Roundup: Peach County's monster comeback; trophies for Bleckley County, Putnam County, and GMC; Tattnall's gamble pays off; huge night for Brentwood's Denton
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
Class 6A
Valdosta 48, Houston County 6
Ahmad Denson went for 120 yards and two scores on 10 carries for the Wildcats, who blocked a couple kicks and pulled away after the Bears got a touchdown after they blocked a field goal try and Cedric Carter returned it the distance to get within 20-6 with five minutes left in the third.
Lee County 41, Northside 7
The Eagles were within 21-7 at halftime, thanks to Cameran Brown’s short TD pass to Brandon Wilson with 6:14 left in the second quarter. Lee County followed with a pair of 10-point second-half quarters, Alex Collins with field goals of 27 and 44 sandwiching two Ousmane Kromah runs. The Eagles were outgained 316-198 on five fewer snaps. Brown and Damien Dee teamed for 102 yards on 11 of 24 passing, Brown leading the Northside ground game with 86 yards on 15 carries.
Class 5A
Coffee 33, Veterans 13
The Warhawks held the Trojans to three field goals for awhile, and pulled within 9-7, another field goal putting Coffee up 12-7 heading to halftime. Veterans continued to struggle on offense, and Coffee finally reached the end zone. The lead was 19-13 before Coffee converted an interception into a game-sealing touchdown, a long punt return for a score adding more cushion.
Warner Robins 70, Wayne County 14
The Demons did what was expected after losing last week to Ware County and facing a winless team. It was actually a tie game at 7 a few minutes in, but the Demons quickly put it away with a few Christon Lane-to-Daveon Walker TD passes and a blocked punt recovery in the end zone. It was 42-7 at halftime.
Jones County 41, Eagle’s Landing 20
The Greyhounds cracked the 40-point mark for the fifth time this season and fourth straight week, staying undefeated in region play and sharing first with Dutchtown.
Friday night’s Central Georgia scouting reports
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Maxwell Ratings predictions
Class 4A
Baldwin 27, Spalding 14
The Braves took sole possession of first in Region 4, giving Spalding its first region loss. Baldwin is off, and then hosts one-loss Perry on Nov. 5, when it can win the region outright and go undefeated in region play for the first time since 4-0 in Region 3 in 2018, its last outright region title.
Perry 45, Westside 0
The Panthers handed the Seminoles their second 45-0 loss of the season, the first one coming from region foe Baldwin on Sept. 24, and giving Westside two regular-esason shutouts for the first time in program history. Warner Robins and Northside topped Westside 42-0 and 54-0 in 2004, a 5-4 season under Robert Davis. It’s Perry’s biggest win since beating Southwest 56-6 in 2006.
Howard 13, Rutland 0
Class AAA
Peach County 32, Jackson 28
Jackson was in prime position for the big upset, winning by double digits in Fort Valley. The Red Devils scored 28 straight points, and led 28-10 a minute into the fourth quarter. Then the Trojans, aided by a dropped Jackson interception on the drive, converted a fourth and 1 at the Jackson 5 when Chris McMillian scored with 10:58 left in the game, making it 28-17. Jackson punted with seven minutes left from its 48, and the Trojans’ Jalen Felts brought it back from their 25 to inside the Jackson 40, getting 15 on a late hit.
Peach County took over with 7:16 left on the Red Devils’ 24, converted a third and 11 to get inside the 10, and scored on McMillian’s 2-yarder with 5:54 left, pulling within 28-23, adding two on Marcus Early Jr., conversion catch to get it down to three points. Peach County’s defense stepped up and forced a three-and-out. Jackson shanked the punt and got a flag for interference on the fair catch, setting up the Trojans at the 35 with 4:25 left. McMillian appeared stopped inside the 5 on a run, but no whistle blew and the pile – with him in the middle – went into the end zone, and the Trojans took the lead with 3:19 left, adding the kick for a 32-28 lead. The Red Devils fumbled and lost nine yards on their first play, and soon went backwards to the 1, facing a third and 28, which they then converted on the next play. Jackson threw a short pass, and the receiver was wrapped up and spun around by a Peach County defender only to escape and start racing down the sidelines, but the play had been blown dead. A first-down pass was nullified by holding, and Jackson had fourth and 1 at its 43, but a swing pass was overthrown and incomplete with just under 30 seconds left seconds left, ending an emotional and chippy game, the Trojans surviving a four-interception night.
Pike County 10, Central 7
Mary Persons 32, Upson-Lee 24
The Knights again couldn’t get over the hump against the Bulldogs, who trailed 8-7 late in the first quarter and took the lead for good almost five minutes into the second quarter. The Knights were within 14-11 at halftime, the deficit growing to 14 early in the fourth. Upson-Lee cut into a 32-17 deficit with a score with 5:57 left in the game and got within eight, but that was it. Mary Persons is now tied for third with rival Jackson, who visits Dan Pitts Stadium in a week.
Class AA
East Laurens 49, Bacon County 27
Bleckley County 28, Washington County 23
The Royals got a defensive stand late to clinch their first region title in program history. They led 21-16 entering the fourth quarter and added a score with 6:20 left in the game for a 12-point lead. The Golden Hawks got a TD pass two minutes later from Morgan Jones to A.J. Hagins with 4:21 left. Washington County’s defense held and gave its offense the ball back on the Royals’ 45 with 2:18 left. David Dent came up with a tackle for a 7-yard loss, followed a play later by a false start. Bleckley County was whistled for consecutive pass interference calls, one on fourth and 22 and then on fourth and six, giving the Golden Hawks a first down on the Bleckley 27. They had a first down at the 15 with 43.7 seconds left, but on fourth and 10, Christian Newbern corralled quarterback Morgan Jones for a sack to seal it.
Lamar County 44, Jasper County 14
CJ Allen had nearly 100 yards on two touchdown runs in the first quarter as the Trojans led 21-0 a minute into the second quarter and 35-14 at halftime. Allen added a 31-yard interception return for a first-half score, and Devin Bateman ran in from 3 yards out, and Ty Head hit Hutson Traylor for a 15-yard TD on the final play of the half.
Northeast 21, Dodge County 7
Dodge County struck first on Duke Johnson’s run from inside the 30, and Northeast answered with Travion Solomon’s scramble and pass to Zion Odoms, who caught it in a cross route and battle into the end zone at the pylon, the teams tied at 7 at halftime. Solomon put the Raiders on top with a TD run inside the 20 late in the third, and Northeast got insurance on another Solomon-to-Odoms connection with about four minutes left, and the defense kept Dodge County out of the end zone.
Putnam County 28, Jefferson County 21
The War Eagles all but clinched the Region 4 title, getting revenge on the team that beat them 50-12 for last year’s trophy. Putnam County last won region in 2010, going 9-3. The War Eagles of fourth-year coach Shaun Pope are going for their first perfect regular season since 1973 when they went 11-1 under Al Reaves in Region 7-A West. It was tied at 21 after two and three quarters.
Class A Public
Dooly County 21, Treutlen 13
The Bobcats moved into a tie for third with Dublin, which lost to Johnson County, Dooly County’s next opponent.
Johnson County 42, Dublin 35
It was tied at 7, 14, and 21, and then Dublin was up 28-27 early in the third after Johnson County missed a PAT after scoring. The Trojans took a 34-28 lead on Germivy Tucker’s 10-yard run at the 7:27 mark of the third. Dublin finally answered with 6:28 left in the game on Quay Ashley’s 8-yard pass catch from Ja’Quarius Evans with 628 left. John Potter’s kick put Dublin up 35-34, but Johnson County got a 9-yard run from Jakelvis Whitley with 1:01 left to get the win. Johnson County didn’t try a pass, and Dublin was 6 of 10, leading to a 414-398 total offense advantage. The Irish were 5 of 9 on third down to 2 of 8 for the Trojans, who converted 4 of 5 fourth downs, to 2 for 3 for Dublin.
Ashley ran 13 times for 99 yards and two scores, JT Wright 13 times for 88 yards and a score, but Dublin watched Whitley go 19 times for 235 yards an four touchdowns.
Wilcox County 53, Hawkinsville 26
Macon County 37, Manchester 19
Manchester was within 21-13 at halftime and scored a few minutes into the third quarter to cut the deficit to two. The Bulldogs answered quickly with a long pass for a touchdown, adding a rushing score a few minutes into the fourth quarter followed quickly by a safety.
GMC 17, Warren County 6
The Bulldogs assured themselves of the top seed and likely an outright region title by breaking a four-game losing streak to Warren County. GMC scored first on Jessie Washington’s fumble return for a touchdown, and added a a 35-yard TD pass from Tyler Saunders to Corey Brookins for a 14-0 first-quarter lead. Warren County pulled within eight about four minutes into the fourth quarter, GMC sealing it with a 24-yard field goal from Levi Ward with 48 seconds left. The Bulldogs were held to 37 yards rushing and 68 yards passing. Trey Woods led the GMC defense with 1111 tackles, Jessie Washington and Corey Brookins adding eight stops each.
Hancock Central 54, Twiggs County 8
Crawford County 42,Wilkinson County 8
Class A Private
FPD 42, Deerfield-Windsor 7
The Vikings had less trouble than expected, leading 28-0 at halftime. Griffin Green ran 22 times for 163 yards and Hayden Aulds another 89 on 11 carries, leading the Vikings to 306 rushing yards. Jakhari Williams passed for 148 yards and two touchdowns, completing 14 of 19 passes. FPD’s defense held Deerfield-Windsor to 80 yards in total offense on only 25 snaps while picking off three passes.
Tattnall 42, Stratford 41, OT
Stratford’s Keondre Glover went in from 20 yards out in overtime, and the Eagles converted the PAT kick. Tattnall answered, and then got the two-point conversion for the win. Nate Slappey’s 58-yard burst in the final seconds of the second quarter gave Stratford a 27-21 halftime lead, the Eagles adding to the lead at the 5:14 mark of the third quarter. The Trojans scored late in the third quarter to get back within a touchdown, and then converted a fourth and 17 to set up the tying touchdown, which stayed the tying touchdown with 2:19 left in the fourth when the PAT was blocked. The Eagles and Trojans are now tied for second, behind FPD, which visits Stratford next.
Mount de Sales 33, Strong Rock 7
The Cavs took care of business, marching out to a 19-7 halftime lead on three Fernando Washington TD runs of 6, 74, and 1. Washington went wild with 227 yards and five touchdowns on 19 carries, taking over QB duties, too, completing one pass for a loss of two yards. He ran in a 55-yarder in the third quarter and 22-yarder in the fourth. Mount de Sales outgained Strong Rock 338-186.
GISA
John Milledge 53, Bethlehem Christian 14
The Trojans put up a night’s worth of scoring in the first half, taking a 47-0 lead into the break. Javian Butts scored on runs of 5, 1, 11, and 88 yards, with Briggs Eady and Marcus Prestwood adding TD runs and Bud Veal a 20-yard interception return. Butts rushed for 141 yards and Eady passed for 130 on a 7-for-10 night. The Trojans tripled up Bethlehem Christian on first downs, 18-6.
Pinewood Christian 66, Trinity Christian 8
Westfield 51, Creekside 14
The Hornets cruised to a 22-0 halftime lead, on two Hunter Kirkley runs covering 31 yards after Porter Faulk went in from 10 yards. Kirkley threw third-quarter TD passes to Ryan Powers for 53 yards and Noah Blackmon for 10, Trae Hardy adding a pick-6 for a 43-0 lead at the 8:38 mark of the third quarter. Kirkley threw for 222 yards and three touchdowns on 8-of-10 passing, Powers with four catches for 145 yards. Westfield outgained Creekside 330-238 on only 24 snaps, 34 fewer than Creekside, which got 226 yards passing form Donovan Brazley.
Brentwood 55, Piedmont 29
The War Eagles were in control early, Thomas Denton going 32 yards for a score 40 seconds into the game, and adding a pick-6 barely a minute later. Robert Jackson’s 75-yard run made it 21-0 at the 7:54 mark of the first quarter. Denton added a 3-yarder less than three minutes later.
Denton had him quite a night, with 341 yards on 20 carries – with no negative yards – and five touchdowns. Jackson added 93 yards and a score on six carries. Brentwood had 26 first downs and Piedmont 23. The Cougars passed for 338 yards, Justin Reynolds completing 28 of 47 passes with three scores and three interceptions. Landon Conner and Ryan Kennemore each caught seven passes, for 78 and 86 yards.
Gatewood 48, King’s Academy 14
Georgia Christian 35, Fullington 0
John Hancock 74, Central Christian 0