Cavaliers Start Season With 39-14 Road Win at Western Harnett

The Southern Lee Cavaliers took the field at Western Harnett with the start of a new season in front of them, and another new head coach in charge! A good start it was as the Cavs jumped out early with a touchdown on the first drive and never looked back in opening the Fred Blanks era with a resounding win as they beat the Eagles 39-14 in Lillington.

Senior running back Jo Jo Douglas ran for four touchdowns on 15 carries on the night and a stingy Southern Lee defense caused three Western Harnett turnovers as the Cavaliers won a season opener for the first time in three seasons. Southern Lee wasted no time in this one. Taking the opening kickoff, the Cavs went 62 yards in just under three minutes to take a 7-0 lead on a four-yard run by Douglas. The key play on the drive was a 59-yard pass from Junior Quarterback Robbie Simms to Junior Wide Receiver Brett Tate Blanks, who made a great arm stretched out catch on 3^rd and 16 to move the ball inside the ten-yard line.

The Cavalier Defense took it from there in the first three quarters with some solid defense in causing three Eagle fumbles, two of which led to Southern Lee touchdowns. But it was the goal of Coach Blanks to establish the run with this team and the Cavs did just that compiling 239 yards on the ground led by Douglas and Sophomore Johnnie Jones and running behind some solid play by a veteran offensive line. Southern Lee attempted just 4 passes on the night, all completed.

Penalties were the only issue on opening night, having 17 of them, which gave Western Harnett many breaks on a night where they struggled to move the ball consistently against the Cavaliers. Southern Lee (1-0, 0-0) will host the Hawks of Seaforth in their home opener next Friday night.

Southern Lee              7    13   12    7       39

Western Harnett         0     0      0    14     14     

Scoring Summary

SL– Douglas 4 yd run (Bryan McCollum kick)

SL – Simms 11 yd pass to Nasire Jones (kick failed)

SL – Douglas 29 yd run (McCollum kick)

SL  – Douglas 11 yd run (kick failed)

SL – Douglas 5 yd run (kick failed)

WH – Jaylen Baldwin 6 yd run (2pt try failed)

SL – 2 yd run Jones (McCollum kick)

WH – Baldwin 70 yd run (2pt try good)

Passing

SL – Sims 3-3, 82 yds, 1 TD; Jones 1-1, 10 yds; Totals – 4-4, 92 yds, 1 TD

WH – TJ Booker 1-3, 14 yds; Brayden Hopkins 0-1, 0 yds; Totals 1-4, 14 yds

Rushing

SL – Jo Jo Douglas 15-123-4TD; Johnnie Jones 13-82-1TD; Mike Tate-Blanks 2-14; Kamuri Davis 4-11; Sims 5-9; Totals – 39-239-5 TD’s

WH- Jaylen Baldwin 7-109-2TD’s; JJ Moore 15-90; Nick Botts 7-22; Brayden Hopkins 3-2; Totals 32-223-2 TD’s

Receiving

SL – Brett Tate-Blanks 1-59; Matt Kidd 1-12; Nasir Jones 1-11, 1 TD; Jamario Alexander 1-10; Totals 4-92-1 TD

WH- Bryce Browning 1-4

• The Cavaliers forced 3 turnovers and had none of their own.
• Southern Lee was 3 for 5 on 3^rd down conversions.
• Southern Lee had 17 penalties on the night to the Eagles 7.
• Senior Running Back Jo Jo Douglas was named the Normann Financial Group/WWGP Offensive Player of the Game.
• Senior Linebacker Julian McNeil was named the Normann Financial Group/WWGP Defensive Player of the Game.
• The Wilkinson Coach Blanks Player of the Game will be announced on the Coach’s Show at 7:30pm Tuesday night on WFJA Sports 105.5 FM.
• Visit wfjawwgpradio.com and go to High School Football for more stats and information on Southern Lee Football and the Sandhills 3A/4A Conference.