HSFB2019: Central Georgia's high school football roundup
Teams: send info/updates to centralgasports@gmail.com by 10:30 a.m. Saturday
More to come when you visit first thing in the morning, and then for the final 11 a.m. update.
The overall record, region and region finish accompany each team. Ranking is from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Central Georgia
GHSA pairings
First Round
Class 6A
Houston County 31, Evans 21; next: at South Paulding
The Bears dominated the second half with a 17-0 run and win on the road over a region top seed, albeit one it competed against a few years ago when the teams were in the same region. Evans led 21-14 at halftime after a sluggish second quarter for the Bears, Evans missing a field goal in the final seconds of the half. After a few possession exchanges, the Bears woke themselves up with a 95-yard touchdown pass from Max Rigby to Isaia Harris, tying it at 21 with 5:32 left in the third. Evans botched a punt to give Houston County prime field position, and the hosts paid for it with a 12-yard TD pass from Rigby to Harris – their third hookup of the night – and a touchdown lead with less than four minutes left in the third. The Bear defense kept answering and stuffing, and Luke Rigby making it a two-possession game with a 27-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter.
Class 5A
No. 2 Warner Robins 28, Jonesboro 7; next: vs. Rome
The visitors put up a good fight, Warner Robins lead 14-0 at the half on Jahlen Rutherford’s 9-yard run and an Ahmad Walker 11-yarder, both in the first quarter. The defending 5A runners-up weren’t overly sharp, but were good enough to follow Jonesboro’s score almost four with more good defense and finally an insurance touchdown from Wakler at the 5:48 mark of the fourth. QB Jalen Addie added one after the Demons converted a fourth and 9 from the 16, bouncing in from the 7 on fourth down inside two minutes. Now, the Demons prepare for Rome, who won 38-0 at McConnell-Talbert in the 2017 Class 5A championship.
Veterans 28, Riverdale 6; next: at Carrollton
The Warhawks led 14-6 at halftime, and pulled away with a strong second half for their first playoff win since beating Locust Grove 36-15 on Nov. 15, 2013, six years to the day. An interception led to Veterans’ first score and a blocked punt to the second. The Warhawks came out firing in the second half, scoring on their first possession, Julian Barnes going in from 5. They followed with another sustained drive a possession later, Barnes again getting the scoring honors early in the fourth quarter, the Warhawks defense finishing the game.
No. 7 Jones County 26, South Effingham 13; next: vs. Cedar Shoals
The Greyhounds combined some drives and some big plays to finally ease away at home.
Class 4A
No. 7 West Laurens 37, Luella 6; next: vs. North Oconee
Luella gave the Raiders a battle for awhile, trailing only 14-6 into the third quarter. Shonta Burney’s 20-yard score with about eight minutes left in the third got the Raiders going. A.J. Mathis connected with Brent Carr for a 20-yard score about six minutes later to take control, the Raiders adding a safety right after that touchdown and a fourth-quarter score from Bradley Wilson. West Laurens held its eighth opponent – and seventh straight – to seven points or less.
Perry 38, Hampton 0; next: at Oconee County
Perry’s first home playoff game since 2007? The Panthers almost exorcised the drought of a dozen years in one sitting. Perry got going on Daequan Wright’s 25-yard score at the 5:14 mark of the first quarter, and the scoring gates were starting to open. Chriseth Stewart recovered a fumble for a score, and then Tyrell Owens went 60 yards for a touchdown. A field goal in the finals seconds of the half gave the Panthers a 24-0 halftime lead. Owens added a shorter third-quarter scoring run early in the third, the Panthers closing out the scoring with a fumble recovery for a touchdown halfway through the fourth. The Panthers recorded their second shutout of the year, and first against a playoff-caliber team since hammering Monroe 43-0 in September of 2018.
Mary Persons 28, Eastside 21; next: vs. Madison County
The teams put some points up in bad weather, Mary Persons finding enough footing to overcome a 21-14 deficit – Eastside scored with 21 seconds left in the third - entering the fourth. William Stewart scored on a short run, but the PAT was blocked for a 21-20 deficit with only a few minutes left. The Bulldogs then recovered the onside kick with 2:06 remaining, and scored the game-winner with 35 seconds left on a pass from freshman QB Logan Hickman to new Georgia baseball signee Trippe Moore, Mary Persons adding the conversion.
No. 2 Woodward Academy 40, Upson-Lee 14
Woodward took a 19-0 first-quarter lead and added 21 to it by halftime, the Knights breaking the shutout for the second-most points scored on the War Eagles this season
Baldwin 38, Cairo 30; at Blessed Trinity
Baldwin converted a fumble lead in the second quarter into a touchdown and a 19-14 halftime lead, added a 6-yard rushing touchdown three minutes into the third quarter for a double-digit lead that grew to 31-14 several minutes later. The Braves added a passing touchdown a minute into the fourth quarter to go up 38-14, but Cairo scored less than two minutes later and added the conversion. The Syrupmakers were stopped on fourth and goal from the 9, but then managed a 31-yard TD pass and conversion with about two minutes left to pull within eight, but the Braves were able to run out the final two minutes, punting on the final play.
Class 3A
No. 1 Peach County 19, Brantley County 0; next: vs. Calhoun
The Trojans had their first four-quarter game in two months, and recorded their third shutout of the year while failing to crack 20 points for the first time since last year’s 14-13 state title game loss to Cedar Grove.
No. 8 Appling County 28, Westside 7
The Seminoles took a 7-0 first-quarter lead, but could only manage yards and some decent drives after that, Appling County pulling ahead with 13 second-quarter points and sealing it with a scoring drive to open the third quarter. The Pirates added a final 1-yard touchdown with 7:35 left in the game.
No. 3 Pierce County 49, Central 6
The third-ranked hosts took control early, leading to 35-6 at halftime, going on to hold their eighth opponent of the year to seven points or less. The Chargers avoided being the fifth shutout victim.
Class AA
No. 3 Dublin 32, Early County 9; next: vs. Bremen
The fourth seed gave Dublin some trouble, trailing only 13-9 early in the third quarter after a 97-yard kickoff return, a little more than a minute after JaQues Evans’ 56-yard score. Markell Mitchell threw a 27-yard TD pass to Zion Kemp with 5:16 left in the third for a 20-9 lead, and then Evans opened the fourth quarter with a score and Kemp added one nine minutes later. Early County managed 147 rushing yards, but the Irish ran it for 338 yard, completing their only pass for a touchdown. Evans ran 24 times for 175 yards and two scores, Kemp scoring twice on 10 carries, with 87 yards.
Fitzgerald 30, No. 8 Bleckley County 12
The Purple Hurricane never trailed, scoring first midway through the first quarter and adding a field goal four minutes into the second quarter and then a 7-yard TD run with a little more than a minute to go in the half for a 17-0 lead at the break. Marcus Brown broke the shutout by recovering Arkenzio Hayes’ fumble in the end zone just past the midway point of the third, but the Purple Hurricane answered only a few minutes later to go back up by 17. The visitors sealed with four minutes left.
No. 6 Thomasville 31, Dodge County 26
It was a four-quarter game, as expected, the hosts leading 17-7 at halftime after converting an Indian fumble four minutes into the second quarter. The Indians made it a three-point game in the final four minutes of the third quarter and took the lead right after that with a pick-6. Thomasville regained the lead two minutes later and upped it to 11 midway through the fourth, Dodge County rallying quickly with a score, but it failed on the conversion and trailed by five. The Indians had a final shot, but turned it over on downs with about a minute left.
No. 7 Brooks County 42, Washington County 14
The Golden Hawks were unable to follow up last week’s stellar defensive performance with another one on a sloppy field, Brooks County scoring 42 points for the second straight game and at least 35 points for the sixth time this season. The Trojans never trailed, but Washington County countered an early touchdown with one a minute into the second quarter. The Trojans took the lead back less than two minutes later and added passing touchdown at the 5:30 mark of the second quarter to snag the momentum. The hosts all but sealed the deal with a rushing score inside three minutes left in the half for a 28-7 lead. The Golden Hawks scored again with a little less than 10 minutes left in the game.
No. 4 Hapeville Charter 55, Putnam County 0
The War Eagles were shut out for the first time since Sept. 21, 2018, by the same score to region foe Union County.
Class A Private
(First number is GHSA seed, second is AJC ranking)
No. 5/8 Mount de Sales, 10-0, bye; next: vs. Hebron Christian
No. 11/6 Prince Avenue Christian 46, No. 22. Stratford 0
The Wolverines handed the Eagles their first shutout since falling 35-0 to George Walton in the second game of last season. It was Stratford’s worst loss in program history, according to the Georgia High School Football Historians Association, topping by a point a 45-0 loss in 1981 to Savannah Christian. It was only the third time the Eagles have been shut out since joining the GHSA in 2014. The Wolverines racked up their third-largest margin of victory in the program’s 14-plus seasons.
No. 9/5 Wesleyan 35, No. 24 FPD 28, OT
The Vikings battled one of the state’s top Class A teams, taking one-touchdown leads until Harry Greer’s pick-6 put them up 28-14 with four minutes left in the third. Wesleyan kept coming back, answering the interception quickly and then tying it for the final time with 3:42 left in the game. The Wolves got the ball first and scored from the 7 on fourth and 2, then came up with a tipped interception on FPD’s first play for the win over the final team to get into the playoffs in Class A Private. Parker Ingram passed for two touchdowns for the Vikings.
Class A Public
No. 14 Turner County 31, No. 19 Macon County 12
The Bulldogs took a first-quarter lead, but failed on the PAT, and Turner County led 7-6 at halftime after scoring late, adding 10 points in the third – in the about a three-minute span - and winning the fourth quarter 14-6.
No. 9/9 Manchester 40, No. 24 Taylor County 0
Taylor County got the hole-digging shovel going early, fumbling in its own territory in the opening minutes. The Vikings held the Blue Devils until just past the midway point of the second quarter, the hosts scoring and getting the conversion, and then adding a long TD run and two-point conversion in the final two minutes for a 22-0 halftime lead. It was Manchester’s third shutout of the year, and the Vikings’ first shutout since last year’s first-round loss, 38-0 to Charlton County.
GISA
Class AAA
John Milledge, 10-0, bye; Next: Southland
Loganville Christian 24, Westfield 17, 2 OT
The Hornets led 14-7 at halftime, the Lions tied it in the third and both teams kicked field goals in the fourth to force overtime. Neither team scored in the first overtime, and the hosts won it in the second overtime to advance.
Class AA
Brentwood, 9-2, bye; Next: Terrell/
Gatewood, 9-2, bye; Next: Memorial Day/Westwood