Gwinnett Daily Post

LAWRENCEVILLE - Hebron Christian did the vast majority of its work in the second and third quarters Friday night, earning an easy 38-13 win over Towns County at Mountain View High School.

"We just talked about winning the second half," Hebron Christian coach Brian Smith said.

A Hebron win was not a sure thing early, as the Lions fell behind after a turnover deep in their own territory on the game's opening possession. It gave Towns County the ball inside of the Hebron 20. Quarterback John Swilley would punch it in on the ensuing drive from a yard out to put Towns County up 6-0.

After a 35-yard field goal by Cody Carter got Hebron to within three points, junior quarterback Paul Stinespring found Will Treadwell, who had 141 receiving yards on seven catches, down the sideline with a perfect 35-yard touchdown pass to put Hebron on top 10-6 in the second quarter.

Hebron built on that momentum later in the quarter when Xavier Railey took the pitch on an option play and jetted down the sideline for a 36-yard touchdown run that extended Hebron's lead to 17-6 going into the half.

The lead would have been bigger for Hebron if not for an illegal forward pass penalty that negated a Railey touchdown on a hook-and-ladder play earlier in the quarter.

Linebacker Tyler Smith started the second half off with a bang for Hebron. The sophomore intercepted passes on Towns County's first two possessions - the first of which was converted into a one-yard touchdown run by Matt Stephens to put Hebron up 24-6.

Hebron created a turnover on the third Towns County possession as well, this time on a fumble recovery, which the Lions turned into a 13-yard run by freshman quarterback Matthew Pursell.

"Our kids did a great job forcing turnovers, made us look good," Smith said.

Towns County stayed in a giving mood as Railey intercepted another Swilley pass, which turned into yet another Hebron score as Pursell found Robert Hunt on a diving 1-yard catch to put the Lions up 38-6.

The Lions' efforts were bolstered by its ball-hawking defense and by the play of placekicker Jordan Lowery, a player on Hebron's girls soccer team, who hit all five of her PAT attempts.