Smiths Station improves to 3-0 with win over R.E. Lee

SMITHS STATION, Ala. -- Smiths Station defeated R.E. Lee 31-14, on Friday at Panther Stadium at T.C. Britton Field in a sloppy, highly penalized game.

The teams combined for 26 penalties, which totaled 241 yards.

The game got chippy, especially in the fourth quarter. Offsetting unsportsmanlike conduct penalties occurred four times in the game.

Smiths Station came out of the gate firing.

The Panthers won the coin toss, chose to receive the ball and promptly marched 88 yards on 11 plays, including a 48-yard run by KJ Johnson on the game's first play, to take a 7-0 lead.

The Smiths Station defense forced consecutive three-and-outs on the first two Lee drives, allowing Smiths' offense to hold the ball for nine minutes and 10 seconds of the 12-minute first quarter.

The Panthers capitalized early in the second, as Dalton Sinquefield found Johnson for a 3-yard score to stretch the lead to 14-0.

The Lee defense forced a three-and-out on the Panthers' next drive, and Daniel Thomas made Smiths pay, returning the ensuing punt 63 yards to put Lee on the board.

Johnson responded by breaking a 58-yard touchdown run on the following Smiths drive, but Lee drove 80 yards on 10 plays, capped off by a 12-yard pass from quarterback Shaquille Johnson to Daimion Wright, just before the half to cut the lead to 21-14 at the break.

The third quarter saw no points scored, but Harrison Jones booted a 36-yard field goal with just over four minutes left in the fourth quarter to extend Smith Station's lead to two possessions.

Lee was stuffed on four consecutive plays on the following drive, and Smiths took over at the Generals' 24 yard line.

Sinquefield capped off a short four-play drive with a two-yard run to make the score 31-14 and ice the game for Smiths Station.

Smiths Station will travel to Prattville next Friday to try to improve to 2-0 in region play.

This story was originally published September 4, 2015 at 11:51 PM with the headline "Smiths Station improves to 3-0 with win over R.E. Lee ."