AISA OPENER: Macon East no match for defending champ Lowndes Academy

The AISA Class A defending champion Lowndes Academy Rebels opened the 2023 season with an impressive 41-0 victory over Macon East on Friday at Mac Champion Field. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

HAYNEVILLE -- One team was still trying to put the pieces together, while the other looked in midseason form.

It might have been the season opener, but two-time defending state champion Lowndes Academy made few mistakes in their first game of 2023 at Mac Champion Stadium. That was bad news for Macon East Academy, which entered the game searching for an identity and left with more questions than answers following a 41-0 loss to the Rebels. 

“They played well up front, we didn’t play well up front,” Macon East coach Glynn Lott said. “I think we were a little intimidated. I had one starter (on the offensive line) back from last year so the others were trying to figure it out on the run. But we played in a scrimmage last week and I felt we played a lot better last week than we did tonight.” 

Of course, some of that can be attributed to Lowndes, a team which has lost just five times in its last 25 regular-season games. Two of those losses were to Macon East, a team that had won seven of the previous nine meetings between the two schools. 

Lowndes not only snapped a four-game losing streak to the Knights dating back to 2015, but also handed Macon East its worst regular-season loss since a 49-0 loss to Edgewood in 2015.

“We feel like we played hard,” Lowndes Academy coach Shane Moye said. “Coach Lott always does a good job. He’ll get that bunch to be the best they can be, but we played good on offense, good on defense and good on special teams. It was a complete team effort for sure.”

A complete effort gave the Rebels a 28-0 lead after one quarter. Macon East was held without a first down in the quarter and had two turnovers that led directly to touchdowns. Lowndes scored on all three possessions and added another score on a 98-yard punt return by Scott Stinson. 

“We were clicking,” Moye said. “We had three new offensive linemen and they did an outstanding job for us to be able to run the football. We wish we could’ve tried to work on throwing it a little more, but it just didn’t work out that way.”

That’s because the Rebels didn’t need to throw. Fourteen running plays averaged 8.4 yards per play in the first quarter before Moye started subbing out his offensive players in the second quarter. Two more touchdowns made it 41-0 at the half and a running clock in the second half limited the Rebels to 13 plays in the third and fourth quarters. 

“We gave up real early in the game,” Lott said. “Our kids put their heads down and felt like they were done. We played a little better, a little harder, in the second half. But we’ve got a long way to go.”

Lowndes scored on a 12-yard run by Kasen Dismukes, a 5-yard run by Braydn Stokes, Stinson’s return and a 12-yard run by Jon Ross Hollingshead for a 28-0 lead. Clayton Hussey added a 31-yard weaving run through the defense and a 27-yard punt return for a touchdown by Cooper Carver following Zack Azar’s block of a Macon East punt.

Macon East had eight new starters on offense, including eighth-grade quarterback Brandon Fitch in his first varsity action. Three players, including two offensive linemen, missed the trip because of COVID. The Knights managed just two first downs and 62 total yards in the game, rushing for just 15 yards on 24 carries. 

Lowndes (1-0) is idle next week before traveling to Coosa Valley for the region opener on Sept. 1. Macon East (0-1) returns home to play Lakeside School next Friday night.

AISA Week 1 Scores

Lee-Scott Academy 14, Chambers Academy 6

Lowndes Academy 41, Macon East Academy 0

Starkville (Miss.) Academy 39, Escambia Academy 20

Glenwood School 38, St. Anne Pacelli 12

Fort Dale Academy 45, Edgewood Academy 6

Autauga Academy 49, Abbeville Christian 16 

Clarke Prep School 29, Wilcox Academy 22

Wayne (Miss.) Academy 32, South Choctaw Academy 8

Jackson Academy 31, Monroe Academy 6

Crenshaw Christian 48, Sparta Academy 0

Cornerstone Christian 46, Snook Christian 12

Lakeside School 30, Southern Prep 0 

North River 46, Success Unlimited 0