The senior running back rushed for 166 yards and two long touchdowns in the Seahawks' 26-18 victory over Southern last night.

"It means so much to me," Lee said. "My senior year, I finally got to beat Southern. It feels so good."

Lee, who ran for 484 yards and four touchdowns in 2007, has picked up 398 yards and scored four times in the Seahawks' first two games. He ran for a career-high 232 yards against Glen Burnie last week.

"He competes every play," South River coach Erxleben said. "He has excellent gamesmanship. He just competes."

Both of Lee's scores came with South River (2-0) leading by a point.

Immediately after South River recovered a Southern fumble, Lee broke through the middle for a 38-yard touchdown with 8:50 left in the third quarter for a 13-6 lead.

Lee's second touchdown, a 37-yard run down the right sideline, made it 26-18 with 1:50 remaining in the game.

"I just kept my feet running," Lee said. "I kept my eyes open and kept my feet running."

South River scored three times and gained 258 yards on the ground, and quarterback Joey Rotolone didn't attempt a pass after the opening drive of the second quarter.

Rotolone found Bobby Hite open on the right side for an 8-yard touchdown in the first period.

Southern (1-1) answered with its pounding rushing attack. Ryan Sullivan completed the 17-play, 66-yard drive with a 1-yard push through the middle with 25 seconds left to close the gap, 7-6. The drive lasted 8 minutes, 35 seconds.

"That's our game. It's no secret. That's what we try to do," Southern coach Russ Meyers said. "We had some opportunities, and we didn't take advantage of them. If we could do that, it's a totally different game."

The Bulldogs gained 251 of their 257 yards on the ground, throwing the ball only eight times.

Sullivan followed Lee's 38-yard touchdown with a score of his own. He broke a pair of tackles to make it

13-12 with 4:23 to go in the third quarter. Bulldogs quarterback Dylan Rawlins threw an incomplete pass on the 2-point conversion attempt.

Rotolone, who was 1-for-4 with a touchdown and an interception, scrambled to the right and dove into the end zone for an 8-yard score to finish a 14-play, 85-yard drive for a 19-12 lead with 8:37 left in the game.

Davonte Burke responded quickly with an 81-yard touchdown on Southern's next possession. He broke an early tackle, cut through a hole on the left side and beat two defenders in the secondary. Southern kicker Micah Strickland missed the extra point - his second miss of the game - to leave it a one-point game.

South River recovered the onsides kick, and Lee took five of the Seahawks' next 11 carries, finishing with a 37-yard score.

"They're our biggest rivals, and you can tell by the emotions on both sides that it's a big game," Meyers said. "On their part and on ours kids' part, it means a lot. It's very disappointing to play this game this early in the season."

South River (2-0) 7 0 6 13 - 26

Southern (1-1) 6 0 6 6 - 18

SR - Hite 8-yard pass from Rotolone (Keopping kick)

SO - Sullivan 1-yard run (kick failed)

SR - Lee 38-yard run (kick failed)

SO - Sullivan 25-yard run (conversion failed)

SR - Rotolone 8-yard run (Keopping kick)

SO - Burke 81-yard run (kick failed)

SR - Lee 37-yard run (Keopping kick)

RUSHING: SR - Lee 166; SO - Burke 99. PASSING: SR - Rotolone 1-4-1, 8 yards; SO - Kenneth O'Neill 1-8-0, 6 yards.