Crusaders dominate returning Cougars, give Doolittle 100th win
LA head coach Jolly Doolittle addresses his team prior to the Crusaders’ 56-20 victory Friday at Cambridge Academy in Greenwood. The win was the 100th of Doolittle’s head coaching career.
GREENWOOD – Laurens Academy handed head coach Jolly Doolittle the 100th victory of his coaching career Friday night while spoiling host Cambridge Academy’s return to football after a 20-year absence.
LA’s Spires McCameron and Garrett Murphy scored two touchdowns apiece, including McCameron’s 72-yard kickoff return for a score to begin the game, to lead the Crusaders to a 56-20 victory.
Doolittle, who is in his second season as head coach at LA, has five of his 100 career victories with the Crusaders and 95 split among his stops at W.W. King Academy, Ben Lippen and Greenwood Christian.
“This has always been a ‘we’ thing,” Doolittle said, giving credit to hundreds of former players and the other coaches he has worked with. “In y’all’s publications I hope I’ve never said, ‘I, I, I.’ I’ve always been very cognizant of that.”
Victory No. 100 was delivered by a Crusader team that has had the benefit of Doolittle’s offseason program and a second year in his 8-man system.
“I don’t know what the outcomes are going to be, but I know everything up to this point has been better than it was last year,” he said. “Guys are learning what should be the expectation of a Crusader football player, and so far as that’s concerned, I feel like we’re way ahead of where we were last year.”
LA (1-0) jumped out to a 22-0 lead before Cambridge got on the board late in the first quarter on a 47-yard touchdown pass from Maddox Lee to Bradley Funderburk.
All three Cougar touchdowns came on Lee passes, while the Crusaders dominated with their ground game, scoring seven rushing touchdowns.
Murphy scored on runs of 12 and 28 yards, and McCameron added a 5-yard touchdown run to go with his game-opening kickoff return.
Caleb Hardy added a 15-yard second-quarter scoring run as LA stretched its lead to 30-6.
LA led 38-6 when Cambridge got back on the scoreboard with Lee’s second TD strike with five seconds left in the half.
But the Crusaders recovered an onside kick at midfield and LA quarterback Ethan Collins went for a 50-yard touchdown scamper around right end to extend LA’s lead to 44-14.
Backup quarterback Elias Littleton added a 1-yard touchdown run with 4:40 left in the third quarter to put LA up 50-14.
Officials kept the clock running from that point in the second half.
Mason Cooper rounded out the scoring for the Crusaders with a 1-yard plunge with 1:30 left in the game.
“What we want to see is great attitude and effort, and as long as we’re not having to correct attitude and effort and we’re continuing to correct our execution of plays, I’m satisfied and happy,” Doolittle said. “But I’ll never be satisfied with our execution until it’s 100% – and I’ve coached 24 years and never had a perfect game.”
The Crusaders hit the road again next Friday to play Newberry Academy in a non-conference game. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.
LA’s Spires McCameron (2) scores on a 5-yard run Friday night.
Laurens Academy 56,
Cambridge Academy 20
1Q
LA – Spires McCameron 72 kickoff return (Caleb Hardy run), 11:46, 8-0.
LA – Garrett Murphy 12 run (Ethan Collins run), 5:25, 16-0.
LA – McCameron 5 run (pass fail), 4:27, 22-0.
CA – Bradley Funderburk 55 pass from Maddox Lee (pass failed), 3:24, 22-6.
2Q
LA – Hardy 15 run (Murphy pass from Hardy), 9:35, 30-6.
LA – Murphy 28 run (Hardy run), 5:34, 38-6.
CA – Lee TD pass (Lee pass good), :05, 38-14.
LA – Collins 50 run (run failed), :00, 44-14.
3Q
LA – Elias Littleton 1 run (run failed), 4:40, 50-14.
CA – Lee 47 pass (run failed), 1:00, 50-20.
4Q
LA – Mason Cooper 1 run (pass failed), 1:30, 56-20.
