SUWANEE — Lambert jumped out to a 24-0 second quarter lead and then held on to upset Gainesville 37-28 Friday night in a key Region 6-7A game for both teams.
The Longhorns had lost 11 straight region games at home going back to a 2016 win over Forsyth Central.
A key pick-6 for a touchdown in the first quarter helped give Lambert (5-1, 1-1 Region 6-7A) the early cushion as they eventually led 24-0 in the second.
But the Red Elephants, behind sophomore quarterback Baxter Wright, began to chip away. Wright connected with Naim Cheeks on a 12 yard TD pass just before the half and tossed two more TD passes, one to Elias Ballard and another to Macere Walker, sandwiched around his own 2-yard scoring run to eventually cut the lead to 31-28 midway through the fourth quarter.
The Longhorns, however, put the game away with a 50-yard touchdown run late in the game.
Wright finished 29-of-39 for 241 yards and 3 TDs passing. Cheeks had 104 yards receiving, Walker had 49 yards receiving, and JQ Drinkard had 47 yards receiving for Gainesville (4-2, 1-1 Region 6-7A).
