Alabama commit Richard Young rushes for 150 and a score in Lehigh win

LEHIGH ACRES, FLORIDA – It wasn't pretty. There were plenty of penalties and many mistakes.

Still, it was a district win for the Lehigh Senior High School football team. But that wasn't the most important part of Friday's 19-14 victory over Charlotte.

Two weeks ago, these teams weren't sure if they would get to play football again this season. They weren't even sure if their schools would be able to reopen following the devastation of Hurricane Ian.

So the victory was big for Lehigh players. But not as big as returning to the field with the teammates and the game they love.

"Man, it was hard," Lehigh running back Richard Young said of the past three weeks without football. "We didn't know if we were going to come back or if our season was going to be canceled. We came back (to practice) Saturday and we worked out butts off.

"We made it. This is just the first step."

It was a step down the road to recovery after a powerful Category 4 storm tore through Lee County 16 days ago. Charlotte County, home to Lehigh's opponent, also felt the wrath of Ian. Neither county has returned to school, and both still have large areas without power.

Lehigh (2-3) had just six days of practice following a two-week layoff due to the storm. The Lightning hadn't played a game in four weeks.

Charlotte (0-5) had even less time to prepare. The Tarpons just returned to practice Tuesday.

"Neither team was really ready to play," Lehigh coach James Chaney said. "We really didn't have enough time to prepare. My hat's off to Charlotte for coming down here. They were devastated just like we were."

Once the game started, Lehigh had just enough big plays to outlast the Tarpons.

The Lightning had an 80-yard drive in the first quarter, capped by quarterback Dorian Mallary's 15-yard touchdown run. In the second quarter, an interception by James Little set up an 18-yard run by Mallary.

Lehigh led 13-0 at halftime. Charlotte managed just 25 yards of offense in the first half, including negative-1 rushing yard thanks to five sacks by the Lightning defense.

The Tarpons came to life in the second half and made things interesting. In the third quarter they ripped off a 96-yard scoring drive in just five plays. Shy Goudette ran 63 yards to the end zone for Charlotte's first score.

Before that drive, Charlotte had totaled just 21 yards on 25 plays.

The Tarpons got a 3-yard touchdown run by quarterback Michael Valentino that cut their deficit to 19-14 with 7:54 to play. After its defense forced a three-and-out, the Tarpons got the ball at their own 39-yard line with 2:51 left and no timeouts.

However, on the third play, Little came up big once again. The Lehigh defensive back stepped in front of a deep pass for his second interception, this one sealing the win.

"I just wanted to give my teammates a chance to win," Little said. "I knew this was a win or go home game, so I tried to be great and do everything I could to help the team out."

Little, who is a sophomore, said he was thrilled just to be on the field – and especially happy for his teammates whose careers would be over if the season was canceled.

"I told my dad, 'I hope football ain't over because it's the game I love,'" Little said. "This means so much to these seniors. I just wanted to play for them."

Young, the No. 1-ranked running back in the Class of 2023 and an Alabama commit, finished with 150 yards and a touchdown. Goudette led Charlotte with 94 yards on the ground.

LEHIGH 19, CHARLOTTE 14

CH 0 0 7 7 -- 14

LE 6 7 6 0 -- 19

SCORING

First quarter

LE: Dorian Mallary 15 run (kick failed), 3:16

Second quarter

LE: Mallary 18 run (Ricardo Maldanado kick), 5:12

Third quarter

CH: Shy Goudette 63 run (Thomas Forte kick), 6:40

LE: Richard Young 10 run (kick failed), 0:22

Fourth quarter

CH: Michael Valentino 3 run (Forte kick), 7:54