Former Sandy Creek standout

J.R. Lemon will likely be seeing a lot of playing time at Stanford, now

that the sophomore has been given the chance to demonstrate to the California

folks just what he can do. Lemon, a 2001 graduate of Sandy Creek who was

recruited nationwide before deciding on the Stanford Cardinals, found

out just 20 minutes before last Saturday's kickoff against Arizona

State that starting tailback Kenneth Tolon had sprained his thumb during

pregame drills and would not play, according to a report in the San Jose

Mercury News on Monday. "It caught me off guard," Lemon told

the Mercury-News. But apparently not TOO off guard, because Lemon went

on to rush for two touchdowns, scoring on runs of 1 and 10 yards to lead

the Cardinals to a 38-27 win. His single-play 32-yard rush was the longest

of the season by any Stanford player. He finished the day with a career-high

151 yards, the most by a Stanford running back since 1994. Lemon owned

the record as Sandy Creek's all-time leading rusher until this season,

when Phillip Hyde broke his mark of 2,505 yards. Hyde helped lead the

Patriots to their first 10-0 season and a Region 4-AAAA championship,

which buys Sandy Creek homefield advantage through the semi-final round

of the playoffs at the Georgia Dome. Sandy Creek opens the GHSA playoffs

at home Nov. 21 when they host the 4th-place seed from Region 1-AAAA,

most likely Cairo. The Patriots are ranked 6th in the state by the Associated

Press, but are listed as high as 4th statewide by other polls.

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