Sports: See how your favorite high school football teams did on the gridiron.

Lashaun Lester racks up 282 yards on the ground to carry Chattooga to a regionopening win.

With six starters missing from their lineup, the Chattooga Indians found a way to come out on top in their region opener.

Chattooga head coach Charles Hammon needed a player to step up to fill the spot left by leading rusher E.J. Lackey, who hurt his ankle during a junior varsity game Monday.

The job of replacing Lackey, who has 484 rushing yards so far this season, went to Lashaun Lester, who rushed for 282 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries as the Indians eked out a 34-32 win against the Coosa Eagles in the Region 7-AA opener for both teams.

“There shouldn’t be a loser in this game,” Hammon said. “Both teams played their guts out. We both made some mistakes, and both teams had some miscues that costs points.”

Coosa (0-4, 0-1), which led 20-13 early in the third quarter before giving up 21 unanswered points, is also plagued by injuries, including tight end and Tennessee commit Sean Brown, who was on the sideline.

“There were points in the game where it would’ve been really easy for our guys to give up the ghost and go ahead and just lay down, but they didn’t,” Coosa head coach Todd Wheeler said. “They fought back and made some big plays. We just need to get healthier and find a way to win these games.”

The score was tied at halftime 13-13, but the Eagles took the lead early in the third when Kenon Dixon recovered a fumble and returned it the length of the field for a 20-13 lead. Chattooga (3-1, 1-0) then scored three quick touchdowns within the span of five minutes to retake the lead for good.

Coosa started a rally near the end of the third quarter when Logan Pledger hit Malaki Martin on a 41-yard score, followed by Dixon hitting Jalen Hodge on an 8-yard strike to bring the score to 34-32. Dixon was 12 for 22 for 124 yards and two touchdowns. Hodge had 25 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, and Lavanda Millsap had one catch, a 13-yard touchdown pass from Dixon in the second quarter.

Chattooga’s Devin Price had 73 rushing yards and a touchdown on two carries, and quarterback Clayton Johnson scored a touchdown on a 1-yard run.

Chattooga will continue region play next Friday at home against Gordon Central, while Coosa travels to Pepperell for another Region 7-AA contest.

/ Steven Eckhoff Chattooga’s Lashaun Lester (6) stiffarm’s Coosa’s Dakota Roper on a run during Friday night’s game at Coosa High School.

/ Steven Eckhoff Coosa’s Malaki Martin (6) carries the ball around to the left during Friday’s Region 7-AA game against Chattooga at Coosa High School.