Central Georgia's Saturday high school playoff roundup: Northside, Macon County, FPD, and Tattnall survive
Class 6A
Northside 35, Lakeside-Evans 3
Just as when the Eagles were region rivals of teams from the Augusta area, they rolled, opening up a 28-0 halftime lead and missing a shutout by about four minutes. Northside (8-3) had beaten Lakeside 56-0, 54-26, 38-7, and 30-7 when they were region mates from 2012-2015. Lakeside’s only win was the first meeting, in 1994. Centavious Lowe went in from 22 yards out midway through the first quarter and Cameran Brown added a 3-yarder in the final seconds. EJ Riley made it a three-score game with a 2-yard run at the 4:58 mark of the second quarter, followed less than three minutes later by TD Tucker’s 21-yarder.
Northside outgained Lakeside 344-170 on five fewer plays, and the Eagles were an uncharacteristically sharp 10 of 11 through the air for 139 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions. Brown was 9 of 10 for all but three of the passing yards, and led a balanced ground game with 57 yards on 10 carries. Lakeside completed only one pass.
Next: vs. Douglas County, Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Evans 19, Houston County 10
The hosts thought they were cruising when they marched out to a 19-0 halftime lead on two long plays and a field goal. But Houston County, despite being outgained 181-53 in the first half, rallied with a field goal midway through the third quarter and a rushing touchdown a few minutes later. The teams exchanged punts and a few interceptions, but the offense couldn’t manage enough progress to keep the rally going, and the season ended at 4-7.
Class A Public
Turner County 38, Dublin 36
Dublin was in another roller coaster game, and the ride seemed to be a good one after three quarters, the Irish taking a two-score lead with two touchdowns – JT Wright from 29 yards and a 32-yard interception return for a touchdown from Dominic Dardy barely a minute later – in the third quarter. As it turned out, a safety the Titans got late in the second half would be the difference. Turner County got a 10-yard scoring pass 57 seconds into the fourth quarter, and then pulled ahead with a 27-yard run at the 4:37 mark of the fourth quarter.
It was an odd game. Dublin was in position to win despite running 34 fewer plays and gaining 109 fewer yards. Turner County was outrushed by 58 yards, but outpassed the Irish 167-0. The visitors also clicked on 8 of 12 third downs to 0 for 3 for Dublin. Wright and Quay Ashley each had 128 rushing yards, Wright with three touchdowns and Ashley with one.
No. 5 Schley County 50, ACE 10
The young Gryphons were down 22-3 after one, and all the scoring was done by halftime. Schley County’s passing game was too much. Jay Kanazawa completed seven passes for 269 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers. ACE finished 4-5 after their first trip to the playoffs, Schley County improving to 10-1.
No. 3 Macon County 35, Crawford County 0
The Bulldogs improved to 10-0 after a sluggish start, a 7-0 lead after a quarter. They added two touchdowns in the second quarter for a 21-0 halftime lead. Landon Austin completed 10 of 17 for 177 yards, Marcus Sanders catching five for 114 yards. Marlon Mitchell went off for 190 yards on 19 carries with three touchdowns. Austin added 91 yards on 11 carries and two scores. Macon County reached double-digit wins for the first time since they went 12-0 and won the Class A Public title in 2016, Dexter Copeland’s second season in Montezuma.
Next: vs. ECI, 48-12 winner over Terrell County
Manchester 20, GMC 8
The Bulldogs’ good start didn’t last. GMC went up 6-0 in the first quarter on a pick-6 inside the first few minutes, but Manchester erased that with two touchdowns in the second quarter. GMC got a safety in the third quarter, but the Blue Devils put it away with a 77-yard interception return for a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. The loss was GMC’s first, while Manchester improved to 6-4.
Class A Private
No. 9 FPD 21, Aquinas 14
The rematch bore no resemblance to the regular-season meeting, a 27-2 Aquinas win, courtesy of a turnoverfest by the Vikings. It was tied at 7 at halftime, and again at 14, the Vikings pulling ahead with a touchdown at the 7:00 mark of the fourth quarter. The sterling Viking defense made it stand the rest of the way. FPD hit the nine-win mark for the first time since 2009, and will go for its first 10-win season since 2004 when it reached the GISA AAA final and went 11-3.
Next: vs. Mount Vernon, 14-7 winner over Mt. Paran Christian
Tattnall 28, Savannah Christian 21
It was tied at 7, at 14, and at 21, the Trojans getting scores from Demario Wilmore (two), and Yasir Saleem. Antone Johnson picked off a Savannah Christian pass halfway through the fourth quarter, and Saleem’s second score with 2:02 left in the game gave the Trojans the lead. The defense made it stand to improve Tattnall to 9-1, the Trojans’ highest win total since going 12-1 in 2016. Saturday was also their first playoff win since 2016.
Next: at Darlington, 42-17 winner over Hebron Christian
Savannah Country Day 21, Stratford 19
Savannah Country Day turned a 13-7 halftime deficit into a one-point lead with 6:30 left in the game, and then seemed to seal it with another score a little more than three minutes later. Down 21-13, the Eagles scored with 11 seconds left, but the Hornets stopped the conversion run. The Eagles then recovered the onside kick only for SCD to pick off the Hail Mary at the 12 and inspire a major celebration. Stratford ends the season at 7-4, SCD moves on at 4-6.
No. 2 Calvary Day 49, Mount de Sales 7
The powerful Cavaliers improved to 3-0 against the Macon schools, and wasted no time taking control once they finally scored. That came midway through the first quarter on a short run, and they added another score less than a minute later, and they added another score four minutes later for a 21-0 lead after one. They matched that output in the second quarter for a 42-0 halftime lead. Kobe Butts broke the shutout with a 1-yard run at the 1:46 mark of the third quarter. MdS ends the season at 5-6 while Calvary Day improved to 11-0.