Roundup: Warner Robins rolls in rematch on a rough Central Georgia night; John Milledge and Brentwood reach GISA final
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
GHSA
Quarterfinals
Class 6A
Hughes 48, Northside 7
The favored Panthers stormed out to a 27-0 lead before the Eagles scored. Hughes kept it going, adding a 47-yard fumble return for a touchdown. Antonio Martin ran for four touchdowns for Hughes, which beat Northside for the second straight year in the playoffs.
Class 5A
Warner Robins 49, Jones County 21
The Demons and Greyhounds were showing as expected, the game tied at 21 midway through the second quarter. Jones County’s Evan West lined up for a field goal, but a procedure call pushed it back five yards. The Greyhounds paid for it when Antwan Jackson blocked it, picked it up, and took it the distance for a 21-14 lead with 6:22 left in the second.
But that didn’t last long. The game-tying play for Jones County ended up being one that marked the beginning of the end for the Greyhounds. Jones County quarterback John Alan Richter, he of the 3,021-yard senior season, went out in the quarter with a concussion-type injury when he took a high hit from Montrez Dinkins on a rollout 9-yard game-tying TD pass to Ed Chester with 3:24 left, drawing an immediate flag for roughing the passer, the second one on the drive. On came Conner Bass, who was pulled from his starting defensive back spot, to quarterback
Fred Perry, who had another career-type night, covered 27 yards to set up his 7-yard TD with 26 seconds left in the half, for a 28-21 halftime lead. The Demons dealt a body blow early in the third quarter when, after a first-down procedure penalty, Perry went through a clear hole up the middle for a 71-yard touchdown run only 23 seconds into the quarter for a 35-21 lead. The Greyhounds and Bass drove to inside the 20, suffered an intentional grounding, got the yards back, but a 34-yard field goal try was wide left barely two minutes into the third. The Greyhounds kept the Demons out of the end zone for a several minutes, and couldn’t do much with a fumble in decent field position.
Then Perry went long again, going 61 yards for a score with 4:28 left in the third, doubling the Greyhounds 42-21. Jones County continued to struggle on offense, and the Demons dealt a knockout punch when Perry went in from the 1, just after a 42-yarder, with 73 seconds left in the third quarter.
Perry ran for 134 yards on just the five touchdowns alone, with junior Chaz Sturn have more than 100 yards on the ground. The Demons (12-1) ran for nearly 500 yards in topping the 10-3 Greyhounds in the playoffs for the second straight year.
Next: Warner Robins at Creekside
Any update will be around 11 a.m. Saturday, based on new information contributions from teams.
Dear coaches and teams: PLEASE UPDATE YOUR MAXPREPS ROSTERS, so kids can accurately be credited for doing good things. Ditto schedules, results, and stats.
Teams: Please email game information – stats (offense and defense), names, big plays, etc. – to centralgasports@gmail.com by 10:30 a.m. Saturday for addition in Central Georgia’s only roundup.
Class 4A
Cedartown 39, Perry 25
The Panthers went from a 14-6 deficit to an 18-17 lead in the third quarter, only for Cedartown to answer with a short run for a 32-25 lead with 6:02 left in the quarter. Then Cedartown converted a turnover into a game-clinching score.
Class 3A
Pierce County 35, Peach County 30
The Trojans trailed 14-0 in the first quarter and then 21-17 at halftime. Two unanswered touchdowns put Pierce County in control, until the Trojans mounted a rally with two touchdowns, the last one with 70 seconds left.
Class AA
No. 10 Swainsboro 12, No. 8 Northeast 9, 2 OT
The Raiders forced overtime, tying it on a fourth-and-6 when quarterback Travion Solomon – with a second on the play clock - wasted no time in a collapsing pocket and ran it in from the 9. Northeast got the PAT, which went higher than it did long, and it was 9 all with 4:04 left in the game.
In the first overtime, Ja’quavious Lattimore blocked Northeast’s 27-yard field goal, smothering it before it got any air under it. Northeast then lost the ball on the first play in second overtime on a bad snap. Swainsboro took advantage, and won the game on a fourth-and-10 32-yard field goal.
Special teams issues finally caught up with the Raiders, who had a punt blocked early and fumbled a punt return and also struggled with scores of five-yard pre-snap penalties.
No. 4 Fitzgerald 21, No. 5 Putnam County 7
The hosts tied the game at 7 on Cedrion Brundage’s short run, and then the teams exchanged interceptions late in the half. Fitzgerald made Putnam County pay for its pick, scoring with 25 seconds left in the half. Putnam County got a fourth-down stop in the fourth quarter, but missed a field goal. Fitzgerald got another interception, and sealed it with a short run with less than three minutes left. The War Eagles lost standout quarterback Gerald Kilgore to an injury late in the second quarter, hampering their offensive efforts. Putnam County was held to single digits for the first time since last year’s 48-7 first-round loss to Early County.
Class A Public
No. 1 Irwin County 28, No. 3 Macon County 15
The undefeated Bulldogs were in a rare situation early, trailing. Damarkus Lundy put Irwin County on top 21-7 with three touchdowns. After a scoreless third quarter, the teams traded late scores, Irwin County taking a 28-7 lead in the final two minutes and Macon County answering. The Bulldogs ended the season at 11-1.
Class A Private
No. 3 Prince Avenue Christian 41, FPD 22
FPD knew it was facing an elite passing team, and Prince Avenue Christian lived up to the reputation. The Vikings trailed 7-6 midway through the first quarter, converting a PAC fumble. The Wolverines’ Aaron Philo connected with Bailey Stockton four minutes later for a 14-6 lead, which grew by six on a TD run seven minutes into the second quarter. The Vikings got a field goal from Lucas Buckner to pull within 20-9 late in the second, settling for an 11-point halftime deficit.
FPD – which lost standout running back Griffin Green in the first half to injury - kept battling, but Philo went in from the 5 halfway through the third quarter for a 27-9 lead, only for the Vikings to answer three minutes later on Coleman Cauley’s 37-yard run. Another Philo TD pass expanded the lead again, with 6:26 left in the game, and the Vikings answered again after a long kick return set up a 10-yard TD pass. But the defending state champs sealed it with 2:05 left on Stockton’s 30-yard run.
The Wolverines held FPD to 67 rushing yards and 141 passing yards, dumping QB Jakhari Williams for 15 yards in losses. He was 12 of 23 for 141 yards and a touchdown. Green left after seven carries and 35 yards, Cauley stepping up on offense for 47 yards on seven carries. Philo completed 20 of 25 for 340 yards and three touchdowns.
GISA
Semifinals
Class AAA
No. 1 John Milledge 49, Tiftarea 13
The Trojans rolled again into the championship game, storming out to a 21-0 first quarter lead and ending up with touchdowns from Baylin Zalinski, Briggs Eady, Bud Veal, Marcus Prestwood, Javian Butts, and Tyler Greene. Eady ran for one touchdown and passed for 265 yards with a 71-yard score to Prestwood, who had 71 receiving yards. Veal added a 17-yard interception return, with runs of 19 from Zalinksi, 40 from Butts and 1 from Greene. JMA held Tiftarea to 62 rushing yards and 56 passing yards.
No. 2 Pinewood 32, Westfield 20
Momentum from Hunter Kirkley’s 2-yard scoring run in the final seconds of the first half to pull Westfield within 18-14 didn’t last. Pinewood returned to a double-digit lead three minutes into the third quarter on an 80-yard punt return that involved a lateral on the play, followed by a conversion. The Hornets got back to within a possession on Kirkley’s 18-yard TD pass to Ryan Powers less than two minutes later, but Pinewood sealed it six second into the fourth quarter on a short run.
Westfield racked up 353 yards total offense, Pinewood 407. Kirkley completed 22 of 34 for 310 yards with two scores and three picks, Pinewood holding Westfield to 43 yards rushing. First downs were even, but the Hornets converted on 16.7 percent of their third downs to 50 percent for the hosts.
Class AA
Brentwood 49, Gatewood 8
Thomas Denton and Wells Muller teamed for 213 of Brentwood’s 350 rushing yards, and four touchdowns as the War Eagles earned another spot in the state championship. The defense held Gatewood to 13 first downs and 79 yards rushing. Brentwood stormed out to a 35-0 halftime lead. Robert Jackson added 71 yards and a touchdown. Ames Johnson passed for 137 yards and a score for defending champ Gatewood, and Justin Jameson had 51 rushing yards on 15 tries.
GAPPS
11-man
Class AA
Championship
Central Fellowship def. Cherokee Christian
Class AA 8-man
Covenant def. Johnson Ferry