ATHENS – Jess Lanier High School tried to spoil Athens’ Homecoming Friday night, but Robert Brown wouldn’t let that happen.

Athens sealed a 17-14 win with a Brown interception late in the fourth quarter lifting the Golden Eagles to 5-0 (3-0 in 5A, Region 8) and dropping Jess Lanier to 3-2 (2-1, 5A, Region 4).

Jess Lanier opened the scoring with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Thomas Hudson to Antwon Acoff. It was set up by an Athens fumble, recovered by Marcus Kornegsy who rumbled 35 yards to the 15-yard line.

“We expected them to have great athleticism and they had great speed at every position,” Athens coach Allen Creasy said.

Athens responded with Robert Brown, who returned the kickoff 25 yards to midfield. He ran it three more times on the drive, finally scoring from 7 yards out. The PAT tied it 7-7.

Jess Lanier then put together three straight drives, going deep in Golden Eagle territory each time. But each time the Athens defense stopped the drives, twice on interceptions.

“We had our chances, but we just couldn’t score. Their defense came up with some big plays, but I’m proud of our team because we played with a heart of a champion,” said Jess Lanier coach Jerry Dismukes. “We had our chances to win it.”

The last drive had Jess Lanier at the Athens 9 with 33 seconds left in the half. The Athens defense stopped them again and the game remained 7-7.

After a Matt Jackson field goal made it 10-7 Athens, Jess Lanier made a huge play at the end of the third quarter.

David Cash made an acrobatic interception and ran it 45 yards for a touchdown, giving Lanier a 14-10 lead.

“David Cash is our leader and I’m proud of how he played,” Dismukes said.

“I was going to blitz, but I read the play and dropped back, following the quarterback’s eyes. I tried to take it to the house for the team,” Cash said.

Athens mounted a ground attack, led by Brown, and Karlos Jones crashed through from 1 yard out to give Athens the lead 17-14.

“We scheduled Athens on the road knowing they were a tough team, to see how we stacked up against a strong team. We stacked up well and I’m proud of how we played,” Dismukes said.