The Lakeside Warriors came up just short in their season opener, falling to the Jonesboro-Hodge Tigers 14-8 Friday night in Jonesboro.
Lakeside turned in a strong defensive effort but struggled on offense after opening the game with a 65-yard touchdown drive with rain coming down. Freshman Malik Thorn scored on a 5-yard run with 5:13 left in the quarter. After a penalty on the Tigers, James Roberson scored a two-point conversion.
The Warriors had a chance to add to their lead after recovering a bad snap at the Jonesboro-Hodge 23. But a penalties pushed them back and they were forced to punt.
The Tigers got on the board with 8:50 left in the second quarter. But the Warriors stopped a two-point conversion run.
Jonesboro-Hodge converted a third-and-8 on a leaping catch then scored on a 17-yard run with 1:39 left in the half. A two-point conversion gave the Tigers a 14-12 halftime lead.
The Warriors reached the Tigers 34 early in the third quarter but the drive stalled in part because of a penalty and they were forced to punt.
After forcing a turnover on downs with a sack, Lakeside reached the the J-H 31 in the fourth quarter. An interception in the end zone ended the threat.
Jonesboro-Hodge kept the ball for the test of the game, converting a third-and-12 and fourth-and five on pass plays.
“I thought we played well, honestly,” Lakeside Head Coach John Ware said. “The kids played their hearts out. We just couldn’t get any kind of explosive plays and couldn’t get off the field on third down without a penalty, and just kind of sputtered a little bit on offense, not a lot.
“We just made a couple of mistakes here and there, but a little disappointed because we lost, but proud of the kids because I thought they played really hard.”
Lakeside hosts Waskom, Texas, Friday. The Wildcats (1-1) defeated Hughes Springs, Texas, 38-2 Friday night.