By Lauren Lee

Cordele Dispatch Intern

CORDELE- On Friday night Crisp Academy fought with Southwest Georgia Academy through a tenacious battle. Before the game even began, a delay was called because of lightning in the area. Finally, the game got started an hour later than originally planned at 8:30 p.m. The game was long and hard fought for the Wildcats, but ultimately, SGA won 36-6 after the game was called in the third quarter due to a storm.

CA kicked off to SGA to begin the game, leaving the Warriors at the 34 yard-line. On the second play of the game, SGA scored a touchdown to gain a lead of 8-0 after the successful two-point conversion.

With 11:40 left in the game, SGA kicked the ball to CA out to the 44-yard-line. After a couple of plays, Wildcat quarterback Griffin Gravitt passed the ball to Dede Lawrence, who earned a first down with an 11-yard pickup. CA was then pushed back and on the fourth down they decided to punt the ball.

The ball was back in possession of SGA with 8:35 left in the quarter. The Warriors made their way down the field, but Lawrence kept them in check after a brutal tackle and a knocked down pass. SGA regained themselves after a few tough plays and scored another touchdown, however, a penalty was called which erased the score.

At 4:13 left in the first quarter, Baylor Pless intercepted the ball from SGA, which prohibited the Warriors from scoring. The next four plays, CA was pushed back and had to punt back to SGA. When possession was returned to SGA, they scored another touchdown and conversion in four plays, which put them ahead 16-0. The ball went back and forth between the teams throughout the rest of the quarter.

In the second quarter, SGA played rough, earning 2 penalties before Lawrence knocked down a pass at 8:48 left until halftime. Another flag for SGA was thrown, but they recovered and earned a touchdown a few plays later, leading at 23-0. The ball was back in possession of CA for a short period of time and SGA scored again at 3:02. The kick fell short, though, and the score was 29-0.

Some impressive plays were then made by the Wildcats. Dylan Farmer gained 14 yards on the next return, Trey Williams caught a 19-yard pass, and after the ball was returned back to SGA, Lawrence made another tackle. This marked the end of the second quarter.

CA began the second half with a 24-yard run made by Lawrence on the return. Then Gravitt completed a 25-yard pass to Pless. CA was determined to put some points on the board and with fourth and long to go, Gravitt passed to Williams for a 36-yard play to earn a touchdown. With 9:51 left in the third quarter, the score was 29-6 in favor of SGA.

After another minute of play later, SGA scored and the kick was good, making the score 36-6. The ball returned to CA and a pass from Gravitt combined with running from Pless gained approximately 80 yards.

Ultimately, CA did not get a chance to keep fighting as the game was called with 4:31 left in the third quarter because of the lightning in the area.

Crisp Academy, now 1-1 on the season, plays at home again next week, hosting Covenant Academy (0-2) at 7:30 p.m.