Roundup: Region titles won outright for Jones County, Perry, Macon County, among others, & big Ws for W. & E. Laurens, Dublin, Crawford County, more
Come back Saturday around lunchtime for Central Georgia’s playoff pairings
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
Class 5A
No. 5 Warner Robins 59, Veterans 3
The Demons led 34-3 at halftime, the defense putting the clamps on QB Matthew Bruce and forcing four interceptions. Warner Robins, set for second in Region 1, passed the 50-point mark for the fifth time this season. Both teams are in the postseason.
Jones County 21, Dutchtown 13
The Greyhounds were in rare air early, down 13-0 after a quarter at home. But they surged back for their second straight Region 4 title with a touchdown in each of the final three quarters.
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
No. 9 Perry 40, No. 7 Baldwin 8
The Panthers made sure there was no suspense matching last year’s meeting, and took care of that by halftime with a 34-0 lead en route to their second straight Region 4 title. The homestanding Braves broke the shutout early in the fourth quarter, avoiding their first blanking to a region rival since 2016, 45-0 to Thomson, also the last time a region opponent cracked 40 points. It was Baldwin’s first region game in only single digits since 21-7 to Thomson in 2017. The score prevented Perry getting a fourth straight shutout.
By halftime, Armar Gordon Jr., had two TD passes to Daequan Wright covering 77 yards, and one each to Casson Clark and Demetrious Carter, covering 55 yards. Carter added a rushing touchdown, putting the Panthers up 34-0 with 7:49 left in the half. The Braves had three turnovers in the process. Gordon passed for 188 yards, and the Panthers rushed for 160, outgaining Baldwin 348-145 in offense. Perry enters the postseason as the top seed at 9-1, Baldwin at 6-3.
West Laurens 17, Westside 14
The Raiders won the battle for fourth place in Region 4 with some big defense and just enough offense in the fourth quarter. They took the lead for good in the fourth quarter after a fourth-down stand, on a short run by Cordarian Hickman and Dustin Couey’s PAT with 7:10 left in the game. Couey’s field goal late in the third quarter got the Raiders within 14-10. West Laurens couldn’t add to the margin despite good field position after interceptions from Johnny Williams and Joel Howard, but the Seminoles didn’t have enough time, timeouts, or offense to rally back. Westside’s season ends at 4-6, its first losing season in program history. The Raiders are 5-5.
Class 3A
Peach County 37, Central 0
The Trojans enter the postseason as the second seed in Region 2, 6-3 overall. Central ends at 1-9.
Jackson 52, Upson-Lee 23
Upson-Lee did itself in with seven turnovers and 15 penalties, overshadowing Tre Bloodser’s night of more than 200 yards rushing. The Knights were in an early two-touchdown hole, and didn’t led the Red Devils pull away until the fourth quarter. Jackson took fourth place with the win, Upson-Lee’s season ending at 4-6.
Mary Persons 28, Sumter County 26
The Bulldogs had a major struggle against the one-win hosts, but pulled it out in the second half to enter the playoffs 7-3, in third in Region 2.
Class AA
East Laurens 10, Toombs County 7
Ben Brantley’s 30-yard field goal late in the third quarter put the Falcons up, and the defense held to give the Falcons fourth place in Region 2 and their first playoff trip since 2012. East Laurens enters the postseason at 6-4 with their first winning season since 2012.
No. 9 Dodge County 31, Southwest 16
The Indians are 7-3 (4-2 in region) entering their 10th straight postseason trip. Southwest’s season ends at 1-7/1-5.
Lamar County 28, No. 5 Northeast 20
The Trojans bowed up, despite having no chance to make the playoffs, and finished with their second winning season in three years, this one coming under first-year head coach Travis Ellington. Lamar County finished tied with Washington County, but lost to the Golden Hawks, thus losing the tiebreaker. Northeast marched out to a 14-0 lead on runs of 10 and 27 yards. Trojan standout CJ Allen scored from 6 yards out to make it 14-7 at halftime. Allen’s 10-yard run and Josh Moore’s kick tied it. Defense put Lamar County head on Reco Walker’s scoop and score off of Donovan Sanford’s strip sack. Allen made it a two-score game with a 78-yarder at the 7:28 mark, the Raiders answering less than a minute later on a 55-yard pass. Northeast enters the postseason at 7-3, the region’s second seed.
Washington County 51, Jasper County 7
The Golden Hawks are 5-4 as the fourth seed from the region, finishing 3-3 in Region 3 play. Jasper County finishes 0-10/0-6.
No. 6 Putnam County 61, Butler 0
The War Eagles cruised to a win to finish a perfect regular season.
Class A Public
Dublin 34, Montgomery County 21
The Irish’s funky season continued, with their second win over a team leading the region. Dublin hammered Wilcox County 49-0 a month ago, and handed the Patriots the outright region title by beating Montgomery County, which started Friday night tied with Wilcox County. Dublin went from the verge of not making the playoffs to going in as the second seed. The Irish sealed third place in the region behind 140 yards and two TDs from Quay Ashley, on 16 carries. The Tigers’ Brandon Denmark went for 156 yards on 14 tries with one touchdown. Dublin picked off three passes, including Ashley’s 59-yard pick-6 for a 20-14 lead. Montgomery County retook the lead 21-20 with 7:38 left in the game, but Ashley went 41 yards a minute later, and JT Wright followed another interception with a game-sealing touchdown with 1:55 left in the game. Dublin get second, and is playoff bound at 6-4 overall.
Johnson County 27, Hawkinsville 6
Hawkinsville’s season ends at 2-8/1-7.
Dooly County 27, Telfair County 26
The Bobcats finished 6-4 and 5-3, tied with Johnson County in region play but losing the tiebreaker for fourth place, thanks to Johnson County’s 21-14 win over the Dooly County last week and the win over Hawkinsville on Friday.
No. 3 Macon County 21, No. 7 Chattahoochee County 13
The Bulldogs trailed 13-6 midway through the second quarter, but tied it after Kenwan Felton’s long fumble return for a touchdown in the final few minutes of the half. Naketa Ellington’s interception set up Marlon Mitchell’s 10-yard score late in the third quarter. Macon County added a safety right after that.
Manchester 51, Taylor County 7
Taylor County finishes 3-6 and 2-6.
ACE 47, Twiggs County 20
ACE sealed third place in Region 7-A Public, improving to 4-4 and 4-2 in breaking a two-game losing streak. Twiggs County finishes 1-9/0-6.
Crawford County 40, Hancock Central 14
The Eagles are in the playoffs for the first time since 1998 after hammering the defending region champs with their third straight games with at least 40 points. Hancock Central’s season ends at 2-7. Crawford County, fourth in A Public, is 3-6 and 3-3, with their first non-losing region record – they skipped region play in 2014-15 – since 1998. Hancock Central finishes 2-7/2-4.
Wilkinson County (3-6/1-4) at Warren County (6-3/4-1)
Class A Private
Stratford 41, Deerfield-Windsor 11
The Eagles clinched third in Region 1 with their fifth 40-point game of the season. They enter the postseason 7-3.
FPD 41, Strong Rock 7
Little suspense was expected, and that was the case as FPD won the region title outright with the predicted romp, boosted by a 20-7 third quarter for a 34-7 lead entering the fourth. Sophomore QB Jakhari Williams ran for TDs of 2 and 15 yards, and threw to Jaylun Goodrum for a 36-yard score. Griffin Green went in from 3 and 55 yards, and Hayden Aulds added a 2-run score. The Vikings rolled up a 410-160 offense advantage, led by Green’s 178 rushing yards and Williams’ 216 yards passing on a 14-for-20 night. Jackson Moore and Cole Hetes caught 62 yards worth of passes for the 8-2/5-0 Vikings.
GISA
Frederica 42, Trinity Christian 17
John Milledge 49, Westfield 16
Westfield led 3-0, and then 10-7 into the second quarter, a rare situation for the visiting Trojans. John Milledge went on top 13-10 at halftime, one of its closest halftime scores in years, after Briggs Eady’s second TD run. The defending 3A champs got into their zone with a 22-0 third quarter, with an Eady pass to Bud Veal and TD runs from Baylin Zalinski and Jalan Butts. Veal and Kolt McMichael added rushing TDs before the Hornets broke their drought with Bryant Greer’s 4-yard run with 63 seconds left. Jeremiah Hill led John Milledge – winners of 35 straight - with 114 rushing yards, while Eady passed for 90 on a9 for 10 night. Hunter Kirkley was 10 of 20 for 113 yards passing and 69 yards rushing for Westfield, outgained by 51 yards in total offense.
Brentwood 35, Gatewood 6
The visitors took control early to win the title in the three-team region, leading 14-0 at halftime and holding Gatewood scoreless until two minutes into the fourth quarter. Thomas Denton ran for touchdowns of 2, 25, and 6 yards en route to a 120-yard night, Robert Jackson scoring on runs of 1 and 48 yards, finishing with 139 yards on 113 carries. Brentwood held Gatewood to 136 rushing yards and 48 passing yards for a 442-184 total offense advantage, the Gators suffering three turnovers. The War Eagles head to the postseason 8-1. Gatewood, who beat Brentwood 34-14 in last year’s AA title game, fell to 4-6 and 0-2 with their second straight loss.
Fullington (1-7/0-1) at John Hancock (1-7/0-7)