Roundup: Warner Robins stunned, Northside & Bleckley County win in final seconds, Crawford County gets first W, romps for Perry and Dublin
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
Class 6A
No. 1 Lee County 29, Houston County 9
The Bears were in position for the huge upset for much of the game, leading 9-7 at halftime and trailing 15-9 after three. But the top-ranked Trojans got a long TD pass from Jevell Fugerson to Ousman Kromah with 5:19 left for a 22-9 lead. A Houston County fumble set up the final Lee County score with about two minutes left.
Any update will be around 11 a.m. Saturday, based on new information contributions from teams.
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Northside 13, Valdosta 10
The Eagles’ defense kept coming up big when it mattered, and did it again inside the final five minutes, keyed by clutch plays on third and fourth down by Isaiah Harvey, Elijah Robinson, and a sack and then a stuffing on fourth down. Northside then took over in the Wildcats’ 46 with just under three minutes left. QB Cam Brown scrambled his way for a first down on fourth and 25, setting up Ashton Paredes’ 23-yard field goal with five seconds left for the win. He tied the game at the 6:16 mark, Valdosta taking a 10-7 lead in the final 22 seconds of the half on a 51-yard pass from Joseph Gardner to Eric Brantley. Michael McClendon went 6 yards with 2:55 left in the first quarter for a 7-0 Northside lead, Valdosta finally getting a field goal with 1:06 left in the half, and then the leading touchdown.
Valdosta outgained Northside 307-252 on 13 fewer plays. Brown was 9 of 18 for 87 yards, running for 60 yards on 11 tries. Gardner passed for 111 yards on 5-of-11 passing, Terrell Denson getting 107 rushing yards on 15 carries. It was Valdosta’s fewest points to a team in the same classification or lower since losing 41-7 to Lee County at the end of the 2020 regular season
Class 5A
No. 5 Ware County 29, No. 1 Warner Robins 21
The No. 5 team in 5A took it hard to the defending 5A champs, figuratively hitting them in the mouth from the start and turning in one of the state’s most eyebrow-raising scores of the night, and maybe season, holding in check a team averaging more than 50 points a game.
The Gators were up 14-0 midway through the first quarter, the second score a 77-yard TD pass from Thomas Castellanos to Ta’shawn Norton. A night of rare three-and-outs continued, a field goal and a safety on a blocked punt making it 19-0 through a quarter. The Demons were stymied, and unable to take advantage of any Ware County mistakes. Another field goal made it 22-0 with 36 seconds left in the second quarter. Warner Robins stunningly got on the board in that short window on a 59-yard pass play, Deuce Petty catching Christon Lane’s pass and pitching it to Daveon Walker, who went the rest of the way for a score in the final seconds and a 22-7 halftime deficit.
It didn’t provide much momentum, though, the Demons eating up more than half of the third quarter only to give it back on a failed fourth-and-13 deep in Ware County territory. The Gators added a TD run early in the fourth quarter for a 29-7 lead. Warner Robins went 80 yards, Fred Perry going 33 yards for the score with 10:06 left, making it 29-13. The Gators killed clock, and the Demons followed a blocked field with a score with 17 seconds left on Lane’s pass to Deuce Petty. It was Warner Robins’ lowest point total since a 27-7loss to 6A Lee County on Oct. 9 last year, and lowest in region play since a 24-21 loss to Bainbridge in 2016 when both were unranked.
Friday night’s Central Georgia scouting reports
Who’s going to win this week’s games?
Maxwell Ratings predictions
Monday Afternoon QB: Fix targeting now; Loughdmouthings - Alumni Updates (Peach County, Dublin, Bleckley County), more; Central Georgia polls
Macon TD Club honorees
Last week’s roundup
Class 4A
No. 9 Baldwin 20, Howard 7
The Huskies gave the Braves trouble for the entire game, tying it at 7 in the third quarter, until Baldwin took a little control. Runs of 38 and 19 yards from Jeremiyah Scott set up a 1-yard TD run with 4:12 left in the third. Micah Welch scored his second TD of the night on an easy 1-yarder, the drive highlighted by Kemund Elam’s long catch, with eight seconds left in the third. Baldwin outgained Howard 213-87 on the ground and 178-98 in the air.
No. 7 Perry 32, West Laurens 0
The Panthers scored 11 second-quarter points, on Caden Camp’s field goal and Curtis Head’s score, leading 11-0 at halftime, and blew it open in the second half. Devin Smoot got the romp going with a scoop and score in the third quarter for a 17-0 lead. Jarred Fuller added the final points with a fourth-quarter scoop and score.
Westside 21, Rutland 14
Rutland came close to a major Bibb County upset, trailing only 7-6 after three quarters and then being tied with the Seminoles midway through the fourth quarter, only for the Seminoles to get the game-winner.
Class AAA
Central 21, Sumter County 14, Thursday
Class AA
No. 4 Bleckley County 9, No. 6 Northeast 6
The Raiders scored first on Travion Solomon’s 35-yard pass to Zion Odoms late in the first half, the PAT failing. Bleckley County need help to get on the board, on a safety after a bad punt snap late in the third. The defensive slugfest continued, both offenses stalling, sometimes of their own accord. Then Bleckley County embarked on a drive it won’t soon forget, converting multiple fourth downs along the way. Eli Mullis hit Matthew Bland with an off-balance throw for an 18-yard gain to the 1, and then Jahvon Butler went in, x adding the PAT for a 9-6 lead with 32 seconds left. The game ended when Solomon was flushed from the pocket and threw a short incomplete pass from the Royals’ 47.
Bleckley County improved to 8-0 for the first time since 1978, when the second-year program had a perfect regular season before losing 21-7 to old R.E. Lee of Thomaston in the first round of the AA playoffs. The Royals’ last perfect region season was in 1981. Northeast is in a three-way tie for second at 2-1.
No. 7 Dodge County 21, Lamar County 6
The game was tied at 6 early in the second quarter, until the Indians took the lead with 7:27 left in the half on a short TD pass and conversion. Dodge County added an insurance score with 9:45 left in the third on a 53-yard TD pass, going up 21-6. The Indians ran for 151 yards and passed for 171, QB Duke Johnson passing for two touchdowns and rushing for another. CJ Allen had 78 yards and a touchdown on 12 rushes for Lamar County.
Vidalia 50, East Laurens 21
The loss put a huge dent in the Falcons’ (4-3/0-2) playoff hopes, Vidalia leading 29-21 entering the fourth quarter and putting it away in the final eight minutes.
No. 10 Washington County 44, Southwest 0, Thursday
Class A Public
No. 6 Chattahoochee County 48, Taylor County 0
The Panthers handed the Vikings their third shutout of the season, by an average of 50.1 points. Taylor County’s last three-shutout regular season was 2005 (Crawford County 15-0, Terrell County 36-0, and Randolph-Clay 30-0).
Crawford County 48, Twiggs County 0
Crawford County scored 66 percent of its season total in racking up its first win for new head coach Craig Puckett. The Eagles broke a 19-game losing streak with their biggest margin of victory since 55-0 over Stewart County in 2015, and highest point total since a 56-50 loss in 2019 to Central Talbotton.
Dublin 54, Treutlen 12
The Irish went off in the second half, outscoring the Vikings 38-0 in the final two quarters. Dublin had an old-school Dublin night, with 377 rushing yards, to 96 for Treutlen. JT Wright ran 10 times for 184 yards and two scores, and Quay Ashley rushed 11 times for 105 yards and three scores. Dublin’s 13-0 first-quarter lead was cut to 16-12 at halftime, Treutlen getting going with a 76-yard pass play, and then scoring with 19 seconds left in the half. Dublin spread out the scoring in the third quarter, at 10:51, 6:30, and 35 seconds, then getting three touchdowns in 3:26 in the fourth. John Potter drilled field goals of 37 and 32 yards. Treutlen QB Jordon Coney was 10 of 13 for 172 yards and two touchdowns.
GMC 55, Glascock County 20
The Bulldogs put it away in the first half with a pair of 21-point quarters. Sophomore Jessie Washington needed only nine carries to rack up 186 yards, including TD runs of 60 – on his first try of the night – and 56 – on his last try of the night – and 39 yards. That led a ground game of 260 yards on 15 carries. QB Tyler Saunders was 4 of 6 for 80 yards and TDs to Caleb Bush and Noah Williams. Williams had 11 tackles and Washington 10. Isaiah Womble added a 60-yard fumble return for a score.
GMC has eight wins is 8-0 for the first time since 1975, and for only the sixth time since – according to the Georgia HS Football Historians Association – the program started in 1907. The program record for wins is 10, under state college and high school legend Wally Butts in 1934.
No. 3 Macon County 42, Greenville 14
The Bulldogs improved to 7-0 for the first time since 1996 under longtime Central Georgia head and assistant coach C.B. Cornett. Macon County went 15-0 that season, scoring 531 points and giving up just 82. The Bulldogs are on pace to give up less than 100 points in the regular season, which hasn’t happened since 2003.
Warren County 48, ACE 21
A three-game winning streak came to an end for ACE, the Screaming Devils get an early wakeup call after Kaleb Scarbary’s long TD pass to Sam Whitley gave ACE an early lead. Warren County went on a roll for a 34-7 halftime lead, and stayed undefeated in region play. ACE fell to 3-3 and 2-1, with a two-game lead for third place.
Wilcox County 25, Dooly County 14
The Patriots are now among three one-loss teams in the region, and the Bobcats next with two, in fourth place, a half-game up on Wheeler County, who they beat last month.
Class A Private
FPD 33, Mount de Sales 14
The host stormed out to a 20-0 first-quarter lead, dealing a gut punch with 14 points in the final 28 seconds. QB Jakhari Williams ran 4 yards for a score and passed 40 yards to Griffin Green and 57 to Jackson Moore in the first quarter. Fernando Washington broke the shutout with a 3-yarder in the second quarter. The Vikings put it away in the third with Green’s 9-yard run and another Williams-to-Moore hookup, for 24 yards.
FPD outgained MdS 342-225.
Cavs standout A’Khori Jones was shut out, and held to a yard on two carries and a 2-for-7 passing night. Washington, though, went for 202 yards and two scores on 26 carries. Williams was on point, completing 11 of 14 for 250 yards and three scores with a pick, Green adding 69 yards on the ground.
Stratford 41, Strong Rock 0
The Eagles led 14-0 after one en route to their biggest shutout since 41-0 over Twiggs County on Oct. 6, 2017. Lawson Cole went in from a yard out and Shaun Wilmore from 3 for that early lead. Cole threw to Garrett Lang for a 40-yard score and Keondre Glover went in from 15 yards in the final seconds of the second quarter for a 28-0 halftime lead.
GISA/OTHER
CFCA 40, Pataula Charter 6
Brentwood 47, Robert Toombs 6
Robert Jackson completed 10 of 15 passes for 287 yards and four touchdowns as the run-heavy War Eagles opened it up, passing for more yards than it ran for, by more than 100 yards. Will Wright caught four passes for 127 yards and two scores, Thomas Denton with two catches for 96 yards and a TD. Brentwood held a 458-196 total offense advantage despite half of the time of possession. The War Eagles led 33-6 at halftime en route to their biggest win of the season, improving to 6-1.
Piedmont 24, Augusta Prep 21
Westfield 35, Gatewood 14
Gatewood battled for a half, trailing 21-13 at the break, only for Westfield’s Ryan Powers to return the second-half kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown and 28-13 lead. The Hornets added a 9-yard Hunter Kirkley TD seven seconds into the fourth quarter, his second rushing TD of the night to go with two touchdown passes, to Noah Blackmon for 77 yards and Bishop Smallwood for 40. Kirkley was 6 for 10 for 172 yards passing, 94 to Blackmon. The Gators got a pair of 1-yard scores from Landon Wilson, who ran 24 times for 107 yards, Justin Jameson adding 102 yards on 23 carries.
John Hancock (0-6) at Georgia Christian (1-3)
Trinity Christian vs. St. Andrews