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Lambert finally got the big win it coveted. Senior midfielder Zack Davis scored off a loose ball

Photo by Mike Kelly

with 13 seconds left in the second overtime period to give Lambert a dramatic 2-1 win at No. 2 Walton tonight in Raider Valley. The No. 3 Horns can now enjoy spring break feeling good about themselves.

"You don't want to go into spring break with a loss," said Lambert head coach Chris Wilson. "It was the biggest game for both teams as far as rankings, so you don't want to go into a week off without having a good result. For us, it's a great win."

Wilson's squad has dropped two games this season, each by 2-1 scores, and earned by far its most impressive victory of the season by knocking off the previously-unbeaten Raiders.

Lambert got on the board first when senior midfielder Cooper Coughlin scored on a cross with 18:36 left in the first half. Walton then spent much of the night trying to even the score before a Charlie Williams  shot deflected off a Lambert defender and into the back in the back of the onion bag with 19:47 left in regulation to pull the Raiders even.

The two five-minute overtime periods were largely uneventful until Davis' goal. A cross into the penalty area got loose from Walton's defense and Davis was there with essentially an open net to win the game for Lambert.

"We talked about and we work on when the ball goes to one side, obviously, what's available and most open is the backside," said Wilson. "We got lucky, to be honest. (Davis) moved into the right spot and finished it off."

The Longhorns (11-2) have now won six straight and will face North Forsyth on April 11 after the break.

The Raiders (13-1), who had won their last four games by a total of five goals against unranked opponents, seemed to struggle getting anything together on the offensive side of the field.

After spring break the Raiders will host east Cobb-rival Lassiter on April 12, likely for the Region 5 title.

Ware County will fill its head coaching vacancy with Lamar County head coach Franklin Stephens- first reported by The Herald-Gazette. Stephens led the Trojans to the Class AA state championship game last season and guided

Photo by Craig Sager II

the program to a 26-2 record in his two years at the school. Stephens served as Tucker's head coach from 2007-2011 and led the Tigers to their only two state titles. 

The defensive-minded Stephens has built a 90-8-1 record in his seven seasons as a head coach and was named this year's South team head coach in the Elite Junior Classic slated for Dec. 29.

Stephens is a Keysville, Ga. native that is a proven winner and rising star in the coaching industry. Stephens played his varsity football at Burke County before winning Southern Conference lineman of the year at Georgia Southern in 1994. With Tucker, Stephens coached more than 13 all-state selections.

The Ware County job opened up last month when Ed Dudley left to accept the position at Carrollton High School. Losing Dudley was a disappointing day in Waycross, Ga., but hiring a championship coach with the level of success that Stephens has seen is his short career is a reason for Gator Nation to be celebrating.

On Friday, the Atlanta Hawks continued their outstanding work in the community by honoring Tucker High School as the Atlanta Hawks' and National Guard's School of the Week. The festivities took place inside the Tigers' gymnasium on the Tucker campus.

Sgt. Shannon Byrd of the National Guard spoke to the students and was joined by former Atlanta Hawk Rick Brown and Atlanta Dream mascot "Star" in presenting an

Photo by Marcus Nabors

autographed ball to women's basketball coach Robin Potter. Coach Potter's acceptance of the ball was a token of gratitude to honor her and the rest of the 2014 AAAAA State Champion Lady Tigers' basketball team. The March 7 triumph over region-rival Southwest DeKalb gave the Lady Tigers' their first title in program history.

Potter very humbly accepted the award, and introduced each player on the team and presented them with an Atlanta Dream bag. Potter then surprised her team with tickets to a Dream game where they will not only attend the game but also be recognized for their work on the court. The celebration continued as two Hawks cheerleaders energized the crowd with a spirit contest; the senior class narrowly escaped the rowdy junior class with the spirit stick.

To keep the crowd energy high, a raffle was conducted with a t-shirt give-away. The pep rally marched on as a male and female student from each class were selected from the crowd to compete in a free throw contest. After the first round of the contest, only a junior and freshman were left standing. 

Both students hit three in a row, which led to a best-of-three final round, and much to the dismay of the crowd, the freshman student won. The event's highlight came during the student slam dunk contest when one student threw down a windmill dunk that had the whole gym rocking.