By Chris Megginson / For the Reporter

EUFAULA – After being shut out in Week 1 at Bessemer Academy, Cornerstone Christian School has scored 75 points in two games en route to a 2-1 start. The Chargers rolled past the Lakeside Chiefs, 34-20, at Reeves Field on Friday for the program’s first win against Lakeside in five tries.

CCS (2-1, 1-0 Region) compiled more than 400 yards of offense, passing for 148 in the first half, and then collecting 264 yards rushing.

“I told them in the second half we’re going to line up and were going to run it right at them, and that’s what we did,” CCS head coach Tim Smith said. “Last year we started out 0-8, so it feels a little better to be 2-1. We knew if we could get out of Bessemer and not get hurt we’d have a chance to win a few ballgames this year. We’re getting better.”

Cornerstone received the opening kickoff and moved down field to the 30. Smith dialed up a new play for the Chargers’ first trip into Chief’s territory.

“We worked on a play all week – a fast play, not a trick play,” Smith said. “We saw some things on film and we worked on it all week … It was wide open.”

Tyler McNamee hit Ben Perryman on the 30-yard touchdown pass to give CCS a 7-0 lead with 6:56 to play in the opening quarter.

Reid Potthoff caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Cook to tie it, 7-7, for Lakeside on Potthoff’s PAT.

McNamee threw his second TD pass of the game, 18 yards to JoJo Joiner, to regain the lead for CCS in the second quarter and carry a 14-7 lead into halftime. Joiner led the CCS receivers with 87 yards on thre catches, while McNamee threw for 148 yards on 8-of-12 passing in the first half. He added 32 yards rushing.

In the third quarter, the Chargers made it a two-touchdown game with the first of three Logan Tucker touchdown runs of the night from 18 yards out.

Frank Garrison pulled Lakeside within a touchdown, 21-14, on a 7-yard TD run with 10:45 left in the fourth quarter.

Cornerstone created some distance in the fourth quarter, with Tucker scoring on back-to-back drives from 6 and 3 yards out to make it 34-21 with 5:05 to play.

Lakeside added a late touchdown on a 12-yard pass from Cook to Potthoff with 2:39 to play but missed the extra point to round out the scoring at 34-20.

Tucker finished the night with 129 yards rushing and three scores on offense, while collecting five tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery on defense. Jake Blankenship also collected more than 100 yards of offense with 87 yards rushing on four carries and three catches for 27 yards.

Theo Mangos led the CCS defense with seven tackles, Jahnari Chisolm had six and Joiner had five stops, an interception and three pass breakups. Tucker Johnson had the Chargers’ only sack.

Cornerstone (2-1, 1-0 AISA Region 1) will look to end another dry spell against an AISA opponent when it returns home Sept. 16 to host Kingwood Christian School in a cross-county rivalry. KCS (0-3, 0-1 AISA Region 1) has won the last five meetings (2005, 2006, 2007, 2014, 2015).