Christian Malone
The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA —
Anthony Ethridge had a busy night for Lanier County’s football team on Friday.
He caught passes. He ran the ball. He forced fumbles. He returned a fumble for a touchdown. He sacked the quarterback. He scored half of his team’s 40 points. He stayed on the field continuously for three quarters, and helped lead his team to a dominant victory.
For his performance, Ethridge has been chosen The Valdosta Daily Times’ Player of the Week.
Ethridge, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound senior wide receiver and defensive end, led Lanier County to a 40-14 rout of Calhoun County on Friday night at Roquemore Field in Lakeland.
On offense, Ethridge caught five passes for 79 yards and two touchdowns, had one carry for 23 yards and also caught a two-point conversion pass. On defense, he had a sack, two tackles for loss and also broke up a pass. He forced two fumbles, one of which was returned for a touchdown, and picked up another fumble and returned it for a touchdown.
And he did all of that without taking a break. Like most small-school football teams, Lanier County has to play some of its players on both offense and defense, so Ethridge did not leave the field until the Bulldogs pulled their starters early in the fourth quarter.
“Anthony is an amazing football player,” Lanier head coach Wade Beale said after the game. “He has to play hard every game this season, and that is a good start.”
On one play in the third quarter, Ethridge hit the ball carrier, and forced a fumble. Teammate Junior Gnonkonde picked up the loose ball, and ran it back for a touchdown. Later in the same quarter, Gnonkonde forced a fumble, and Ethridge scooped it up and raced 30 yards for a touchdown.
Ethridge’s team had a great night, too. Lanier pounded Calhoun County for three quarters, building a 40-0 lead at one point, before the Cougars scored two late touchdowns on Lanier’s reserves.
The Bulldogs’ defense was especially dominant. When Lanier’s starters left the game early in the fourth quarter, the Cougars had minus-50 yards of total offense. The Bulldogs picked off two passes and forced five fumbles. Lanier’s defense set a school record with 15 tackles for loss and six quarterback sacks in the game.
Lanier’s new spread offense rolled up 368 yards of total offense. Quarterback Domenick Calhoun threw for 159 yards and four touchdowns, two of them to Ethridge, and the Bulldogs also ran for 209 yards.
After the game, Ethridge said he really enjoys playing in Lanier’s new offense.
“I love this offense. If I get one-on-one, I’ll burn that quarterback every time,” he said.
Ethridge and the Bulldogs will host Berrien this Friday at 7:30 p.m.
