Weather Hampers Gleason Homecoming

GLEASON (September 26) — For a third straight game, Gleason’s football team was playing without the services of injured quarterback Drake Lehmkuhl. The Homecoming game was moved from the traditional Friday night to Thursday in anticipation of heavy rains on Friday as remnants of Hurricane Helene, that devastated the southeast with wind and rain.

The Bulldogs’ offense looked much improved in the first half over the previous two weeks, but South Fulton’s offense was better.

The Red Devils scored 42 points in the first half to knock off Gleason 58-20 in Week 6 action.

Gleason (3-3, 0-3 7-1A) travels to Lake County for another region contest on Friday night.

South Fulton scored the first two touchdowns of the game in the first quarter to take a 14-0 lead with 7:26 remaining in the quarter on a four-yard run and 36-yard interception return.

The connection between quarterback Brody Sanders and athlete Gage Byington became a theme throughout the game. The two connected six times for 174 yards in the game.

The first time came with 4:23 remaining in the opening quarter as Sanders hit Byington for a 62-yard touchdown pass to cut South Fulton’s lead to 14-6.

South Fulton answered with a 22-yard touchdown run by Dallas Whitehead for the 21-6 lead.

But it was Brody to Byington on a 35-yard touchdown pass with 32 seconds remaining that helped the Bulldogs cut the deficit to 21-12.

South Fulton continued to put up strong offensive numbers and get to the end zone, while Gleason only scored once in the final three quarters.

Whitehead rushed for 216 yards on 26 carries with four touchdowns.

The Red Devils scored on a 13-yard run and a 77-yard fumble recovery to take a 35-12 lead before Gleason scored again.

Byington scored on an 86-yard kickoff return, and Sanders converted the two-point conversion as Gleason cut South Fulton’s lead to 35-20 with 4:04 to play in the first half.

From there, it was all South Fulton as it ended the half with a Whitehead touchdown for the 42-20 lead at halftime. The Red Devils scored on a 25-yard field goal and three-yard touchdown run in the third quarter for the 51-20 lead with 12 minutes to play.

South Fulton scored once more in the fourth quarter.

Gleason accumulated 207 yards of total offense, but 174 came from the Sanders-Byington connection. Byington also led Gleason in rushing with three carries for 23 yards.

South Fulton finished with 341 yards of offense with 295 coming on the ground.

Gleason’s Week 7 Opponent
Who: Lake County Falcons
Where: Away
Record: 3-3 (2-2 7-1A)
Week 6 result: Beat Humboldt 43-16
Series Record: In the 32-game history, Lake County holds a 28-3 advantage with one tie in 1964.
Last meeting: Lake County won 62-14 at home in Week 7 of the 2023 season.
Common opponents: 1 – South Fulton. Gleason lost to South Fulton 58-20, while Lake County lost 28-20.
Players to watch: Camden Chamberlain (Sr., RB/LB); Chance Estes (Sr., QB/LB); Neil Leinweber (Sr., OL/DL)
What to know: Over the past 14 meetings, Lake County has won 13 of them. Gleason’s lone win came in 2008 by a score of 30-18. Gleason needs a win in this one to keep playoff hopes alive. A loss would give Gleason four region losses and make the playoffs a goal that other teams would have to help them achieve. Lake County has scored 46 points in the three losses this season, while it has scored 103 points in the three wins.