SUGAR HILL — The Lanier defense pitched its third shutout of the season Friday night as the Longhorns took a 42-0 win over Heritage, Conyers at Lanier Community Stadium.
The Longhorns (7-0, 6-0 Region 8-AAAAA) held the Patriots (0-7, 0-6) to just 75 total yards, only 14 rushing, and just five first downs for the game.
Meanwhile, Lanier, behind a combined 155 yards from brothers Marcella and Marcko Baity, racked up 210 yards on the ground. The Longhorns also got a solid game from senior quarterback Tahj Tolbert, who was 13-of-19 passing for 90 yards with a pair of touchdown passes.
Despite the dominant win, the game was tied 0-0 going into the second quarter. But the Longhorns exploded for 21 points over a seven-minute span in the second quarter.
Tolbert connected with Tyler Taylor on a 5-yard touchdown pass with 8:58 left in the half and then tossed an 18-yard scoring pass to Marcko Baity four minutes later for a 14-0 lead. Marcko Baity then added an 18-yard touchdown run with 2:02 left in the half for a 21-0 lead.
Marcella Baity added touchdown runs of 11- and 8-yards in the third quarter and Noah Fritz capped the scoring with an 11-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
The Longhorns will face a pair of tough road games over the next two weeks traveling to Salem and then Winder-Barrow as they try to wrap up their second straight region title.
