Lamar Cruises To 1A Title Game Behind Pierce’s Six TDs

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>LAMAR</strong> | <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1422623' first='DQ' last='Green'] </strong>stepped in front of a <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1822769' first='Jalen' last='Culp'] </strong>pass on the first play from scrimmage for Lamar. And that was indicative of how the night would go for the Silver Foxes.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Add in six total touchdowns from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1165108' first='Zori' last='Pierce'] </strong>(pictured above)<strong> </strong>as Lamar cruised against Lewisville in the semifinal round 48-27 on Friday night.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>First year Silver Foxes head coach Tyler Boyd told Prep Redzone SC it means a lot to get to the state title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“The last time I was here, it meant football meant everything around here and the turnout tonight, I think it still does and it was pretty cool,” Boyd said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It didn't take long for the Silver Foxes to capitalize off the early turnover as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1817566' first='Nygel' last='Eaddy'] </strong>made a nice catch out of the backfield down to the Lewisville 20, before Pierce<strong> </strong>capped off the drive on 4th-and-goal with a 1-yard touchdown run to take a 7-0 lead with 7:32 left in the first quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1816096' first='Mont' last='Williams'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1817369' first='Travis' last='Durant'] </strong>combined for a sack for Lamar on the next drive, as the Lions struggled to get much going in the early going. They tried to find a spark, going for it on 4th down but the Silver Foxes slammed the door on them with 5:42 left in the opening quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pierce came up huge on 4th and 1, scoring on a 40-yard keeper to go up 14-0 with 4:08 to play in the opening quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kamil McCoy </strong>came up with a good catch and run on the screen for a first down for Lamar in the second quarter, before <strong>Julian Morris </strong>flipped it to <strong>Jaquez Dargen </strong>on a hook and ladder on third down with 10:05 to play before the half. The Silver Foxes converted two other third downs on the drive, capped by a 27-yard touchdown run from Pierce with 8:41 to play before the half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Things went from bad to worse for Lewisville as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1822292' first='Messiah' last='Simes'] </strong>got a diving interception off the tip with 8:14 to play before the half. Pierce connected with Morris on a 25-yard touchdown pass to capitalize on the turnover with 8:05 to play before the half to go up 27-0.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>AJ Price </strong>got a nice jet sweep to set up a second down inside Lamar territory before <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1267330' first='Jacorreun' last='Howze'] </strong>found the endzone on a 6-yard touchdown run to cut into the Lamar lead at 27-7 with 3:05 to play before the half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1165159' first='Jordan' last='Strong'] </strong>recovered a fumble on a Lamar completion to start the second half and the Lions capitalized as Culp connected with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1817572' first='Jaylin' last='Douglas'] </strong>with 9:51 to play in the third quarter, cutting the lead further to 27-14.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pierce and the Silver Foxes' offense's third down performance was key throughout the night – one example was a 10-yard run with 6:19 left in the third quarter. He capped the drive with a 14-yard run with 3:25 left to go up 34-14. Pierce gave credit to the guys around him being key to his performance.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Honestly, (it) was just my team. Everybody being on the same page and I'm glad me and my teammates were on the same page. This is the most talented team I've been on. Everybody wanted it just as bad as I did so that's why we won tonight.” Pierce said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The two teams would go back and forth as Howze had some strong runs, leading to a Strong touchdown run to cut the lead at 34-20 with 1:25 to play in the quarter. But for every time Lewisville would get close, Lamar would respond. An example of that would be a 27-yard Eaddy run to the Lewisville 18 to end the quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pierce connected with McCoy on a post route for a 26-yard touchdown pass with 10:06 left in the contest, extending the lead at 41-20.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Right before the game, I said he's going to have a good game for us to have a chance and evidently he did. He hadn't played much defense at all this year and he played both ways tonight and to still have six touchdowns, that's pretty cool,” Boyd said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Culp found Douglas again for a 44-yard scoring toss for Lewisville before Eaddy closed the scoring for the Silver Foxes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Lewisville Notables</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1639690' first='Eden' last='Gaston'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1820264' first='JB' last='Buchanan'] </strong>came up with tackles for loss in the third quarter. Buchanan brought pressure on 3rd and 1 before the Lions' defensive line converged on Pierce for a fourth down stop with 40 seconds to play in the second quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>UP NEXT FOR LAMAR: </em></strong>The Silver Foxes face Bamberg-Ehrhardt in the 1A state championship next Friday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium on the campus of South Carolina State University.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->