Aug. 26—A week after blowing someone out and not being expected to, Southern Lee football was in the unfamiliar position of being a heavy favorite Friday night, when Seaforth came to Cavalier Stadium for week two of the 2023 season.

Once again, the Cavaliers exceeded expectations with flying colors.

Tabbed as a 30-point favorite against the visiting Hawks, Southern built a 35-0 lead by halftime and forced the referees to invoke the "mercy rule" early in the second half, causing a running clock with a lead of 42 or more points. The team went on to an 55-7 victory for its first two-game winning streak in three years and its first mercy rule victory since Sept. 13, 2019, when the Cavaliers beat Cedar Ridge 44-0.

Southern Lee is 2-0 to start a season for the first time in seven years, when the Cavaliers beat Western Harnett and Thomasville to start the 2016 season.

JoJo Douglas set the tone for the game on the opening kickoff, which he ran back 51 yards deep into Seaforth territory. Southern went on to its most dominant half of football in many years, with Kamauri Davis, Johnnie Jones, Tyrice Douglas and Matthew Kidd scoring touchdowns in a parade of backs racing into the end zone.

Douglas had two long touchdown runs in the third quarter, at the 9:15 and 3:30 marks, as the lead ballooned to 48-0. He had 213 yards on 13 carries for the night, with three scores.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Hawks finally scored a touchdown which reduced the Southern lead to 48-7. By this time, head coach Fred Blanks had made the decision to clear his bench and give younger players some experience, as he did last week against Western Harnett. Nevertheless, Mike Tate-Blanks ran five yards for a score with 5:35 to play, and Southern Lee "hung half a hundred" on an opponent for the first time since Aug. 31, 2018.

Southern will travel to Eastern Randolph next week, in what should be the first real test of the Cavaliers this season.