King’s Fork High School (3-3) snapped a three-game losing streak Thursday evening as they beat rival Lakeland High School (4-2) at home.

The weather may not have been ideal conditions for family and friends Thursday night, but the play on the field by both teams made up for it. The Bulldogs defeated the Cavs 46-31.

King’s Fork had lost its last three games and knew the game against Lakeland provided them an opportunity to get back on track. But the Cavs (4-2) led the way at halftime, 25-20, having capitalized on Bulldogs turnovers in the first half.

The Bulldogs were able to shake off their mistakes and play an impressive second half.

“They just kept fighting; they just kept playing,” Bulldogs coach Scottie Littles said of his team’s effort. “I told them at halftime that, ‘Hey guys, we need to stick together.’ They stuck together, and I’m proud of them. This is going to boost our morale. These lessons that we are learning are going to be valuable come November, when it’s all on the line.”

Cavs running back Damontra Milteer and Bulldogs running back Darran Butts stole the show Thursday night. Both of them combined for an outstanding 581 yards of rushing. Milteer ran for 322 yards and scored four touchdowns, three of which were 40-plus yards including one for 90 yards, while Butts ran for 259 and three touchdowns, with two of his touchdowns being 60-plus yards. Though Milteer’s stats were slightly more impressive, he likely preferred a win — something Butts and the Bulldogs were able to walk away with.

“Darran unleashed the dog in him out there,” quarterback Justin German said. “He saw the holes out there when they opened, and he went to go be special like he can be.”

“When Darran gets in the open field, it’s hard for him to get caught,” Littles said. “He’s getting better and better. The first three weeks he would’ve been tackled by arm tackles. He’s breaking those tackles now and making plays.”

German completed six out of 11 passes for 157 yards. Littles gave credit to the performance the Bulldogs offensive line put up. Austin Williams and Trayshawn Mitchell were critical in setting the tone and opening up running lanes for the team. Williams recently returned from injury, and King’s Fork feels it is a better team with the left tackle in the lineup.

Cavs coach Kevin Knight said that though his team was frustrated by the loss against a rival opponent, he was glad they were able to face adversity. Recently, the Cavs had been doing a good job at closing games out defensively and not allowing big plays at the end of games.

“We played hard,” Knight said. “We were in position to make plays defensively, and we just didn’t make them.”

Thursday evening’s game was the third for the Cavs in 11 days. Offensively, the Cavs didn’t do much through the air. Milteer had the game of his career, though in a loss he still dropped the mouths of his teammates and coaches.

“That’s one guy I really feel for. He had an incredible game,” Knight said. “To have the game he had out there was crazy. I’ve never seen anything like that in high school football.”

“All I was thinking about was I really wanted to win that game,” Milteer said. “At the end of the game when I found out how much I had, I knew I had tried my hardest for the team. It wasn’t enough, so we have to get better.”

Lakeland is 4-2 and are still in good shape for the goals they want to accomplish this year, which is to get a playoff game at home.

Next for the Bulldogs is a game at Grassfield. Lakeland will be at home against Hickory. Both games are at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14.