Friday's Central Georgia high school football playoff roundup
Teams: send info to centralgasports@gmail.com by or 9:30 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
GHSA
Quarterfinals
Class 6A
Harrison 28, Houston County 7
The Bears cut into a 14-0 lead with a score late in the second quarter, but Harrison calmly added to the lead with a third-quarter TD run and a fourth-quarter scoring run. The second-ranked Hoyas passed their way to the two-touchdown lead on bombs of 46 and 55 yards before Simeon Askew’s 2-yard run with 2:34 left in the half got the Bears on the board. Houston County then blocked a punt and got to the 1, but officials rules Askew was short on fourth down from the 1. Harrison scored on its first possession of the third quarter, and Houston County threw two straight interceptions in Harrison territory.
Class 5A
No. 7 Jones County 49, No. 9 Griffin 14
A 7-0 deficit, the record-setting quarterback hurt in the first quarter, and a 14-7 halftime deficit. No problem, and a half later, Jones County prepared for the program’s first semifinal trip ever. Malik Wooten jumpstarted the Greyhounds by taking the second-half kickoff 84 yards to tie the game, and give Jones County a return for a TD for the third straight week. That opened up the door for the Greyhounds. Quarterback Hunter Costlow returned and was on target to Jontavis Robertson for a lead-taking touchdown. Jones County recovered the onside kick, and got funky in the red zone, with Robertson throwing a touchdown pass to an open Costlow for a two-touchdown lead, the Greyhounds scoring three touchdowns in the first five minutes of the third quarter.
The hosts kept rolling, Costlow finding Keagan Baxter for a touchdown barely two minutes later, the Greyhound defense shutting down the Bears. Another stop set up another Costlow-to-Robertson touchdown with nearly three minutes left in the third, and Jones County took a 42-14 lead into the fourth quarter. The defense got into the action with Dominic Bass’ pick-6 early in the fourth.
Jones County hosts Buford, a 24-21 winner over Carrollton, in a semifinal.
No. 2 Warner Robins 49, Clarke Central 14
Warner Robins turned a battle of region champions into a romp with three first-quarter touchdowns, including a return of a blocked punt more than 60 yards by Titinio Smith, which went with Jalen Addie passing to Marcayll Jones for one score and then running for the other, both plays covering about 40 yards. Smith then took an interception back almost 20 yards for another score before Clarke Central broke the shutout with just under nine minutes left in the first half.
Addie connected with Deuce Petty for a score at the 6:49 mark of the second quarter, and the Demons took a 35-7 lead at half. It took barely two minutes for Jahlen Rutherford to go more than 40 yards for another touchdown and a 42-7 lead. The Gladiators second touchdown came in the final minute.
Warner Robins will host Starr’s Mill, a 25-24 winner over Dutchtown, in a semifinal.
Class 4A
No. 3 Blessed Trinity 31, No. 7 West Laurens 0
Blessed Trinity needed a good game to win and turned in maybe its best game of the year for a surprising shutout of a ranked team that had scored at least 21 points in every game but one this season, and hadn’t been held to single digits since falling 28-9 to No. 10 Mary Persons on Oct. 20, 2017. The Raiders suffered their first shutout since Jefferson’s 21-0 win in the second round of the 2016 playoffs. It was West Laurens worst loss since Mary Persons’ 52-13 win late last season. Blessed Trinity recorded its first shutout since beating Oconee County 35-0 in the first round in 2017. The Titans took the lead with a field goal almost midway through the first quarter, adding a rushing score in the final minute. The teams went back and forth until Blessed Trinity scored on a pass halfway through the quarter, adding another score on the ground late, for a 24-0 halftime lead.
West Laurens entered the game with a school record of 37 points a game, but couldn’t maintain anything on offense, the Titans delivering the knockout punch with a score inside the first two minutes of the third quarter.
West Laurens’ season ends at 11-2.
Class 3A
No. 2 Cedar Grove 36, No. 1 Peach County 3
A No. 2 beating a No. 1 is no big deal. Doing so by 33 points is, and Cedar Grove pulled off one of the state’s more surprising margins of victory of the playoffs, routing the consensus – for all but one week - No. 1 team in 3A and roundly considered one of the top 20 teams in the state regardless of classification.
The Saints held Peach County – which had more than 30 seniors on the roster - to its lowest total since a weather-shortened 33-0 loss to 6A state champ Lee County early last year. For a full 48 minutes, Peach County hadn’t been held to so few points since Jackson’s 3-2 win in mid-October of 2015. The margin of victory tied the Lee County spread, and was the worst for a full game since Carver-Columbus’ 44-9 win late in the 2013 regular season.
A fumble recovery, to end a promising drive, returned for a touchdown put Cedar Grove up 13-3 in the second quarter, and the hosts added a pick-6 only a few plays later en route to a 20-3 halftime lead. The Saints added a fourth quarter safety for good measure.
Peach County’s season ends at 11-2, and for the first time since 2015 not in the semifinals or final.
Class AA
No. 5 Dublin 35, No. 4 Hapeville Charter 12
One team in the battle of high-scoring teams kept up its end of the bargain, Dublin scoring 21 in the second quarter to take some control, the Irish defense making sure to keep it with a second-half shutout.
Dublin trailed 6-0 16 seconds into the second quarter after giving up a 74-yard run, but it took the lead six minutes later on Markell Mitchell’s 14-yard run and John Potter’s PAT. JaQues Evans went in from 4, and Hapeville answered, yet again unable to add points after. Marcus Adams’ 10-yard score with 40 seconds left gave Dublin a 21-12 halftime lead.
Adams added a 5-yard run four minutes into the third and Evans a 2-yarder three minutes into the fourth as Dublin rolled to 388 rushing yards with a defense holding Hapeville to 104 yards on the ground and forcing 160 through the air.
The Irish were good on seven of eight third-down tries, and had 15 more first downs than Hapeville. Adams went off for 192 yards on 24 carries, with Evans adding 141 on 25. Marcus Carroll had 107 yards for Hapeville on nine carries, but 74 yards coming on that early score.
Dublin is at Thomasville, a 38-24 winner over Rabun County, in a semifinal.
GISA
Semifinals
Class AAA
John Milledge 42, Tiftarea 14
The Trojans turned a 14-6 halftime lead into a romp with a 28-8 second half to take the suspense out of head coach J.T. Wall getting his 100th career win, all with his alma mater.
Amaad Foston scored on runs of 1, 7, and 1 yards, Grayson Hopkins adding a 30-yard TD pass to Marcus Prestwood, who took an interception back 32 yards for another score. Kelvin Jackson got into the fun with a 38-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
The Trojans had a 337-143 rushing advantage, led by 210 yards from Foston.
John Milledge plays Valwood, a 42-20 winner over Pinewood Christian, in the state championship next Friday at Mercer.
Class AA
Gatewood 35, Brentwood 20
The defending state champs scored first, kept the lead after Brentwood couldn’t convert the two-point try, and took a modicum of control with two second-quarter touchdowns for a 21-6 halftime lead.
Brentwood recovered a fumble for a touchdown, but again could get the two-point conversion, to trail 21-12. For about four minutes, until Walt Jarrett went in from 8 yards, Jayson Burner adding the kick. The War Eagles got a 1-yard score from McKinley Newton and got the two-point conversion pass to pull within 28-20 at the 4:40 mark of the fourth quarter. But Luke Haley’s 5-yard scoring run with a minute left sealed a return trip to the state championship.
Haley was 7 of 10 for 79 yards passing, but racked up 134 yards on 21 carries for the Gators. Jarrett added 74 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries. Weston Wallace and Landon Wilson led the Gator defense, big Wallace get some action in power formations on offense.
Gatewood held Brentwood’s powerful run game to 162 yards on 39 carries, the War Eagles completing 3 of 10 passes for 17 yards with two interceptions. Thomas Denton’s 59 yards topped Brentwood’s rush attack.
Brentwood’s season ends at 10-3. Gatewood will play Briarwood, a 20-14 winner over Briarwood, in the state championship next Friday at Mercer.