By Cody Thomason

At the beginning of the season, a 14-0 deficit in the first quarter probably would’ve spelled doom for the Lafayette Commodores.

Now, in week eight, the Commodores were not only able to fight their way back into the game but ultimately cruised to a commanding 34-14 victory over the Lewisburg Patriots.

“(I) Can’t give our coaching staff enough credit,” Lafayette head coach Michael Fair said. “I thought that they did a tremendous job.”

Lewisburg (4-3, 0-3) went deep into their playbook early in the game, catching the Commodores off guard with a few trick plays and an 85-yard bomb to take the 14-0 lead. Fair credited the coaching staff’s composure for the comeback effort.

“Our kids never panicked because our coaches didn’t,” Fair said. “I love our coaching staff right now, I can’t give them enough credit for what they did tonight and I think they are the key to why it didn’t just explode on us in the first half.”

It is the second straight win for Lafayette (2-5, 2-1 Region 1-5A) after starting the season with five consecutive losses.

“It feels great. Our kids are really enjoying it, and they should, they worked so hard for it,” Fair said. “Like I told them after the game, this didn’t just happen tonight, we’ve had probably the best week of preparation we’ve had, and our practices keep getting better and better and better.

We were in a pretty dark place about a month ago, and we’ve kind of worked ourselves out of it, and our kids have worked hard, and never lost sight of what’s important, so its good to see them celebrate.”

With a minute left in the half, Lafayette had gotten on the board but the Commodores down 14-13 after a problem with the snap on the second extra point attempt. Lewisburg was attempting to drive for a quick score before the break, but linebacker DeDe Miller came up with a pick-six to give the Commodores a 20-14 lead going into the half.

The key to the victory was the Commodores ground attack, with quarterback Randy Anderson rushing for a whopping 214 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, and running back Jamarcus Quarles rushing for 164 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries.

Fair had plenty of praise for his backfield and the offensive line that provided them with quality running lanes throughout the night.

“That’s a pretty good 1-2 punch back there. The offensive line, I think, is coming on, they get better every snap,” Fair said. “We still have three sophomores up there starting, and those guys get better and better. They’re still babies, but they’re growing. They’re growing up and I’m proud of them. Our two backs right there, they’re running hard.”

Next week, Lafayette will go on the road to take on the Grenada Chargers (3-4, 2-0) in another district match up.