In Thursday night high school football, East Limestone would pull out a convincing W over the visiting Lawrence County Red Devils, with a final score of 54-13.

Fighting for a spot in playoffs, East takes the first step after coming out victorious in an important game.

The run game was working for the Indians all night, who would see four different players contribute to the rushing attack.

Senior leader Fortune Wheeler would have 64 yards on 7 carries. Up and coming freshman Xavier Edwards would have 82 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown. Do-it-all Alex Mason would have 62 yards on 12 carries for 2 touchdowns to go along with his 2 kick return touchdowns. Quarterback Jake Cochran would also find the endzone on the ground to go along with his passing touchdown.

Dominating in all three phases of the game, Jameson Drake also made a difference in the punting game for East.

“Our punting game was really good having Jameson back,” head coach Clint Woodfin said. “Alex did a great job on our returns. We had been looking for a big play out of that. Kickoff did good making sure they never cross the 40. Just looking at it right here (after the game) it looks like we did some things real well.”

Game summary

East would jump out 20-0 before the Red Devils could blink.

The Indians got on the board quick from a Cochran touchdown pass to No. 17 Roman Schrimsher from 18 yards out.

“I was pleased to see us score on the first drive,” Woodfin said. “We needed to have that for momentum. We have talked about that all year. We had to get in the endzone that first drive. We had to convert on third and short, offensively.”

Mason would pick up his first touchdown of the day and Edwards would dash for a 55-yard score to bring it 20-0 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was unproductive for Lawerence County but East took advantage and scored a late touchdown heading into halftime.

It would be 27-0 at halftime after another Mason touchdown, in a game where their defense forced multiple 3-and-outs, or drives only yielding one or two first downs. It would not be until late in the second half before the Red Devils would cross the goal line. Their defense held Lawerence County to three scoreless quarters.

“Most physical game we have played defensively,” Woodfin said.

The third quarter would showcase East’s dominance in the special teams facet, as Jan Stotz would make a pair of field goals to bring the total to 33-0 entering the fourth.

The fourth quarter would feature 34 combined points, as Mason would run back-to-back kickoff returns for touchdowns, Cochran would ru for a 24-yard touchdown and Lawrence County would find the endzone twice within 7 minutes left to play.

The special teams, as aforementioned, made a huge difference for East. Drake punted well, Stotz kicked well and their kickoff coverage knocked multiple people out of their shoes to set the tone for a defense who played well all night.

Next up for East

The Indians now travel to Cullman County to take on West Point in a must-win regional game for both schools. After just playing in a must-win regional game for both schools, East is going to look to carry the positive momentum of a dominant performance into their road game with the Warriors.

East Limestone is 2-6 on the season with wins over Central Florence and Lawrence County.

West Point, as of press time October 7, is 2-5 on the season with wins over Vinemont and Lawrence County.

The Warriors face off with Ardmore October 7, and updates will be provided. East and Ardmore play last game of the year.

East Limestone has won both of their games at home this season, with their win over Central Florence in the second game of the season and Thursday night’s game against Lawrence County both taking place from East Limestone High School.

The students also participated in a pink-out.

Updates will provided on the remainder of East Limestone’s football games, as well as the remaining games for all of Athens-Limestone County football.

Friday night’s football games will be reported online as soon as possible, while also being provided in Tuesday print edition of the paper.