CHICKAMAUGA, Ga. — The game plan seemed like a simple one for the Gordon Lee Trojans entering Friday night’s home game against Chattooga: run the ball well, hold Zayden Cook in check and make the fourth quarter count.
Coach Josh Groce’s team did just that in a 42-28 win that puts the Trojans (4-2, 2-1) in a good spot in GHSA Region 7-A Division I with four games remaining in the regular season.
Gordon Lee outrushed the Indians 329 yards to 170 and “limited” Cook, the state’s leading rusher, to 150 yards on 27 tough carries — the first time the senior has been held under 200 yards this season.
The third goal of the game plan was obviously dependent on the first two, but Groce felt that if the score was close late, his team would have an edge.
“We had to make them play a four-quarter football game, because that’s something they have not had to do,” Groce said of the Indians (5-1, 2-1), who won each of their first five games by more than three touchdowns. “By doing that, we were able to capitalize on some big runs in the third and fourth quarters.”