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Sports

James Madison Comeback Defeats South Lakes, 16-13

Two Warhawks fourth-quarter field goals deny upset bid from winless Seahawks.

James Madison narrowly avoided becoming South Lakes' first victim of the 2011 football season, as a 25-yard field goal from Warhawks kicker Nick Dorka with 14 seconds left preserved a 16-13 home victory in Vienna Friday night.

James Madison (5-2 overall, 4-0 Liberty District) quickly converted their opening possession into a touchdown pass from Dan Powers to Thomas Brooks less than a minute into the game, then extended their lead to 10-0 before South Lakes (0-7, 0-4) answered with two touchdown passes from Calvin Vaughan to Rashaan Jones to head into halftime with a 13-10 lead.

Both teams committed crucial turnovers inside the red zone during the first half. James Madison fumbled on 3rd and goal from inside the one-yard line. South Lakes turned the ball over twice inside the Warhawks 5 on two of Dan Schwab's three first half interceptions. Also, a South Lakes interception return for a touchdown by Dylan Clark was called back on an illegal block penalty.

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For the second week in a row, South Lakes could not hold onto a slim halftime lead, despite forcing five turnovers from the James Madison offense. The Warhawks tied the score at 13 with a 39 yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.

After an unsuccessful onside kick attempt, South Lakes had possession near midfield but could not convert a 4th and 4 from inside the Warhawks 30-yard line. With 4:21 left in the game, James Madison drove the ball deep into Seahawk territory, setting up Dorka's third field goal of the night for the game-winning score.

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South Lakes played most of the game without head coach Marvin Wooten on the sidelines after he was ejected during the first quarter. A rare occurence, the ejection was apparently due to multiple violations of national high school football illegal equipment rules by Seahawks players, which is deemed to be the head coach's responsibility. According to the South Lakes bench, one of the violations was for a rubber band on a player's wrist.

Next week South Lakes hosts Langley for Homecoming while James Madison travels to Fairfax in Liberty District action. Both games start at 7:30pm Friday.

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