JACKSONVILLE (Fla.) — The NFL has a lot to be proud of. Trevor LawrenceHowever, there’s an underlying truth that is undisputed: the guy never loses.
Lawrence starts his NFL preseason on Saturday with an 86-4 record. His previous wins were 52-2 at Cartersville Georgia High School and 34-2 against Clemson. Lawrence was also perfect during the regular season, which ended in a 68-0 win. There are only four quarterbacks that have lost to him in his 22 playoff games.
It’s easy to identify two: Joe BurrowLSU’s 42-25 win over Clemson was led by. At No. 1, in the 2020 NFL draft. Justin FieldsHe led Ohio State to victory against the Tigers by leading them to 49-28 in semifinals this season.
What about the two other?
Although not household names, one went on to play college football. You’re unlikely to have heard of Jake Smith or Luke Humphrey if you don’t live in Roswell and Buford, Atlanta.
Trevor Lawrence’s first loss by Luke Humphrey, Buford HS
Humphrey was not a top-tier recruit, unlike Lawrence. To be the Buford Wolves starter in 2014, he had to defeat a sophomore. However, he also had one commonality with Lawrence: He hadn’t lost any games.
Buford led the way at 14-0 going into the Class AAAA semi-final at Cartersville High School. Humphrey was also performing well. He had thrown 1,116 yards, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions. Humphrey had previously thrown for a record 177 yards in the quarterfinal defeat over Marist. Buford was a strong defense. Seven shutouts were recorded by the Wolves and only two games had they allowed more than twelve points.
Humphrey’s teammates and Humphrey were able to pinpoint the secret to Lawrence’s success as a rookie. They had never seen anything close to Lawrence’s defense that night. Lawrence, although he had shown some promise and was eventually the national No. Lawrence was in the ninth grade when he became the nation’s No. 1 recruit.
Buford was convinced they could profit from that until the game actually started.
Humphrey stated that everyone was talking Trevor up. He was true freshman. This is how many TDs and yards he has thrown. His stats were impressive for a freshman. Our defense was also quite confident. [and]I wasn’t worried.
We show up and the child is 6’5″ and can really throw it in warm-ups. Although he did throw a few incomplete passes, he was on target the first time. Some receivers dropped some balls and he was like “All right, this kid is the real deal. Even though he’s a freshman.”
Buford managed to build a 13-3 lead in the third quarter, by pressing Lawrence, forcing turnovers, and playing ball controller. If the Wolves had not committed so many offensive errors, it could have been a bigger advantage. Humphrey’s touchdown pass of 57 yards to Humphrey was a perfect example. Isaac Nauta(played at Georgia, and is now on the Green Bay PackersTraining camp roster). This was destroyed by an illegal motion penalty.
Humphrey said that they did a play action pass and threw for 126 yard. “I was rolling out. I had some guys open. Isaac Nauta actually had two people behind him 40 yards down field. I tossed one to him and he made the play and scored the touchdown.
Buford won the game in the final quarter. Steven Reese, safety, intercepted Lawrence. He returned it to the 3 yard line. Joshua Thomas ran back and scored the Wolves’ third 1-yard touchdown three plays later. They beat 27-3.
That’s exactly what Buford linebacker Konnor Harris did during that Humphrey interception.
Humphrey reported that Trevor Lawrence is just about to take the tackle, but Konnor Harris stepped in and took a huge hit on him. Humphrey said, “He [Lawrence]We were like “That kid is tough.”
It would probably have been considered a penalty today.
Lawrence doesn’t forget it.
He said, “It is one of my hardest hits,”
Below is video of Lawrence and Lawrence performing the act.
Buford won the state championship by beating St. Pius X Catholic 55-10, but Humphrey says that Cartersville’s victory is what he will always remember most.
“Beating Cartersville, with Trevor Lawrence playing quarterback, was most definitely the No. Humphrey noted that the first game was most challenging to ensure we win the thing. “It was more of an important-time game that the championship.”
Was Humphrey doing since?
Humphrey received his degree the following spring. He enrolled at University of West Georgia. Humphrey eventually transferred to North Georgia, where he now works as a logistics specialist. He and his friends from high school often reminisce over that moment when they get together.
Humphrey stated that Cartersville is probably brought up more than any game playing Trevor Lawrence. He loves to brag about Konnor Houston. Trevor Lawrence being on his back was a great memory for him.
“It was not a tackle or interception, it’s, ‘Oh! I hit Trevor Lawrence’.”
Humphrey has been following Lawrence’s progress since then.
Humphrey (a Georgia Bulldogs player) said, “It was really cool beat someone of this caliber.” Atlanta Falconsfan. It was clearly a team effort. Now, I’m pulling for him. Although I am proud to say that I beat him head on, I continue to pull for him. After high school, when he attended Cartersville, and after my graduation, I knew I wanted him do well. Clemson is not my favorite team. He was a Clemson fan when he was playing. While I am not a Jacksonville fan now, I do support Jacksonville.
It’ll always be something that I remember. It’s something I can boast about to people.
Lawrence lost his second round of the NCAA to Blessed Trinity Catholic and Jake Smith
Smith is the hero of a better tale. He won with only 12 seconds remaining in 2017 Class AAAA playoff game against Lawrence and Cartersville.
Blessed Trinity’s victory 21-17 over the Hurricanes ended their 41-game streak of victories and allowed them to try for three consecutive state titles. Lawrence was also done with his high school career.
Smith, a junior, had some solid statistics for Blessed Trinity Titans, including a 70% completion rate and 27 touchdowns. One interception was, according to former Blessed Trinity coach Tim McFarlin, a result of a deflection.
Lawrence was not the country’s top recruit. Smith was the nation’s No. 1 recruit, and was about to enroll at Clemson in January. However Smith isn’t highly sought after college recruit. Smith isn’t a good choice for quarterback. While he was considered a safety at some schools, he received an offer from Air Force to be a quarterback. He enrolled in 2020.
Smith was declined by Air Force’s sport information department to interview him. Smith started at Blessed Trinity as well and had a huge impact against Cartersville.
“Jake appeared from the center of the field full tilt and got up underneath the screen. [receiver]McFarlin stated that he turned straight into him. It was an explosive explosion when Jake struck him. That was quite a haul for us. It was a good thing that the boy wasn’t injured, although it did take him time to come up. Jake was able to make several great plays such as that.
Nothing is more important than the touchdown pass.
Lawrence led Cartersville to a victory, bringing them within a matter of minutes. Smith had led the Titans to Cartersville’s 26-yard line. McFarlin took a chance at scoring a touchdown with just 20 seconds left. McFarlin would attempt to kick the field goal at fourth, but it was unsuccessful. He’d try his luck in overtime.
He didn’t really want to play in overtime at Cartersville. McFarlin explained that the 31-point underdogs were supposed to be in this game.
They had run the ball very well and kept it in a run-heavy setup: one receiver, two tight ends, and two runningbacks. Smith faked to Steele Chambers running back (now at Ohio State as a linebacker and running back), while Ryan Davis, a junior at 5-10 who will go on to play for UAB), used a double move in order to gain open.
Smith had 12 seconds left to go and hit Davis with a backhander in order to win the lead.
McFarlin stated, “It was one of those moments when we felt like it was necessary to take the shot to win the game. And we were lucky that we got behind him to score the touchdown.”
Blessed Trinity’s defense kept Lawrence from running all night. He was held to only 142 yards passing and one touchdown. Cartersville, which had attained at least 35 points in 11 of its previous games, was held to 17 points. It also exceeded 50 points seven times.
McFarlin stated, “As it got tighter, the longer that game went, the more I felt like our advantage kind of moved towards our sideline.” They were not comfortable playing long into the game. They lost most of their games by the end of the third quarter. We had only one offensive touchdown and they were scoring well above 40 points per game.
“I think that pressure was a little higher late in the game. There were a few drops. It was a couple of drops. You’re supposed to play them 10 times. [and you’d lose nine]It was the only game. [we won]”
Lawrence on the high school loss
Given all the titles and games Lawrence won throughout his career it seems unfair to focus on two losses. But he was friendly and willing to talk about them. He also remembered some specific details.
Yes, they still sting.
Lawrence explained, “They stick with you always,” Lawrence added. It’s important to remember what you did as a winner and competitor. While I think about winning two state championships, and having a wonderful four-year run, I also think about all the things we could have accomplished.
“First was in semifinals. Could have won there. However [Buford]It was definitely a stronger team than we were. However, my senior year I knew that we were the superior team but just didn’t do well. My last year felt like the best team, but we didn’t finish.
You will always remember these words.
Maybe more people will recall Smith and Humphrey now.