It’s been a long time since Lithia Springs has had a football team with a winning record. How long? Head coach Steve Horton couldn’t even remember, “1997 or 1998,” he guessed.

But a winning record is where the Lions (1-0) stand after a season opening victory at Haralson County Friday night. A defensive struggle from the start, Horton’ teams didn’t find the end zone until an Isiah Mack touchdown late in the fourth quarter, but the defense pitched a shutout en route to a 15-0 victory.

Horton, in his fifth year with the Lions, has seen his share of struggles going 1-9 last season in an injury plagued year that saw 27 players go down for a combined 81 games.

But Horton sees a little something different in this years version of the Lions.

“Our senior class is something special, led by Myles Mitchell our quarterback, Rodney Cross at tailback and Isiah Mack who is a really special defensive player,” said Horton, “The biggest difference has been in the locker room, it’s the best it has ever been,” he said. “These guys get along, they are friends on and off the field which was translated into a great atmosphere around the team.”

Playing with a sense of unity, this close-knit group has played much of their lives together.

“We have 19 seniors and 15 of them having been playing together since middle score or before,” said Horton.

With one win under their belt the ball is rolling in the right direction for the Lions.

“Having a winning record would be a big deal for us. We have a couple kids that would like to play at the next level and to do that we need to win some football games,” said the coach, “I honestly feel like we have a shot this year.”

Next on the slate for the Lions is a trip to face Cedartown of region 7AAA. Cedartown dropped there opening game to Rockmart 14-0.

Elsewhere in the county two D’Shawn Abercrombie touchdown passes weren’t enough as Chapel Hill fell to East Coweta 31-21. Douglas County was shutout 24-0 in a cross regional matchup against Hiram and Alexander lost to Northgate 37-14.