South Forsyth could not hold on for the victory against Winder-Barrow despite a three touchdown performance by senior running back Tyler LaFlamme, losing 29-28 in a scrimmage Friday at War Eagle Stadium.

LaFlamme was the workhorse back for the War Eagles. The senior scored South’s first three touchdowns on rushes of 1, 7 and 11 yards. He was heavily involved in all five of South Forsyth’s first half drives before bowing out in the second half for some well-deserved rest.

South Forsyth’s starters only played the first half of the game and left the field with a 21-7 lead.

The War Eagles were in control for most of the game. South never trailed until Winder-Barrow connected on a 59-yard touchdown pass and converted the subsequent two-point conversion with 1:13 left to play, capping a 15-point comeback for Winder-Barrow that put the visiting crowd in a frenzy.

South looked strong throughout, but a couple of late dropped passes, including one in the end zone, allowed the Bulldoggs back in to the contest. South can take solace in the fact that the errors made in Friday’s scrimmage are fixable.

After LaFlamme left the field, junior running back Grant Umberger entered the game and made himself known by reeling off back-to-back rushes of 13 and 11 yards. Umberger eventually scored the only other touchdown for South on the following drive.

South’s rushing attack was clearly the story of the night as Winder-Barrow didn’t seem to have an answer for whoever the War Eagles lined up in the backfield. The War Eagles’ rebuilt offensive line held up well as Winder-Barrow got little to no backfield penetration the whole game.

On the defensive side, South was good but not great. They held their own, but Winder-Barrow junior running back CeCe Green reeled off several gashing runs that had the War Eagle defense on their heels. Junior wide receivers Brandon Hayes and Jay Branch also had a couple nice jump-ball catches in which the War Eagle corners didn’t have the size to match.