FOOTBALL: 48th Border War gets wild after dark, but JoCo hangs on to take back trophy from East Laurens

WRIGHTSVILLE – Rivalry games are usually interesting. This weekend’s between Johnson County and East Laurens beats that. It will be unforgettable. 

A two-night game in the new Lovett Stadium, a 27-point lead by the Trojans, then a 21-point Falcon comeback in the last 10 minutes, the environment and excitement made it great.

Last year, East Laurens won the “Border War” in the final minute, reclaiming the rivalry trophy after 14 years. In its first home game since Hurricane Helene, Johnson County won 27-21 to take it back. 

“It’s always a hard-fought rivalry with East Laurens,” said Trojans head coach Don Norton. “I hope it continues.”

Friday night at 7:30 p.m., the game kicked off under clear skies. The Falcons received, but were forced to punt after four plays. 

The next play, the sixth of the game, Tayshawn Norris took a handoff and ran 41 yards to the East Laurens 19. Lightning was detected in the distance and the game was halted. 

The sky darkened, and after an hour of further delay, the teams agreed on a postponement until 7 p.m. the next night. 

With pretty much the same big crowd Saturday, the action picked up right where it stopped.

On the next play, Norris picked up 11 yards. East Laurens then gave up four on an illegal participation penalty.

With 10:53 in the first, Jeremiah Scott reached the end zone on a four-yard run to complete a touchdown drive of close to 24 hours, making it the longest drive, in actual time, in Trojan history. 

The kick failed, but JoCo was up 6-0. 

Beginning at 7:57 in the second quarter, the Trojans started another touchdown drive of seven plays. 

Jeremiah Scott ran 29 yards into the corner of the end zone, under pursuit, with 3:28 remaining in the half. Norris ran for the points-after and the Trojans led 14-0 on the way to halftime.

When not backed up by penalties, JoCo moved the ball routinely in the first half. East Laurens fell victim to many of its own self-inflicted mistakes, but otherwise struggled to establish much on offense. 

The Falcons had a golden opportunity go by the wayside late in the first quarter after taking over the football with goal to go thanks to a high Trojan punt snap. But their next three plays went nowhere, and JoCo stopped Norrion King several yards shy of the end zone on fourth down to preserve its shutout. 

Early in the second half, Jalen Daniels recovered an East Laurens fumble on the JoCo 19-yard line. Norris had a touchdown run on the next play, Will Peebles kicked and the score was 21-0 with 4:33 in the third.

The next Trojan touchdown came after a five play, 30-yard drive. Cory King had the five-yard carry at 9:13 in the fourth. The point-after attempt failed.

The “leave-early” folks missed out on the rest of the game, which highlighted the Falcon offense,  beginning with a nine-play, 75-yard drive. 

On a third down, Skyler Snead connected with Bryson Hazley for 25 yards. Seven plays later, he hit  Major Floyd on a 31-yard touchdown pass. Jason Giles’ kick was good, and the JoCo lead was cut to 27-7 with 6:35 left in the game. 

The Trojans fumbled two plays into the next series. The Falcons followed with a seven-play, 62-yard scoring drive to creep even closer. 

Norrion King caught a 38-yard pass. Hazley received the eight-yard touchdown with 4:07. Tailyn Norris blocked the East Laurens kick, and the score was 27-13. 

Johnson County fumbled on the first play of the next drive and the Falcons got the ball back, only to throw an interception. The Trojans then fumbled again, and gave East the football on their own 23. 

The Falcons scored in six plays. Cayson Wadley caught Snead’s pass for a TD, and then caught the conversion pass. East Laurens had closed the gap to 27-21, but with only 25.5 seconds left. 

After an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was assessed on the Falcons, their failed onside kick ended the game 26.5 hours after it started.

East  head coach Jesse Hicks felt good, despite the loss.

“Well, you can’t wait till the last minute to play football,” he said. “For one, you can’t wait for referees or fumbles to happen. We didn’t play well on the first hand. We have not stopped the jet yet, we did not tackle well, but it gave us an opportunity to try, and I love the fact that my kids fought, and that means everything.” 

Norton thought it was great that East Laurens “scrapped back,” because that’s how rivalry games are supposed to be. He praised his staff for calling a great game even when the kids “ran out of gas.” 

The Trojans had 314 rushing yards and the Falcons had only 75. 

Snead threw 13 completions for 130 passing yards. Floyd was his leading target with two receptions for 42. 

The leading rushers for the Trojans were Tayshawn Norris with 10 carries for 96 yards, and Scott with 13 for the same number. Kelsey Waters had nine for 65. King had seven for 55. 

Dewayne Abrams led the tackling for the Trojans with six, and one assist. Ziion Wesley had four tackles and one assist.

JoCo’s Will Peebles punted once for 43. Giles had five for 184, with a 36.8 average for East Laurens. 

In addition to the stadium’s new look, the crowd on both sides of Herschel Walker Field is now closer to the action, and a big blue wall lines the home side. More people now sit closer together as well.

Late in the second half, the fans figured out something else different about the new metal bleachers… Stomping never happened on the old cement ones.

Wesley, who had some key Trojan tackles, said the new stadium and his team’s new uniforms gave the team a “boost of momentum.”

JoCo quarterback Nathan Turberville said it felt great to get the win, especially against a rival, and he loved the new home atmosphere. 

“Amazing!” he said. “It might be the loudest it’s ever been in the history of Johnson County football. A bunch of fans and one of the most beautiful venues.” 

Next week, East Laurens will play Dublin in its first game at the new Falcon Field. The Trojans will be back at home taking on Montgomery County.