Central Georgia's high school football roundup
Have breakfast with Central Georgia’s only complete roundup, awaiting you and the sun. Any update will be around noon Saturday, based on information contributions from teams.
Teams: send info to centralgasports@gmail.com by 10:30 a.m. Saturday for the noon final update
Dear coaches and teams: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE UPDATE YOUR MAXPREPS ROSTERS, so kids can accurately be credited for doing good things. Ditto schedules, results, and stats.
Class 6A
No. 3 Valdosta (4-3/2-0) 31, Houston County (5-4/1-1) 14
The teams exchanged field goals until Valdosta went ahead for good with a TD pass in the final 70 seconds of the second quarter. Houston County got a field goal on the final play to get within 10-6 at halftime, but the Wildcats went up by 13 on a 19-yard run less than two minutes into the third. They added to the lead about six minutes later on a 74-yard run.
No. 1 Lee County (7-1/2-0) 20, Northside (3-6/0-2) 14
The underdog Eagles pulled back within a touchdown with 5:56 left in the game on Duke McClinton’s 21-yard TD pass to Elijah Robinson, but were unable to get any further as a couple chances down the stretch, including in the final minute, went awry. Northside was in the game despite being outgained 344-169 on eight fewer plays. Lee County survived 16 penalties for 121 yards. Robinson was 14 of 33 for 131 yards, Northside managing only 17 rushing yards. Preston Simmons had 157 yards on 19 carries for Lee County.
Class 5A
No. 10 Jones County (5-3/5-0) 70, Eagle’s Landing (0-8/0-5) 20
One of the area’s hotter teams stayed pretty warm, blasting out with a pair of 28-point quarters to get going. It was the second time Jones County cracked 60 points this season, and was the first time it hit 70 since a 70-7 win over Greenbrier in the third game of the 2015 season.
No. 2 Warner Robins (7-1/2-0) 40, Wayne County (3-6/1-2) 7
A close game after a quarter became a not-close one by halftime, the Trojans scoring 27 points in the second quarter. The Demons got short Ahmad Walker score, then one of about 70 yards from Malcom Brown, Jalen Addie hitting Keontae Rhymes for a 40-yarder. Walker finished off the second-quarter scoring with a 50-yard pick-6.
No. 6 Coffee (7-2/2-1) 45, Veterans (4-4/0-2) 38, OT
Veterans’ Daniel Gibbs, owners one of the state’s stronger legs, drilled a 56-yard on the final play of regulation to tie it again and force overtime. Coffee scored on its second play, but a bad snap on first and goal from the three was recovered by the Trojans to break the Warhawks’ hearts. The game was tied six times, with Veterans leading 35-28 on Blake Etheridge’s 37-yard TD pass to Justin McCarty two minutes into the fourth, Coffee tying it six minutes later. Coffee then went up with a 46-yard field goal with 42.5 seconds left, setting up Gibbs’ blast to tie it. Etheridge passed for 390 yards and four touchdowns.
Class 4A
Rutland (1-5/0-3) at Howard (2-3/0-2), Ed DeFore, ppd
Perry (3-4/3-0) at Westside (3-2/1-1), Saturday, 1 p.m., Ed DeFore
No. 10 Baldwin (4-0/4-0) 35, Spalding (2-6/1-3) 0
Derrick Lewis passed for 238 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another and Baldwin’s defense held Spalding to 134 yards total offense. Lewis hit Shatavious Hogan for a 17-yard score and Micah Welch fr a 20-yarder, while scoring from the 1. Welch added a 29-yard scoring run, Jeramiyah Scott going in from 32 yards.
Class 3A
Central (5-2/5-0) 39, Pike County (0-7/0-5) 0
The Chargers were on the good side of a running clock in the fourth quarter, having scored all their points in the first three quarters, 13 points in each. Jalik Taylor ran for two touchdowns and passed for one, while Maurice Elder and Kealan Hardeman had rushing touchdowns. Jordan Smith and Zaylin Webb caught Taylor’s scoring passes. It was Central’s first shutout win and region shutout win since beating Kendrick 34-0 on Oct. 5, 2018. It was the largest margin of victory since thumping Southwest 41-0 in 2015. Thomas was 7 of 8 for 114 yards passing while running for 127 yards on 13 carries. The Charger defense held Pike County to 93 total yards on 48 plays, the Central offense racking up329 yards on 52 snaps
Mary Persons (4-4/2-3) 22, Upson-Lee (4-4/2-3) 17
Upson-Lee’s lone lead came on a 25-yard field goal with 1:12 left in the game. It didn’t last a minute. The Bulldogs got a big kickoff return to start in Knights’ territory, and got a short TD pass from Logan Hickman to Adrian Hughley to take the lead with 15 seconds left. Mary Persons then batted down a Hail Mary in the end zone to stay undefeated against the Knights. Mary Persons went up 7-0 midway through the second quarter, 13-7 on the first play of the fourth quarter, but the PAT was blocked. The loss spoiled a 237-yard, two-touchdown rushing night for Upson-Lee’s Milique Smith. Hickman passed for 345 yards.
No. 3 Peach County (6-1/5-0) 44, Jackson (3-4/2-3) 10
Jackson stayed with Peach County for awhile, trailing only 17-10 at halftime, a shocker considering Peach County had opened a few second halves with a running clock and most fourth quarters with one. This time, the margin didn’t hit 30 until about four minutes remained. It was the Trojans’ second-closest win of the season.
Class AA
Bacon County (5-4/1-3) 35, East Laurens (3-4/0-3) 14
The Falcons led early, and it was tied at 14 at halftime, but Bacon County had the strong second half to get its first region win. East Laurens went up first on Cole Strickland’s pass of about 30 yards to Zack Strickland, and then led 14-0 after a rushing touchdown about four minutes into the second quarter. Bacon County got going with a pick-6.
Lamar County (4-5/2-3) 19, Monticello (2-6/1-3) 6
It was 6-6 after one, but the Trojans scored twice in the third quarter, on Channing Buckner’s 1-yard run followed five minutes later by Tony Altman’s 35-yarder, to gain control and break their two-game losing streak.
Dodge County (4-3/3-1) 35, No. 8 Northeast (5-2/3-1) 21
Mikhail Carr scored the Indians first points on a pick-6 to tie it, then scored from 22 yards out for the temporary lead. Northeast was up 14-12 at halftime, and added to it early in the third on Travion Solomon’s TD pass to Jeremiah Roberson for a 21-12 lead. Dodge County’s second-half barrage started on Daylon Gordon’s 62-yard score late. He added one of about 30 yards midway through the fourth, Carr adding the conversion, and then all but sealed it with another ground score inside the final three minutes. There’s now a three-way tie for first with Dodge County, Northeast, and Washington County.
Jefferson County (5-2/5-0) 50, No. 7 Putnam County (7-1/4-1) 12
Putnam County’s first real test of the year was a tough one, becoming Jefferson County’s 21st straight region victim. The Warriors scored 20 more points than the War Eagles had given up all year, albeit against opposition that was 17-32 entering Friday night. The War Eagles are now in a battle for second with Westside.
Washington County (5-3/3-1) 42, No. 9 Bleckley County (6-3/3-2) 20
Bleckley County stymied the momentum of Washington County turning a fourth and 10 into a touchdown by retaking the lead, 13-7 after one. But Washington County followed a botched fourth down by stopping Bleckley County on fourth down on the Golden Hawk 24. A 49-yard TD run with 1:24 left in the half and PAT followed and put Washington County up 14-13. The Golden Hawks – who had returning the second-half kickoff the distance nullified by a flag - went up by two scores with touchdowns at 11:11 and 6:32 of the third quarter. The Royals got back within 28-20 on Markeze Brown’s 49-yard score a little more than a minute later. Washington County returned the margin to two scores after getting the ball back on downs at its 19, scoring on a third-and-13 83-yard touchdown pass to Warren Coneway 14 seconds into the fourth. The win lifted the Golden Hawks into a three-way tie for first.
Class A
Dooly County (2-3/2-3) at Treutlen (1-6/0-5), Saturday
No. 5 Dublin (7-1/6-0) 49, Johnson County (6-2/4-2) 6
After an unsurprisingly close first quarter, led 7-0 by Dublin, the Irish took control with 28 second-quarter points and rolled to their sixth game of at least 40 points and fifth win by at least 4o points. Six different Irish scored, led by two TD runs by QB Markelle Mitchell, who also threw a 74-yard score to David Folsom. Josh Issac, JT Wright, Elijah Kates, and Jiquarion Mundie all ran it in, the Irish holding Johnson County scoreless until the 5:35 mark of the third quarter. Quay Ashley led the 252-yard Dublin run game with 95 on seven carries, the rare Dublin game without a 100-yard rusher. Mitchell completed both pass attempts for 96 yards. Dublin’s defense held Johnson County to 159 yards rushing, the Trojans not trying a pass all night and failing on all eight third-down attempts.
FPD (5-3/3-0) 48, Deerfield-Windsor (2-6/0-3) 10
The Vikings exploded in the third quarter, going from a 10-3 halftime lead to up by 28 entering the fourth. FPD remains the only team without a region loss, and faces 2-1 Stratford next week, a win clinching the region title outright.
Hancock Central (4-0/3-0) 58, ACE (2-5/1-2) 14
There was little suspense as Hancock Central put up more points than since a 66-21 win over GMC in 2015. Hancock Central hasn’t been 3-0 in region play since 1984, a 6-5 season.
No. 6 Macon County (7-1/6-0) 42, Manchester (3-6/2-4) 21
Manchester put forth a battle, tying at at 14 early in the second quarter only for the Bulldogs to retake the lead with a 90-yard fumble return for a touchdown. They finally went up two scores only for Manchester to counter, Macon County finally gaining some control halfway through the fourth quarter on a touchdown pass. Macon County is 7-1 for the first time since 2004, when the Bulldogs went 10-2 overall and 9-0 in Region 4-AA play under then-head coach Bobby Hughes.
Mount de Sales (4-4/2-1) 44, Strong Rock (4-4/2-1) 41
The Cavs led 14-0, 21-6, and 27-13 before Strong Rock tied it with 7:41 left in the third. A’khori Jones went 68 yards for a score less than a minute later, and then he added a 24-yard score in the final seconds on the third for a 41-27 lead. The margin dropped to seven again 19 seconds into the fourth on a 63-yard run, but John Wagner provided the winning margin with a 24-yard field goal with 3:10. The visitors needed less than a half-minute to get within three, but the Cavs were able to close the door. The teams combined for 970 yards on offense, the Cavs rushing for 444 yards on 55 tries – 8.1 yards a pop – while the Patriots had 261 on 30, 8.7 yards a carry.
Jones went wild with 343 yards on 30 carries with four touchdowns, Fernando Washington adding 78 on 13. Strong Rock’s Brady Sanders was 9 of 16 for 171 yards passing. The Cavs moved into a tie for second with Stratford.
Stratford (5-2/2-1) 36, Tattnall (3-5/1-2) 28
The Eagles kept adding to the lead, and the Trojans kept battling back, pulling within a touchdown yet again with 1:25 left in the game. Stratford recovered the onside kick and sealed it. The Eagles never trailed, scoring first on a short TD pass, adding another one before Tattnall made it a one-score game with 20 seconds left in the half. A 57-yard touchdown pass gave Stratford a 22-7 lead. The margin was 29-14 with 5:16 left in the game, Tattnall scoring about a minute later. A 47-yard score by Nate Slappey made it a 15-point game with 3:18 left.
Warren County (5-2/2-1) 44, GMC (5-4/2-2) 0
The Screaming Devils started making more noise in the second half after 14 first-quarter points. They added two scores in the third and in the fourth en route to their second shutout of the year and fifth game holding the opposition below 10 points. GMC is in a battle for third.
Wilcox County (7-2/6-1) 55, Hawkinsville (2-6/1-5) 6
The Red Devils gave up at least 50 points for the second time in three games, but to the region’s best teams, Dublin and Wilcox County.
Wilkinson County (2-4/2-1) 35, Crawford County (0-9/0-4) 14
The Warriors took care of business to stay alive for their first playoff trip since 2015.
GISA
Westfield (5-1-1) 35, Creekside Christian (5-2) 14
Westfield got rolling in the second quarter and pulled away in the second half for a quality region win. The Hornets had a big-play night, getting a 51-yard score from Porter Faulk, and TDs of 49, 40, and 58 yards from Gavin Vining. Vining ran for 258 of Westfield’s 485 rushing yards, while Faulk added 135. The Hornets, who tried one pass, averaged 11.3 yards a carry, had only five penalties, and punted once.
Gatewood (7-1) 52, King's Academy 7
The Gators had little trouble with the GAPPS opposition, turning in their second-most points of the season and second-biggest margin of victory.
John Milledge (6-0) 43, Bethlehem Christian (1-6) 0
The running clock was set up in the second quarter, the Trojans scoring all of their points in the first half. Grayson Hopkins had touchdown passes of 23 and 63 yards – to Marcus Prestwood and Taylor Dixon – before too long, Patrick McDonel adding a pair of 47-yard TD runs. Prestwood added a 20-yard run, Landon Courson a 42-yarder, and Javian Butts a 15-yard score. Hopkins passed for 106 yards on four completions, and the Trojans ran for 248 yards.
Brentwood (6-1) 47, Piedmont (6-2) 7
The War Eagles got 181 yards on 14 carries from Thomas Denton and 79 on eight from Ben Tarbutton, both scoring three times on the ground. Brentwood racked up 25 first downs, 440 yards on 45 rushes, made Piedmont pay for four turnovers. Chris Pittman was 21 of 45 for 168 yard, one TD and four picks for Piedmont, which was down 22-7 at halftime
Pinewood (5-2/2-0) 49, Trinity Christian (0-7/0-3) 15
TCS suffered its second 49-15 loss of the year, falling by the same score two weeks ago to Bulloch.