Southern Lee sweeps Lee County for conference title

Southern Lee swept Lee County in girls flag football Tuesday night, winning both games of a doubleheader to claim the Carolina Pines Conference championship.The Cavaliers defeated the Yellow Jackets 51-6 in the opener and rallied for a 27-12 victory in the second game to close out the regular season.“It feels amazing,” Southern Lee coach Karlik Hill said. “Last year was our first year. We started off as a club, and we won one game the whole season. We had girls come out here, and they locked in. To see the progress that we’ve made this year to win the conference is amazing.”Southern Lee finished the regular season 13-2 overall and 9-1 in conference play, earning the No. 10 seed in the state playoffs.The Cavaliers will face No. 23 Felton Grove in the opening round Saturday at Northside-Pinetown. Seventh-seeded Northside-Pinetown will face the winner in the second round. Game times have not been announced.“It’s not over till it’s over,” Hill said. “We were down 12-0, and I told them to lock in. Defense wins championships, and they stepped up. We locked in, we executed, and that’s how we’re going to pull through.”After Southern Lee dominated the opening game, Lee County came out determined to spoil the Cavaliers’ championship celebration on the Yellow Jackets’ Senior Night.Lee County struck first when Jurnee McKinnis connected with Hattie Secor on a 7-yard touchdown pass. The extra-point attempt failed, leaving the Yellow Jackets with a 6-0 lead.McKinnis added a rushing touchdown in the second quarter to extend Lee County’s advantage to 12-0.Southern Lee responded in the second half when Jozlynn McIver scored on a rushing touchdown. The successful extra point cut the deficit to 12-7.With 6:53 remaining, Jamiah McDougald scored on a rushing touchdown to put the Cavaliers ahead 14-12.Southern Lee extended its lead when Hooker scored a touchdown with 1:25 remaining, making it 20-12.McIver added another touchdown to seal the 27-12 victory as the Cavaliers outscored Lee County 27-0 in the second half.“It’s really cool,” Hooker said. “We paved the way for any flag football team coming behind us, and to see how hard we work and for it to pay off and get a conference championship out of it is really cool.”Hooker credited the Cavaliers’ defense for helping secure the comeback victory.“I think our defense played really well today, and that’s what kept us in the game,” she said. “That second game was tough, but we locked in and fought our way back into the game.”Lee County finished its first official season of sanctioned flag football with an 0-14 record.Yellow Jackets coach Curtis David said he was proud of the team’s improvement despite its winless season.“Yeah, it was a big turnaround,” David said. “Even though we didn’t win, we finished the season a lot stronger, and that’s why I’m really proud of the players for turning it around and starting to play a lot better.”