Johnson, Cobras run over Rams
FOUNTAIN LAKE — Ahman Johnson saw a significant improvement over his Week 1 performance as he led the Fountain Lake Cobras to a 40-27 victory over Lakeside Friday night at Allen Tillery Field.
Johnson combined for 183 offensive yards and four touchdowns for the Cobras (2-0) after just 65 last week at Hot Springs (0-2). Andrew Roberson split time with Colson Simpson for 173 yards and the remaining two touchdowns for Fountain Lake.
Lakeside head coach Jared McBride summed up the game simply. “We got our butt kicked,” he said. “Give them all the credit. They did a fantastic job, and you can’t take anything away from them. They beat us bad.”
Johnson made himself known from the start as just 20 seconds into the game, he picked off a Lakeside (0-2) pass from Taylor Gillham, carrying it back 56 yards for the score. Joe Murphy kicked the point after to give the Cobras an early 7-0 lead.
“I don’t know if we caught them on the wrong foot,” said Fountain Lake head coach J.D. Plumlee. “We challenged our offensive line all week. We knew we could scheme up a little bit to run. Colson had a huge game… We were able to rotate Colson and Andrew, and then Ahman gets in there and does what Ahman does. I’m just so proud of our guys.”
The senior receiver tallied just six catches but gained 161 yards to lead all receivers in addition to his three interceptions.
“He was the fastest player, the most dynamic player on the field,” Plumlee said. “We need to be able to continue to get him the ball in those different formations and different sets and try to iso him and things like that. And we did.”
McBride was not pleased with his team’s performance from the start, noting that “a bad week of practice got us off kilter.”
“We threw the ball to the wrong people,” he said. “We threw the ball, and we didn’t know what was going on. You’ve got to give (Fountain Lake) credit. They did a good job.”
Five minutes later, Gillham found Sawyer Lamb on a 26-yard pass for the end zone, and Josh Hixson’s kick evened the score with 6:07 left in the first period.
Ian Lacy had just six completions of eight passes on the night, but he tallied 176 yards in a game where he mostly came in off the bench.
“Unbelievable football (by Lacy),” Plumlee said. “He comes in; he’s coming off the sideline, not really in the flow of the game and catching and throwing great footballs. Kudos to him.”
While the Rams had some positive notes in their performance, McBride does not believe he has found the right combination of players willing to work hard and show their mettle on the gridiron.
“We’re searching,” he said. “We’re going to look and try to find some guys who want to play, and we’ll get them out there coming this week.
“We didn’t have anyone who really stood out and did anything exceptional tonight. You’ve got to give Fountain Lake credit. They just beat us on both sides of the ball and special teams.”
After a lackluster drive to open the second half, Johnson’s third interception of the night set up a 58-yard pass from Lacy to Johnson on the next play to put the Cobras ahead, 32-15, with 5:13 remaining in the third frame.
“That’s what they do,” Plumlee said. “It comes down to a game of nutrition. Our dues are going to be on the field, and we don’t have the luxury to two platoon. We’ve got to keep hydrating and keep in shape and play ball.”
He was also pleased with the younger players who came out with a strong performance in the game as well.
“How about Kaedon Lacy tonight … Ethan Roberson … Chris Waldrop … and all those guys who came in and don’t normally get a lot of snaps?” he asked. “And they’re in there early in the second half. Kudos to those guys for being ready. I tell them all the time, you never know who’s going to get called on.”
With two wins against Class 5A schools under their belts, the Cobras have one more test before opening play in the Class 4A-7 conference, Dover (0-2).
“I think it’s a huge boost for our guys confidence-wise,” Plumlee said of the win. “We don’t use the word ‘test’ in our program. We use the word ‘opportunity,’ and tonight was another opportunity for us to grow and get better, and we did. We’re going to enjoy this and come back to work Monday and get ready for Dover.”
Fountain Lake hosts Dover Friday night at Allen Tillery Field, and Lakeside travels to Malvern (0-2).