*By Misty Martin*

FORT OGLETHORPE — The only thing Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe football fans had to celebrate on Homecoming was the crowning of the queen.

Rome High, ranked No. 7 in class AAAA, reigned supreme on Friday with a 34-13 win over LFO at Tommy Cash Stadium in the Region 7-AAAA opener for both teams.

“Anytime you can get a win it’s special,” Rome head coach Sid Fritts said a week after the Wolves’ tie with Cartersville. “But anytime you can get a win within the region it’s real special.”

Rome (3-0-1, 1-0) wasted no time in taking charge, scoring on its first two possessions to go into halftime ahead 13-6.

The Wolves, led by running back P.J. Green, covered 82 yards in 10 plays on their first scoring drive and 64 yards in eight plays on the second.

Green was the game’s leading rusher with 174 yards on 21 carries. He also had touchdown runs of 41 and five yards.

“P.J. was steady for us last year,” Fritts said. “This year we’ve been giving the ball to different people. Last week Cartersville took P.J. away from us, but this week (LFO) took away our perimeter and it opened things up for him.”

Cory Thacker threw to Anatarious Brown for an 18-yard TD pass at the 6:27 mark of the opening quarter for the first score of the game.

The point after failed after it was pushed back 15 more yards following a Rome penalty.

The second touchdown came on a six-yard pass from Thacker to Terrell Burley with 9:35 to play in the second quarter.

Coner Young’s extra point made it 13-0.

LFO’s LaGreg Burns gave the Warriors a spark with a 35-yard touchdown run with 5:12 to play in the half. The Warriors covered 78 yards in eight plays on the drive.

But Rome’s Van Calhoun blocked the extra point kick attempted by Stan Nizamutdinov.

Burns finished the night with 87 yards rushing on 13 carries, which was something Fritts had hoped to eliminate.

“When we watched them on film we saw that number 15 running the ball and we knew they could move it,” he said.

Rome certainly moved it in the second half, where the Wolves scored 21 points to put away LFO (0-4, 0-1) in the third quarter.

Rome’s first drive covered 62 yards in three plays, highlighted by the 41-yard touchdown run by Green at the 10:34 mark.

Reggie Whatley scored from 25 yards and Young kicked the PAT to extend the lead to 27-6.

LFO’s Cody Commons answered with a 73-yard touchdown pass to Brett Davis. Nizamutdinov kicked the extra point.

Rome then marched 71 yard in eight plays for its final touchdown drive of the night, where Green punched it in from the 5-yard line.

Rome hosts Gordon Central next week at Barron Stadium while the Warriors — who now have a 23-game losing streak — will travel to Northwest Whitfield to take on the Bruins.