East meets West: Falcons, Raiders renew rivalry in scrimmage

PHOTOS BY HORACE AUSTIN

The hostilities were brotherly, but still quite intense between sibling rivals East and West Laurens as the two met for the first time since 2019 in a preseason scrimmage Friday night at the “New Falcon Field.”

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It was only an exhibition, but the game drew a regular-season quality crowd as fans from either side of the county turned out for some pregame tailgating and an early glimpse of their squads, in a grudge match whose coveted bragging rights had both teams ready to play.

East, in an impressive showing, had the Raiders trailing for a good portion of the first half after answering an early West score with back-to-back touchdowns on its first two possessions. Ty Snead did the honors on each, finding Kemo Mitchell on a 15-yard pass and breaking off a 78-yard run to the fieldhouse.

Though they were kept in neutral by the East Laurens defense for much of the first half, some key special teams plays helped the Raiders grab the first lead of the night, on a 49-yard scoring drive that followed Tyler Williams’ long kickoff return, then eventually tie and get it back on their final two touches of the second quarter.

The bad Falcon snap on a punt, then Cummings’ big return of another, gave West field position to score, each time, in a single play. Cummings, after carrying 15 yards for the game’s opening touchdown, went in again from about 20 to tie the score. Shannon Adkins dashed roughly 30 to put the Raiders up by the eventual final of 20-13 going to the half.

A Juvon Hill interception, and multiple West Laurens sacks, helped seal a defensive stalemate in the second half. Both teams will open their regular seasons back in their home stadia, East hosting Johnson County this coming Friday. The Raiders will debut against Groves, of Savannah, on Aug. 23.