BOONVILLE
Underdog Lexington never quit believing it could beat top-seeded Starmount in the second round of the NCHSAA 2-A West playoffs.
Even when the Yellow Jackets trailed by three touchdowns early in the second half.
"When it was 21-0, I didn't know what kind of team would show up," Coach Chris Deal of Lexington said. "But I told our kids to take it one play at a time, one series at a time and stay with our game plan."
It paid off as Lexington kept pounding away with its running game and took advantage of three Starmount interceptions to storm from behind for a stunning 22-21 victory in the second-round game.
The Yellow Jackets scored on three straight possessions in the third quarter and early in the final period with Duke Horton scoring on two short touchdown runs with an 84-yard touchdown sprint by freshman Marquez Grayson sandwiched in between.
"Our team is a momentum team, a confidence team," Deal said. "When we broke the toss sweep (with Grayson) and got it to 21-15, our kids believed they could win."
Lexington added an important 2-point conversion after the second touchdown as Daryin Medley picked up a high snap on an apparent point-after kick and ran around the right side.
The second of three interceptions thrown by Jake Barr, Starmount's standout quarterback, set up the go-ahead score for the Yellow Jackets. Still, Starmount, which had won 10 in a row, wasn't finished. The gutty Barr, who ran for 126 yards and two touchdowns, drove the Rams down the field but was picked off in the end zone in the final minute.
"Turnovers, something we've not had much of, that was the big difference," said Coach Scott Johnson, who considered kicking a 32-yard field-goal attempt before deciding on calling one of the team's signature plays. Barr rolled right and threw back across the field to Fondae McDaniel, but Lexington's Quandarius Crump was in perfect position to make the pick.
"It would have been a long field goal," Johnson said. "We felt like the throwback play that we run a lot would be there. Their kid made a good play."
The ninth-seeded Yellow Jackets, who improved to 7-6 with the victory and will travel to archrival Thomasville in the third round, rushed for 296 yards, with much of it coming in decisive second half.
"I thought offensively we wore them down a little bit," Deal said. "I thought our offense did a great job in the second half."
Johnson agreed that Lexington controlled the line of scrimmage down the stretch. "They knocked us off the ball," said Johnson, whose Rams finished with a 10-2 record. "It's a tough way to finish, but the kids had a great year."
Lexington 0 0 15 7 -- 22
Starmount 7 7 7 0 -- 21
S: Murphy 6 run (Hemric kick)
S: Barr 16 run (Hemric kick)
S: Barr 2 run (Hemric kick)
L: Horton 3 run (Jackson kick)
L: Grayson 84 run (Medley run)
L: Horton 6 run (Jackson kick)
Records: Lexington 7-6; Starmount 10-2
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