Pair of CJ Holmes touchdowns leads Laney football over Hephzibah in high temperatures
Laney football coach Ronnie Baker preached physicality to his team heading into Friday's game against Hephzibah, and it showed on the newly-minted turf of Laney Memorial Stadium.
The Wildcats bested the Rebels 16-13 in what turned out to be an old-school, ground-and-pound contest. The conditions didn't help much, as kickoff temperatures neared triple digits. The game was pushed back 30 minutes, but that didn't have a huge effect as the humidity draped the field all night.
More: Live updates: Augusta-area high school football scoreboard for Week 2
“There’s a thing about mental fortitude. When things get rough, that’s when you’ve got to play your best," Baker said. "I think it shows a lot of character with the heat and the competition that we played tonight; can’t take nothing away from Hephzibah, they came to play tonight and did a really good job. They were in the same position that we were with the heat and everything. We just wanted to come out and play a clean game and play physical, and I think we did that for the most part.”
Friday marked the second-straight win for Laney over Hephzibah, following last year's 26-17 road game.
It was a showdown of Augusta Chronicle Dream 16 stars for both teams, as Laney playmaker CJ Holmes and Hephzibah running back Telly Johnson each scored twice. It was a different assignment for Holmes, who often moves between the backfield and wideout positions. Friday, Holmes lined up in the backfield all night, even taking a handful of direct snaps. Everything Laney does begins with establishing the run and Friday was no exception.
“The thing that we try to do is physicality up front, with the offensive line, the tight ends and the fullbacks. We just try to be physical at the front of the attack and tonight, some plays looked good, some plays weren’t as physical as we’d like them to be, but we’ve just got to get back in the weight room, get back to watching film and correct the things we did wrong tonight.”
Laney (1-1) is idle next week and Hephzibah (1-1) travels to Augusta Christian.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Laney football star CJ Homes scores twice in win over Hephzibah
