Christian Heritage shuts down Gordon Lee

CHICKAMAUGA — With a high-powered attack averaging nearly 38 points per game so far this season, the Christian Heritage Lions have the offense to compete with anyone in Region 6-A.

Now they starting to prove that they have the defense to go with it.

The Lions (5-1) pitched their third road shutout of the season Friday night, stymieing previously once-beaten Gordon Lee, 35-0, to temporarily take hold of the top of the Region 6-A “A’ standings at 2-0.

Christian Heritage head coach Preston Poag said the message all week leading up to the game was about earning respect.

“It seems like we haven’t been getting very much respect," Poag said, "but we told our kids that beating a team like (Gordon Lee) would get us some respect.

Quarterback Trevor Brown went 18-of-28 through the air for 260 yards and three scores, but it was the Lions pressure defense that stole the show.

Gordon Lee managed just three first downs all night long, the first coming midway through the third quarter. The Trojans were just 2-of-11 on third down, and 23 of their 41 offensive plays went for zero or negative yardage.

Austin Lowe’s 6-yard touchdown run and Matt Cook’s 5-yard burst accounted for the first quarter scores, and Christian Heritage would tack on one final score in the closing seconds on the half.

Mixing the pass and the run, the Lions drove 82 yards in 16 plays, taking over five minutes off the clock. A 20-yard catch by Lowe on a fourth-down fake punt kept the drive alive and Bartley’s 3-yard TD catch with 2.8 seconds left gave the Lions a comfortable 21-0 lead at the break.

A 48-yard Will Fischer TD catch would make it 28-0 with 7:13 left in the third, and they would add one final score midway through the fourth. A punishing hit by Lowe popped the ball free from Gordon Lee quarterback Hayden Casteel near midfield and lineman Harrison Kranzlein returned it to the Trojans’ 36-yard line. Three plays later, Brown hit Brian Pierce on a wheel route for a 33-yard scoring strike.

The Lions forced two fumbles on the night and came up with three sacks, two by senior defensive end Jake Stokes.

“We just couldn’t get any going offensively,” said Gordon Lee head coach Charlie Wiggins. “Hayden didn’t have any