the battle for the Soul of Columbia County between the Evans Knights and the Lakeside Panthers.

It is the first region matchup for Lakeside and the second for Evans.

Evans had a tough non-region schedule to start their season off and it could come in handy this week against the Panthers.

Last Friday night, the Knights’ defense only let one touchdown through.

That’s what they’re going to need to maintain, especially since Lakeside is a second-half team.

That’s when things move from the back burner to the front, and we saw that especially last season when the Panthers beat the Knights by one.

If it’s up to Evans, that won’t happen again.

On the flip side, the Panthers are prepared to turn the heat all the way up.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the guys come out to compete at the highest level possible. They got some very good kids over there. They do some great things, but our kids are fired up that they’re ready to go this year. They’re always ready to go there. They’re ready. They’re ready,” said Lakeside Head Coach Cedric Mason.

Cole Taylor, senior cornerback for Evans, said: “Oh, they’re pretty good. I respect him. But you know we don’t fear anybody on the field.”

Special teams have been a huge part of Evans getting points on the board and getting them out of tough situations.

However, Lakeside isn’t coming to mess around. In the last five games of the series, they’ve taken only two, including the first and the last.

Last year, Lakeside slapped a 10 on the table in the third quarter and didn’t let anything through on defense, winning by one 21 to 20.

Entering their first region match-up against the Knights, they sit at 2 and 2, with those losses coming from North Augusta and Veterans High School.

With a new caller behind center, Lakeside hopes to quiet the Knights quickly.

But if Taylor has anything to do about it, they won’t be easily silenced.

“You know respectful well, you know, I grew up playing football when you know I was off the field and on the field, but we were just trying to dominate when we on the field,” said Taylor.

Mi’keal Grissom, junior quarterback for Lakeside, said: “It’s another chance to show them that Lakeside, you know, the better team, you feel me? So, it’s gonna be very exciting. The community, it’s gonna be packed, you know, everybody’s going to be loud. So, we are ready for it.”

The Knights flipped the table on the Panthers and for the second year in a row this matchup was decided by one point.

Evans took the win 16 to 15, but it wasn’t without its scratches.

While the score was low in the first half, the Knights had about 200 yards of total offense.

Defense was a whole other story. Taylor said he was prepared to dominate the Panther’s offense and he did.

Evans Head Coach Barrett Davishead said: “They came out second half and took it right down our throat went down and scored and so it came down to us breaking one late. Luckily, we were one point ahead of them, but you know, our guys played tough. They weren’t worried about all the hoot and holler and jumping on the 50-yard line on the opposing team. So, I’m proud of our guys. They worry about trying to win a football game. They have a heck of a squad. They did a good job and luckily, we’re on the winning.”

Copyright 2023 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.