Another comeback effort earns East Laurens third-straight road win at Vidalia

For the most part this season, the East Laurens Falcons have played their best football away from home, in four games to date that have each included fourth-quarter comebacks. 

They forced overtime in the lone loss out of the bunch at Southeast Bulloch back on Aug. 28, before back-to-back wins on trips to face Metter and ACE. 

The Falcons’ latest road rally helped them pull off another thrilling victory, 21-19 over Vidalia, that breathed some new life into their dwindling playoff hopes Friday at Buck Cravey Field. 

Those weren’t looking great headed into the last three games of the regular season, this one likely their best shot to turn things around ahead of tall orders against top-10 ranked Bleckley County and Dublin on the other side of this Friday’s open date. 

The result boosts East Laurens (3-5, 2-2 region 2-AA) to 42nd in the GHSA’s Post Season Rankings, which would have them in by several spots if the season ended today. 

Major Floyd played no minor role in the final outcome, catching the game-winning touchdown pass, and then sealing it with an interception from the red zone that denied Vidalia’s attempt to answer with around a minute to go. 

The junior’s impactful performance finished with 123 all-purpose yards between the pick and seven offensive touches, plus five tackles, a stop for loss and a pass break-up on the defensive side. 

The Falcons were haunted by as many of the missed opportunities that have plagued them in every close game this fall, coming up empty on their first three red zone visits, and also a next-to-last that left the Indians on top by five as it began to get late. 

But Vidalia failed to score, nor sustain a drive, after closing the first half with the last of its three touchdowns, and left the door well ajar, and around eight minutes on the game clock, with a punt just a few plays after its big stop on downs ended a tense goal-to-go series. 

A short punt started East six yards into Indian territory for the go-ahead drive. And the Falcons used up over four minutes with some methodical gains leading to the 10-yard touchdown strike to Floyd from Skyler Snead in the back right of the end zone, and a successful point-after. 

Vidalia began from its own 33, and covered some good ground on a series of completions by its quarterback Henry Adams, who ripped a key pass over the middle that Ja’Marcus Bouyer caught to reach the East Laurens 20, a realistic range to win it with either a touchdown or field goal. 

But the Indians didn’t see Floyd lurking as they went right back his way on a post pattern into the center of the end zone the very next play, and the Power-4 target picked the pass off easily to put his team a couple of kneel-downs away from win No. 3. 

First-half frustrations…

Snead, who was 14-of-25 for 180 yards and two touchdowns, orchestrated some magic on the fly to keep multiple key drives on the move down the night’s stretch, though he and the Falcons kept running into stubborn dead ends early in the game. 

They took over at Vidalia’s 38 on a muffed punt to set up a first chance with 18 yards on a well-executed scramble drill completion between Snead and Floyd. 

With the exception of a five-yard jet sweep touchdown that was reversed by a penalty, four shots with goal to go couldn’t punch it in, and East settled for a 27-yard field goal try that was no good. 

Vidalia drove 80 yards to get on the board, striking on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Adams to Jah Robinson on a wide-open slip up the seam, in between a set of reciprocal punts. A bad snap cost the Indians’ the extra point, and their 6-0 lead survived two more Falcon forays inside the 20 that went for naught. 

Jeremiah Rozier and Bryson Hazley logged double-digit runs before Snead found Ja’Bryan Bigham for another key first down. But East gave the ball over on downs when Tawan Horne lost his footing after a catch in the flat, and went down before the chance to make a move for the marker a few yards further downfield. 

The Falcons’ goldenest opportunity so far came shortly after that as Rhajon Fullwood blocked a Vidalia punt to set them up inside the Indians’ 5. 

Floyd very nearly swept his way in on a right-side run from six yards out, but was knocked over the sideline at the 1. And the next play ended in a fumble as an East Laurens ball-carrier entered a scrum, and lost control to give possession right back with time in the half winding down. 

Vidalia worked its way out of the field house shadow, and broke a big play to double the lead as Ja’Marion Lanier sliced right up the middle of the Falcon defense for a 64-yard touchdown. 

The Falcons would shake the red zone curse on a deep push in the final minute, scoring on the “Falcon Special,” a reverse pass from Hazley to Gary Stockton, to get on the board and make it a 13-7 game with only 10 seconds to go. 

But if this was when you left to get a head start on the rest in the concession stand line, you missed a lightning response by the Indians to go back up two scores as Tyler McKinney ran back the ensuing kickoff 94 yards to make it a 19-7 Vidalia lead going to the half. 

But from there, the East Laurens defense managed to keep a lid on the big plays, and the Indians mostly in check as three of their next four possessions ended in punts from minus territory. 

The Falcons played along in the battle of field position with one of their own to pin Vidalia deep, and then got it back almost right at midfield after another following a key Floyd break-up on third down. 

Snead completions to Hazley and Aveone Wicker set up his 32-yard fade pass that Floyd caught a step from the goal line before taking a defender the final few to the score to cut the Indians’ lead to 19-14. 

Vidalia responded with a three-play push to the East 25, but suffered its second-straight critical drop as a touchdown pass fell off the hands of a receiver in the end zone, and a Dianco Murray tackle got the Falcons off the field on fourth down. 

They were marching inside Vidalia’s 30 as the quarters changed, and bearing down on a go-ahead score with just under 10 minutes left in the game. 

But the Indians held the line, refusing a likely touchdown run on a third-down hit by Marquis Harvey that knocked the ball loose from the arms of Bigham, though the Falcons recovered around the 5 for a chance on fourth down, and a pass that fell incomplete. 

Jaden Griffin and Floyd led East Laurens rushers with four carries for 45 yards each. Bigham added 37 on the same number. 

Wicker caught four passes for 32, and Hazley two for 41. 

Rozier, with nine and one for loss, and Murray, with eight total, led tacklers.