Longhorns' magic number down to 1 after rally win over Salem

By Jeff Hart Sports Reporter

Posted 8:12AM on Saturday, October 25, 2014

SUGAR HILL -- Lanier coach Korey Mobbs told his team there is something brewing at The Ranch. Whatever it is, it may be ready to boil over after the Longhorns staged their best comeback of the season rallying for 28 unanswered second half points to beat Salem 42-35 Friday night. "We preach 1-0 every week but this was a special win because of how the kids battled back from a terrible first half," Mobbs said. "We just talked at halftime about staying the course and not hurting ourselves. And our playmakers made plays." Junior quarterback Tahj Tolbert tossed four touchdown passes in the second half, three to senior Timothy Leazer, and senior Tario Fuller ran for 144 yards, most coming in the pivotal second half (15 carries, 89 yards). Leazer's first TD catch, which pulled the Longhorns to within 28-21 early in the third quarter, was a highlight-reel catch diving low to snare a 39-yard pass and then sliding on his back to finish it. It also fired up the Lanier sideline. "A tremendous catch," Mobbs said. "He does that all the time in practice. He's our captain and he knows how to make plays." For Leazer, the chance to finish strong in his final year has been all the motivation he needs. "We want this so bad as a group. We just try not to get too down. On that catch I just tried to get my hands on it and then just kind of rolled over to make sure it didn't come out," Leazer said. "We have so many guys on this team that can make plays. It just happened to be my night I guess." But again it was the Longhorns defense that made the difference shutting out the Seminoles in the second half after being torched for 28 points and over 300 yards in the first half. "We really hurt ourselves on defense in the first half with a lot of penalties that kept drives going. We changed a couple of things in the secondary and the defensive line was outstanding in the second half," Mobbs said. "But really Tahj and Timothy played a great second half and Tario just does what he does. It's a great win for us but we still have two tough games left." The win for the Longhorns (8-0, 7-0 Region 8-AAAAA) puts them one win from clinching their first-ever region title. They play host to Winder-Barrow next week and then travel to Apalachee in the season finale. After Leazer's first TD catch, Tolbert and Bolaji Ojolola connected on a 47-yard bomb and their next possession to tie the game at 28 with 4:27 left in the third. Less than three minutes later Tolbert and Leazer connected again on an 11-yard touchdown pass to take the lead for good. Tolbert and Leazer would strike one more time with 6:20 left in the game on a 5-yard touchdown pass for a 42-28 lead. Tolbert finished 11-of-19 for 165 yards. Leazer had four catches for 68 yards and three TDs. Salem answered back on its next play with a 48-yard pass from Gerald Walker to Justin Marshall to cut it back to 42-35 but the defense stuffed the Seminoles twice in the final three minutes to preserve the win. Things started great for the Longhorns when junior Marcella Baity returned the opening kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown. Baity muffed the kick but picked it up on a bounce and serpentined his way through the Seminoles defense before outracing them down the right sideline for a 7-0 lead just 25 seconds into the game. But it was all Salem for the rest of the 23:25 of the first half as the Longhorns played their ugliest half of football this season. "I think the guys kind of relaxed a bit after that kickoff and just couldn't get going. It wasn't pretty but somehow we stayed close enough to have a chance to rally and the guys found a way," Mobb said. The Seminoles answered quickly taking their first drive 80-yards in 10 plays, converting three third downs or 10 or more yards, including a 27-yard touchdown pass from Walker to Kyle Zuber to tie the game. The Salem defense stopped Lanier on three quick plays and the offense went back to work as Walker connected on three more passes, including a 12-yard TD strike to Robert Cyrus for a 14-7 lead. The Lanier offense struggled most of the first half gaining just four first downs to go with one turnover and being stopped Salem would take advantage of a short Lanier punt and needed just four plays, capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Hassan Broddie for a 21-7 lead with 7:26 left. The Longhorns offense finally responded answering on their next drive. Tolbert and Ashton Barnes connected on a pair of 21-yard pass plays to the Salem 1 and then Fuller cut the lead to 21-14 with a 1-yard touchdown run with 5:25 left. Salem would answer right back with Walker getting his third TD pass of the half on a 19-yard strike to Kanome McIntosh to cap an 80-yard drive in just over two minutes. Lanier had one last chance but the drive stalled at the Salem 39 with 31 seconds left. SCORING SUMMARY Salem....14....14....0....7 -- 35 Lanier.....7.....7....21....7 -- 42 First Quarter LAN -- Marcella Baity 75 KO return (Harwood kick) 7-0, 11:35 SAL -- Zuber 27 pass from Walker (Brooks kick) 7-7, 7:29 SAL -- Cyrus 12 pass from Walker (Brooks kick) 14-7, 4:32 Second Quarter SAL -- Boddie 1 run (Brooks kick) 21-7, 7:26 LAN -- Fuller 1 run (Harwood kick) 21-14, 5:25 SAL -- McIntosh 19 pass from Walker (Brooks kick) 28-14, 3:06 Third Quarter LAN -- Leazer 39 pass from Tolbert (Harwood kick) 28-21, 8:50 LAN -- Ojolola 47 pass from Tolbert (Harwood kick) 28-28, 4:14 LAN -- Leazer 11 pass from Tolbert (Harwood kick) 35-28, 1:50 Fourth Quarter LAN -- Leazer 5 pass from Tolbert (Harwood kick) 42-28, 6:20 SAL -- Marshall 48 pass from Walker (Brooks kick) 42-35, 5:55

Jeff Hart Sports Reporter