GREENSBORO – Seniors come through in the clutch.

Lawrence Academy’s Chad Oliver proved that once again here last night when he stopped what would have been a game-winning touchdown for Oak Ridge one foot short of the goal line as time expired.

Thanks to that tackle, Lawrence Academy got their first win of 2007 with a 40-36 victory over Oak Ridge. It marked the first win for the Warriors since Mike Dail returned to the sidelines.

“I’m mighty happy for these guys,” Dail said. “I’m especially thrilled for Chad (Oliver) and Dakota (Ray), because this is their senior year.

“That win is big for this program,” he added. “It shows all the hard work we’ve put in is paying off.”

Lawrence scored six times in the contest, beginning with a two-yard pass from quarterback Blake Hill to Nick Morris in the first quarter.

In the second quarter the Warriors scored twice. The first touchdown came when Hill connected with Shane Leggett on a 34-yard touchdown pass. The conversion failed.

Keith Thompson then covered 43 yards on a run and Hill added the conversion as Lawrence cut their deficit to 22-20 by the intermission.

In the third quarter, the Warriors scored twice to stake themselves to a 34-30 lead by the end of the period.

Thompson had touchdown receptions of 10 and 15 yards, both from Hill, and Oliver added a two-point conversion to establish that margin.

In the fourth period, Oak Ridge rallied to take the lead, but the Warriors didn’t give up.

Hill connected with Leggett on a 26-yard touchdown strike to give the Warriors a 40-36 lead.

Oliver then made his game-saving tackle to preserve the win.

“What’s so rewarding is to realize we were over-matched,” Dail said. “We played a team that was better than we were tonight athletically. You don’t always beat a team that’s better than you are.”

Dail credited the win to his team’s heart and work ethic.

“The kids showed up to play tonight,” he stressed. “We played up to our potential tonight and you seldom do that. It was mighty good to see it.”