Unless you’re living under a big ol’ Sanford-size rock, you know that Lee County High School’s football team is attempting to win a trip to the state championship tonight. The Yellow Jackets will have to beat a tough New Hanover High team at home beginning at 7:30 p.m. in order to advance. We will provide a running commentary as the night progresses.
Lee County hasn’t made it to the regional finals since 2005 and has never made it to the state championship. Its predecessor Sanford Central won the 3-A state title in 1966, 67, 68 and 72 and the 4A state title in 1973 in the glory days of Coach Paul B. Gay, for whom the stadium is named.
NCHSAA recordbooks also indicate that Sanford won the state championship in 1926, though that was before real helmets and it’s unclear if anyone survived.

The Jackets have scored two more times to set the score at 34-9. It’s over folks. Clear your calendars. Lee County is going to the state title game.
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A.J. Boulware 52-yard TD run on 4th and 1!!! What a night for the running back. WFJA reports he has 218 yards so far. Read all about his story in the October edition of The Rant.
Missed PAT, Jackets lead 20-9, 5:58 remaining in 3Q
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HALFTIME: Jackets lead 14-9 at the break after a 45-yard field goal.
Lee running back A.J. Boulware has been the star of the show so far. And Lee’s defense as usual had held strong.
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UPDATE: NH was threatening in the red zone, but Lee held them to a field goal with 7:50 to go in the half.
Then A.J. Boulware broke free on a 70-yard touchdown run. 2-pt conversion good! Lee leads 14-3!!!
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UPDATE: Lee County gets on the board first with a 6-yard run from AJ Boulware with 3:57 left in the first quarter. Missed PAT, 6-0 Jackets!
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As for tonight, here’s how to keep up if you can’t go:
Radio – First and foremost, you should get an FM radio — you know, that thing that plays stations in your car and not podcasts — and tune to 105.5 FM. There, you’ll get to hear the longtime voice of the Yellow Jackets, Jon Hockaday, and sidekick Keith Womack call the game. They’ll be rooting for the good guys, yes, but they also know way more than anyone else about the team since they’ve watched every down this year. We’ll be trusting Jon and Keith.
Streaming – Be careful here. There are a lot of scams online promising a stream of the game tonight. They appear to be phishing for your credit card numbers. So far, we have not located a real stream of the game. If you know of one, let us know.
Tweets and Social medias – If you’re under the age of 30, you probably have no idea what an FM radio is, and you may be less sure about how to tune your television to anything other than Netflix. Don’t worry, there are lots of Twitter-savvy Sanfordians and others who will keep you up to speed.
Lee County’s booster club has an active Twitter feed and Facebook page.
This will be the thread to follow for the game tonight. #JacketPride #JacketFamily #HSOTScores #run910
— Lee County High Athletic Booster Club (@LCHS_Boosters) December 7, 2019
The Wilmington Star-News will provide coverage via its prep sports Facebook page as well as its reporter, Jackson Fuller’s tweets.
Really beautiful, and big, high school football stadium here at @LCHS_Boosters. The Yellow Jackets still have the score up from last week’s big comeback win over Cleveland. pic.twitter.com/qKHlVdpSvt
— Jackson Fuller-SNV (@StarNewsVarsity) December 6, 2019
Other accounts worth a follow:
Made it to Lee County HS. @NHHSFootball19 taking on the Yellow Jackets in the 3AA East Final. pic.twitter.com/tGYhZovTiB
— John Smist (@JohnSmistWECT) December 6, 2019
It’s GAMEDAY in LEE COUNTY pic.twitter.com/AAOgpaMPKf
— Andrae Jacobs (@CoachJacobs40) December 6, 2019
Thanks to the Rant for listening to our broadcast. Please remind all those under 30 that don’t own radios to listen on-line at http://www.wfjawwgpradio.com. Go Jackets!