Sunday's Central Georgia - and of interest to Central Georgia - news and notes, compiled from staff reports, email reports, the web, and social media. Updates will be noted, so check back.

In Coverage: Updated GHSA and GISA playoff pairings

Coming Monday: Macon TD Club winners; Monday Morning Quarterback

📰S📰C📰O📰R📰E📰B📰O📰A📰R📰D

College
Soccer
M-Mercer 4, Belmont 3, SoCon championship
Pro
SPHL
Fayetteville 3, Macon 1
NFL
Dallas 43, Atlanta 3

📰C📰O📰V📰E📰R📰A📰G📰E📰

Another year, another championship for Mercer soccer

The championship soccer was on display from the start in front of a standing-room only crowd at Betts Stadium.

In the final two minutes, Mercer made the championship play.

Dylan Gaither was in the middle of the field and saw a teammate cruising down the right side, not a lot of defense in the way. Gaither passed to Trevor Martineaux, who took a few steps and drilled a shot that Belmont goalkeeper Drew Romig almost blocked.

Almost.

The ball trickled into the goal in the 88th minute to give Mercer a 4-3 win over Belmont for the Bears’ fourth Southern Conference tournament title and trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Overtime seemed destined when Belmont’s Esteban Bel Lestide tied the game eight minutes earlier, nine minutes after Michael Ille gave Mercer the lead.

That was after it was tied in the 41 minute, staying 2-2 until the 70th.

Romig had five saves to two for Mercer’s Trevor McMullin. Belmont had nine shots, six on goal, to 13 and nine for the 10-7-1 Bears.

Martineau, Ousman Jabang, and Bryant Jackson made the all-tournament team for the Bears while Gaither was the most outstanding player.

Mercer has little time to celebrate. The NCAA selection show, on www.ncaa.com, is at 1 p.m. Monday. The Bears lost to Charlotte 3-1 in the 2019 tournament

Macon TD Club welcomes new Georgia Southern coach Helton

New Georgia Southern head coach Clay Helton is Monday’s speaker at the Macon Touchdown Club.

The club meets at the Methodist Home for Children and Youth, in the Rumford Center, at 304 Pierce Ave. It starts at 6:30 p.m. with dinner and the program to begin around 7. Admission for non-members is $30.

Northeast is the featured high school. Former Atlanta Falcon and Brave Brian Jordan is next week’s speaker.

Helton will make one of his first public appearances as the new Eagles boss. Terry Harvin, a former Eagle kicker now head of GSU’s broadcast division, will introduce Helton instead of serving as the scheduled speaker.

Helton was head coach at Southern California for six seasons, and a game as interim in 2013 and the first two games of 2021. He is 46-24.

He has a background in the South, as a Gainesville, Fla. native who played at Auburn and Houston. He was at Duke, Houston, and Memphis from 1995-2009, working with running backs, wideouts, and quarterbacks.

He joined the Southern Cal staff in 2010 under Lane Kiffin, then was interim head coach in 2013 when interim head coach Ed Orgeron – who took over when Kiffin was fired in late September of 2013 - quit following Steve Sarkisian’s appointment as head coach.

Helton stayed on and succeeded Sarkisian who was fired, Helton again serving as interim before getting the permanent job. He was then let go early this season after Southern Cal beat San Jose and lost to then-No. 14 Stanford.

He is the son of well-traveled Kim Helton, who has been an assistant in college af Florida, Miami, UAB, and (currently) Western Kentucky, and head coach at Houston, as well as an NFL assistant with Tampa Bay, Houston, the Raiders, Washington, and assistant in the Canadian Football League with Toronto.

Helton’s brother is their father’s boss. Tyson Helton is head coach at Western Kentucky. Tyson coached under Clay at Southern Cal.

Henley gets top-10 finish

The final round of the Houston Open was almost boring for Russell Henley, in a good way.

The Stratford grad had two birdies and two bogeys for an even day and five-under 275, good for a tie for seventh.

He shot five under on Thursday, two over on Friday, and two under on Saturday.

Jason Kokrak was nine under in the final two rounds for a two-stroke win over Kevin Tway and Scottie Scheffler.

Henley, now living in Columbus, will be closer to home this weekend in the RSM Classic at Sea Island Resort.

Around/About Georgia/Southeast

Dallas was on track, Atlanta was not

‘Can’t let it beat us twice’

Message and beatdown delivered

Column: Cowboys were Super Bowl-esque