Windsor offense sputters in 27-8 home loss against Lakeview

The Windsor Knights failed to end their season-opening homestand on a high note Friday in south Macon, as the Lakeview Lions dominated on offense and notched three interceptions to defeat Windsor 27-8.

The Knights (1-3) occasionally got some nice short passes but, on the whole, struggled to move the ball as the Lions (2-2) brought heavy pressure to send Windsor quarterback Dawson Sims scrambling regularly.

“We gotta take a good long look in the mirror offensively,” head coach Dylan Bass said. “We’ve been over and over putting our defense in bad situations the last three games in the row. I feel like we just can’t get out of our own way.”

The Knights scored on their last drive of the night, putting a touchdown and two-point conversion on the board as Sims and his brother Dalton connected for several chunk plays. The touchdown sequence came after Lakeview was already up 27-0 with only three minutes left, however.

“I don’t feel like there’s any positives to take away from this game, except that we found a way to go punch one in late. We didn’t come away with a goose egg,” Bass said. “I think that’s the only positive.”

It was a difficult evening from the start for the Knights, as they got the ball to begin the game and failed to advance. The Windsor defense stepped up, though, allowing a couple first downs but eventually forcing a punt from Lakeview to give the offense another shot.

The Knights managed a first down on the ensuing possession with some quick passes from Sims, but the quarterback stymied his own momentum when he threw his first interception.

The short field allowed the Lions to start at Windsor’s 38-yard line, where quarterback Kyari Burch took advantage of a broken play and slipped tackles to scramble for an impressive touchdown.

Things continued to unravel from there, much to the chagrin of the home crowd. 

Burch made another impact play on the ensuing drive, as he picked off a deep heave from Sims to once again give the Lions a good start. Running backs Ryker Kohler and Aiden Libutti, who each played well all game, both contributed some solid gains before Libutti punched it in to make it 14-0.

The Knights offense continued to sputter, as they only had three first downs in the opening half. Windsor did get its best chance of the night midway through the second quarter, though, as a rare three-and-out by Lakeview gave the Knights possession inside enemy territory.

A fade pass to end zone by Sims looked promising, too, until one Lakeview defender tipped the ball right at the sideline. The carom sent the ball from out of bounds back into the end zone, where Burch was waiting to reel in his second interception of the night in unlikely fashion.

Though Lakeview did not take its next two possessions the distance, a pair of field goals from 30 and 37 yards out by Bora Ozcelik made it 20-0 going into halftime.

After the Lions scored on their first drive of the second half to make it 27-0 — the touchdown was set up by an impressive long pass from Burch to Brooks Farmer — Lakeview ran the ball even more with Kohler and Labutti in the second half to chew clock.

Windsor’s scoring drive, highlighted by several catches by Dalton Sims and Walker Jones, just about finished things off, as Lakeview let the clock wind down on their ensuing possession.

The Knights dropped to 1-3 and will go on the road for the first time this season next week against Trinity Christian in Dublin.

“I think that will be a breath of fresh air for us,” Bass said. “After the pressure of having to perform in front of the home crowd — and we haven’t done that — we can get a reset with the road trip.”