EUFAULA – The Pike Liberal Arts Patriots traveled to face off against the Lakeside Chiefs in Eufaula on Friday night, but they bit off a bit more than they could chew, falling 46-15 in what has to be one of the sloppiest games in Patriot history.

Going into halftime, the Patriots only trailed 13-7, but five second half turnovers would derail the Patriots and prevent any comeback.

Lakeside opened the scoring on the night when running back Peyton Queen took the ball 75 yards on a sweep to give Lakeside a 7-0 lead with 3:34 left in the first quarter.

Pike answered right back with a 65 yard touchdown drive capped off by a Rush Hixon five-yard touchdown run to even things at 7-7.

The Pike defense was unable to hold the tie as on the next drive, Lakeside quarterback Tyler King found Brody Thomasson on a 69-yard touchdown strike.

After giving up two big scoring plays, the Patriot defense was reeling and needed some help from the offense. The offense, however, went three-and-out on its next possession.

The teams would then trade possessions until the Patriots received the ball on their own 36-yard line with 1:15 to go in the half. The Patriots drove to the Lakeside 20, but Hixon threw his second interception of the night to end the half.

In the halftime huddle, coach Gene Allen stressed that his team would have to rise up against adversity. “We’re playing against that entire stadium out there,” Allen said. “We’re the guests. How you compete in this next half will have a lot to say about how you do as a team this season.”

Unfortunately for the Patriots, the Lakeside Chiefs blew the game open in the second half.

The Lakeside defense forced Hixon into three interceptions and forced two fumbles.

In a five minute stretch of the third quarter, the Chiefs returned an interception for a touchdown, forced a Patriot turnover on downs, scored on a 47-yard drive, forced another interception, scored on a 52-yard drive, forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and scored a fourth touchdown.

By the end of the five minutes, the Chiefs had scored 26 points and stretched a 13-7 lead into a 39-7 rout.

The Patriots would have a lone bright spot in the second half. On their final drive of the night, backup quarterback Brian Adams and fullback Adam Grice led the Patriots on a 77-yard drive that culminated with a 40-yard Grice run.

Grice was pleased to score his second career touchdown. “I saw a lot of people not running very fast, and I tried to hit the hole,” Grice said.

Adams was pleased to get some game experience. “I saw that they were leaving the inside receivers open, so I focused on hitting them,” Adams said. “It’s good to get game experience so I can step up if Rush ever goes down.”

In addressing the team after the game, coach Allen was displeased with the team’s all around effort. “That was as poor as yu can play, and I take blame for that,” Allen said. “There is no excuse for some of the effort we had tonight.”

Allen said his team failed to handle the adversity they faced. “We just didn’t play very hard.”

Grice echoes his coach’s sentiments. “We definitely saw how our attitudes affected the game tonight.”

The Patriots will look to bounce back next week against Macon-East Montgomery Academy.