Lake County gets first win, dominates Gleason in region opener

 

Jason Peevyhouse

Editor, JP Productions Sports

Heading into a Week 5 battle to open Region 7-1a play, the Lake County Falcons flew to their first victory of the season with a 41-0 win over the Bulldogs in Gleason on Friday night.

The win is also the Falcons’ first of the six region games on their schedule, which are important to playoff seeding and momentum.

Lake County Head Coach Hunter Short credited the team’s linemen for being a big part of the win on Friday night in Gleason.

“It’s like I’ve been telling you for three or four weeks, man, our offensive line had to get going,” Short explained. “We did some things different in the run game tonight to help them and I think it really did help obviously.”

During the mercy rule win, Lake County carried the ball 34 times for 324 yards and four touchdowns. In a rare even-split, two players led the team with Cade Lanier and Randy Demo both carrying the ball 14 times for 113 yards apiece. Demo scored three times on the ground while Lanier had two passing touchdowns with 37 yards and a 4-for-6 performance.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got to establish the run game because that’s what we’re built on,” the Lake County head coach said.

On the other side of the ball, Lake County held the Bulldogs to just 11 yards of total offense.

“Over the bye week, all we did was block, tackle and get off of blocks,” Short added. “That was good to see some of it over the bye week translate into an actual football game.

“I think we give up one first down tonight. I think that’s a testament to what we did over the bye week and it carries some momentum now.”

After the Lake County defense forced a fumble on the second play from scrimmage which led to a Gleason turnover, the Falcon offense wasted little time getting into the end zone. A four-play drive was capped by an 11-yard run from Demo to put Lake County on the board. Landon Crockett’s extra point put the Falcons on top 7-0 with 9:26 left in the first frame.

The green and gold added another touchdown late in the opening frame as Cade Lanier hit Qwantez Brown for a seven-yard touchdown pass with 2:26 left the first quarter. Crockett’s extra point put the Falcons up 14-0.

The Falcons almost got a third touchdown in the opening frame as a 27-yard rushing touchdown was called due to a holding penalty. Unphased, the green and gold scored a few plays later on a 15-yard touchdown. Crockett’s extra point pushed the Lake County lead to 21-0 with 11:16 left in the half.

Demo added another 16-yard touchdown with 4:46 left in the second quarter as Lake County took a 27-0 lead after a missed extra point.

Lake County rounded out the first-half scoring the same way they opened it – through the air. Cade Lanier hit his brother Camden for a 17-yard touchdown late in the second quarter. Crockett hit the extra point to put the Falcons on top 34-0.

The green and gold added a 60-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter from Nigel Clark as Crockett’s extra point capped the Lake County scoring for the night.

The win is the Falcons’ first since Oct. 10, 2025 when Lake County defeated South Fulton 22-20 and snaps a six-game losing streak.

Lake County will face its final non-region foe on Friday night, Sept. 25 as the Falcons travel to Hickman, Ky. to face the Fulton County Pilots. The game can serve as the final tune-up before five Region 7-1A games which will define the green and gold’s season.

“We’ve just got to be us like I was telling (Mix) 101.3 a while ago,” Short recalled. “When our kids are having fun, they’re good.

“When they’re not and they’re doing something they don’t want to be doing, it’s not so much fun.”

Kickoff for the Falcons’ game with the Pilots is set for 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 25 in Hickman, Ky.

For a physical copy of this article, look for an upcoming edition of the Lake County Banner.

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