Attention-getting W for Northeast, big wins for Dodge County, Mary Persons, Baldwin, GMC, Bleckley County, Perry, Northside

Teams: send info and stats to centralgasports@gmail.com by  10:30 a.m. Saturday

Northeast hasn't been ranked much in its history, and it certainly hasn't had much success against ranked teams.

          And then came Friday night.

          The Raiders entered the season opener ranked eighth in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution AA poll, and Jones County was No. 7 in 5A.

          According to the Georgia High School Football Historians Association, Northeast had one win against a No. 4 - in the AJC poll - in program history, 37-34 over 3-AA region rival Bleckley County.

          The Raiders knocked off a No. 6 in 2002.

          And then came Friday night with arguably the biggest win in Northeast history, 33-28 over Class 5A No. 7 Jones County.

          At Jones County, home to one of the best home field advantages around.

          The Greyhounds last loss to a smaller-classification team - excluding a forfeit for an ineligible player to Washington County in 2016 - was 21-3 to visiting Mary Persons in 2013.

          Mary Persons has a substantially stronger tradition than Northeast, making Friday night a head-turning win.

          The game went back and forth, Northeast sealing it with a defensive stand on fourth down in the final two minutes.   

Baldwin 42, Liberty County 6

Bleckley County 21, West Laurens 14

            The Royals upset – as in hacked off  - the 4A Raiders for the second year in a road, and did so this time in Dexter.

Covenant 56, Crisp 8

Dodge County 39, Toombs County 0

            The Indians had quite a night in the head coaching debut of Ray Hardin, with their biggest win since beating Jasper County 58-0 last October.

Dooly County 13, Marion County 0

GMC 46, Creekside Christian 0

            GMC won its fourth opener in its last five, and won by its largest margin since 48-0 last October against John Hancock.

Jeff Davis 41, Rutland 0

Lamar County 28, Pike County 7

Northeast 33, Jones County 28

Northside 48, Veterans 7

            The Eagles avenged last year’s 17-7 season opening loss to Veterans in a big way, with their most points since a 52-0 playoff win over Grovetown in 2016. Conversely, it was the Warhawks’ worst loss since 56-7 to Valdosta in 2015. Northside broke a 7-7 tie with two touchdowns in less than 30 seconds, Matthew Bruce’s 9-yard run followed 14 seconds later by a 23-yard pass fromCam Brown to Centavious Lowe, for a 21-7 halftime lead. The Eagles put together two more scores in short order in the third quarter, 20 seconds separating Micah Thurman’s 3-yard run and Jalen Banks’ fumble recovery for a touchdown.

            Northside had a 350-152 rushing advantage, led by Thurman’s 63 yards. Brown completed 4 of 9 forf 118 yards and three touchdowns.

Mary Persons 42, Towers 0

            The Bulldogs rolled to their third season-opening win in their last four tries, and second 42-0 opening win since 2018.

Mount de Sales 17, Jasper County 7

            The Cavaliers won their sixth straight season opener, doing so despite being outgained by 15 yards in total offense. They scored 17 straight in the second quarter after Jasper County went up 7-0 in the first quarter. A’Khori Jones ran 20 times for 169 yards and a score, completing 3 of 9 passes for 46 yards. He tied the game with a 35-yard score two minutes into the second quarter, and Fernando Washington took a fumble back 20 yards for a touchdown less than two minutes later. The Cavs added a 25-yard field goal late in the half. Jasper County racked up 211 yards on 52 rushes.

Perry 36, Houston County 13

The Panthers took control early en route to their biggest win over the Bears, and second-biggest win over any in-county rival.

Phenix City-Central, Ala. 42, Peach County 23

            The team of Patrick Nix – son of Northside legend Conrad Nix – christened Peach County’s new stadium with an 80-yard touchdown pass on the first play, and continued to stay in control from then on, leading 28-9 at halftime and racking up more than 500 yards in offense.

Taylor County 34, Crawford County 21

Thomas Jefferson 32, John Hancock 6

Trinity Christian 21, Edmund Burke 14

            The Crusaders got a road win in the first game for head coach Jedd Marsh.

Westside 35, Bradwell Institute 10

Games 

CFCA at Fullington

Piedmont at Briarwood

Saturday

ACE vs. FPD (Mercer)

Macon County vs. Clinch County, Georgia Southern

Twiggs County at East Laurens

Valdosta vs. Warner Robins (Mercer)

Thursday

Howard 16, Central 7

LaGrange 24, Upson-Lee 6