MORROW, Ga. - Turnovers plagued The Apprentice School Saturday in the New South Athletic Conference's North Division Title game in a 42-13 loss to Clayton State.

"Five turnovers will not put you in a position to win a game," said head coach Vincent Brown. "Credit to Clayton State for taking advantage of our mistakes. Even though our season came to a close, we will continue to work and be better when we take the field next season. In the meantime, we will continue to build leaders in the company and in our program."

The Builders turned the ball over five times, three by fumble and two interceptions. Three of those turnovers led directly to points for Clayton State, while one of the fumbles happened at the 1-yard line as Apprentice was heading into the endzone.

The Lakers opened the scoring early in the first quarter when Zsewaun Smith powered into the end zone from three yards out, putting the Lakers ahead, 7-0. CSU got the football after Apprentice failed to cleanly field the opening kickoff, giving the home team great field position to open the game.

The Builders responded with a 3-yard run by Alvin Hicks, knotting the game at 7-7. But Clayton State took over before the quarter ended, with quarterback Sire Hardaway throwing a 43-yard touchdown pass to Savion West, and Avon Findley running in from a yard out to cap the opening stanza on a 20-7 lead.

The second quarter saw the Lakers extend their lead when Ray Storey intercepted a pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown. That made it 28-7 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Clayton State delivered the knockout blow on a single play: Smith found Clenton Rafe on an 80-yard touchdown pass to push the lead out even further. And in the fourth quarter, after a short scoring push by the Builders, a 1-yard run by Kendall Hunt, the Lakers answered with a 72-yard pass from Hardaway to West, sealing the 42-13 outcome.

Clayton State outgained the Builders 495 yards to 313, including 352 passing yards and 143 rushing yards. The Builders managed 240 passing yards and 96 rushing yards.

For the Lakers, Hardaway was 14-for-24 passing for 272 yards and two touchdowns, while Smith added the 80-yard scoring strike and also rushed for 94 yards and a TD.

For the Builders, Kendall Hunt completed 11-of-28 for 240 yards, but threw two interceptions and no touchdowns.