LAWRENCEVILLE – As competitive a first half as the Lakeview Academy football team played, the second half proved to be too much to maintain.
With the score 12-7 at the half, Hebron Christian scored on three of four possessions over the final two quarters en route to a 31-7 win Friday night in Lawrenceville.
Freshman quarterback Matthew Pursell led the way for Hebron, rushing for 136 of the team’s 245 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. He also passed for 31 yards a touchdown.
"They took it to us," Lakeview coach Matthew Gruhn said. "They were a much better team than we were tonight."
Lakeview’s Tom Drury, who was averaging 123 yards per game this season, was held to just 28 yards rushing on 18 carries. And the Lions, averaging just over 20 points per game this season, were held to just one score.
"We have to be more physical and execute better on offense," Gruhn said. "We missed a lot of key blocks and played undisciplined.
"But we’re going to go into next week with the mentality that we have to keep improving."
Lakeview’s defense kept the team in the game early, holding Hebron to four three-and-outs on its first six possessions while amassing one interception, two fumbles and one blocked punt.
Dalton Munday was responsible for the interception which came in the end zone with Hebron threatening to score. Matt Whyte recovered a fumble on Hebron’s first possession after its first score, and Tyler Young not only had a hit in the backfield for a 4-yard loss, but also blocked a Hebron punt.
With the defense holding strong, Lakeview was able to take the lead briefly in the second quarter.
After Jackson Beck recovered a Hebron fumble, Lakeview drove 16 yards on seven plays capped by a Drury 1-yard run for a score. Mills Rogers converted on the point-after attempt to give Lakeview a one-point lead.
It didn’t last long, however, as Pursell drove his team down on its ensuing possession, rushing for 64 of his team’s 72 yards on the drive, and scored on a 15-yard run making the score 12-7.
That would be as close as Lakeview could get as Hebron scored on its first possession of the second half and continued to pour it on until the final gun.
"We’ve got a lot of regrouping to do," Gruhn said. "We’re better than we played tonight and while we’re down right now, we realize that we have to regroup or it’s going to be a long season."