Roundup: Warner Robins rolls, Jones County rebounds, John Milledge dominates, Northeast upset, Houston County rallies, and more
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
The good news for Northside was that it broke a long scoreless streak against Warner Robins.
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The bad news was the Eagles only scored once.
Warner Robins had 28 points by then, and rolled to a 49-7 win over Northside in the rivalry showdown at McConnell-Talbert Stadium.
One of the night’s surprises was FPD’s 27-2 loss at Aquinas, with all the scoring coming in the first half, the Vikings’ offense getting stuffed.
The mild upset of the night came in Macon with No. 5/AA Northeast hitting a speed bump with a loss to visiting Dougherty, which won it with a late field goal.
Jones County and Houston County rebounded after losses, Mary Persons lost a shootout at Newnan, Perry improved to 2-0 against its county rivals, Taylor County suffered an almost historical loss, Upson-Lee manhandled a Class 5A team for its biggest win over a higher-classification team since beating 5A Berkmar 39-7 in 2009.
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The schedules, they are a-changing
Bibb County public and private schools in the GHSA had a rough night, going 1-5 with Tattnall the lone winner.
Aquinas 27, FPD 2
The Aquinas defense came to play, holding FPD to three yards rushing on 19 tries and bugging QB Jakhari Williams into a 12-for-22 night for 74 yards and an interception. The hosts ran for 213 yards and passed for 66 on 5-of-6 passing, and did all the scoring in the first half on a pass and three runs. The safety late in the first half prevented FPD’s first shutout since falling 28-0 to Stratford in the middle of the 2016 season.
Bleckley County 26, Vidalia 13
The Royals led 7-3 at the half, and took control with two third-quarter touchdown runs. Vidalia rallied with a long TD run and field goal, but Bleckley County’s defense came up big and the offense sealed it late with Jahvon Butler’s touchdown in the final few minutes.
Brentwood 38, Edmund Burke 14
The War Eagles gave head coach Bert Brown his 150th career win. Brown is now 150-106-4. Thomas Denton ran for 164 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries, and Robert Jackson scored on two of his seven carries to lead Brentwood. Robert Jackson completed 5 of 9 for 84 yards. The defense was led by Bryce Williford and Drew Johnson, holding EB to 118 rushing yards and 21 passing yards and holding on to a shutout for the first three quarters.
Briarwood 54, Trinity Christian 17
Brookstone 31, Mount de Sales 23
Things started off well for the Cavs, with A’Khori Jones’ 90-yard TD run two minutes into the game. But they trailed 14-7 before scoring on Fernando Washington’s 46-yard run at the 7:23 mark of the third quarter. He followed with a 4-yarder two minutes later, and then Chepe Benjume’s 20-yard field goal at the 2:38 mark of the third gave Mount de Sales a 23-14 lead. But the hosts woke up, answering with a TD pass in the final minute of the third, and taking a 24-23 lead on a 27-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter, sealing it with a score with 62 seconds left. MdS outgained Brookstone 342-278 in total offense, but Brookstone passed for three TDs while MdS completed only six passes. Jones went for 223 yards on 16 carries, Washington 81 on nine.
Brookwood 59, Baldwin 34
The Braves showed up ready to play, trailing only 14-13 after a quarter, getting scores from a kickoff return from 20 and TD catch by Kemond Elum. Brookwood started gaining some control, with TDs early in the second quarter and then two more scores separated by only a few minutes plus a late field goal en route to a 38-19 halftime lead. The 7A Broncos outscored the Braves 21-7 in the third quarter.
Covenant 50, Windsor 22
Dougherty 10, Northeast 7
The No. 5/AA Raiders took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, but the visitors turned in a clutch fourth quarter, tying it with about five minutes left and getting the game-winning field goal in the final minute. Dougherty beat a ranked team for the first time since 2010, when former Northeast coach Carror Wright led the Trojans to the 3A championship game, a season that started with a 29-6 win over No. 10 Northeast.
East Laurens 36, Oglethorpe County 10
The Falcons trailed 10-7 at halftime, having given up a long punt return for a touchdown, and the teams muddled through a scoreless third quarter before East Laurens went off for 29 fourth-quarter points. It started with a safety five minutes into the quarter, a 37-yard TD pass from Kashmere Bryant shortly after that putting East Laurens on top for good. A pick-6 by Adam Francis not long after that sealed it. The Falcons have matched last year’s win total, and haven’t won four games since going 4-6 in 2015.
Fitzgerald 15 Dodge County 6
The eighth-ranked/AA Indians were held to their lowest point total since losing 35-6 to Dublin in mid-2019.
GMC 26, Riverside Military 6
The Bulldogs never trailed, but had to weather RMA’s rally to within 7-6. GMC got a safety, and then a touchdown pass late in the third quarter and a clinching short run – after a long punt return – early in the fourth. GMC is 3-0 for the first time since 2018.
George Walton 24, Crawford County 19
Greene County 16, Hancock Central 14
Irwin County 63, Wilkinson County 0
John Milledge 40, Savannah Christian 7
The Trojans turned in another attention-getting performance against a GHSA team, routing Class A Private Savannah Christian for the second year in a row, leading 40-0 at the half. The visitors broke the shutout in the final seconds. JMA ran for 202 yards and passed for 116, Briggs Eady completing 10 of 12 passes while also leading the ground game with 119 yards. The defense picked off three passes.
Jones County 38, Union Grove 22
John Alan Richter threw for 183 yards on 15-of-27 passing, with two touchdowns and three interceptions as Jones County bounced back from a home loss with a road region win. The Greyhounds trailed for only a few minutes, from down 6-0 to up 7-6, then down 9-6 and up 13-9 on avious Bond’s TD run late in the second quarter for a 14-9 halftime lead. The Greyhounds remained on top, at 21-9, 21-16, 28-16 and 31-16. Union Grove scored, but missed the PAT and trailed 31-22 with seven minutes left. A score with two minutes left sealed it.
Houston County 24, Statesboro 20
The Bears were in some trouble, down 20-7 at halftime in the game at Perry’s Herb St. John Stadium. Standout Simeon Askew sparked the Bears with a 14-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter, and they took the lead on Antwann Hill’s 30-yard TD pass to Laurence Hill and the PAT, with seven minutes left. Manny Hernandez added a 19-yard field with a few minutes left, the Bears’ defense held on.
Macon County 47, Marion County 0
The Bulldogs defense recorded its second shutout, giving up only 65 rushing and 29 passing yards.
Memorial Day (0-1) at Piedmont (0-1)
Newnan 39, Mary Persons 32
The Bulldogs led 19-17 at halftime, Newnan scoring in the final minutes to get that close, then 25-24 midway through the third before trailing 32-25 late in the third. The Bulldogs tied it early in the fourth only for the hosts to take the lead with 4:49 left in the fourth and hold on, sealing it with an interception in the end zone with less than 20 seconds left.
Montgomery County 32, Dooly County 7
Morgan County 34, Jasper County 6
Notre Dame (0-1) at Fullington (0-2)
Pacelli 17, Lamar County 0
The host Trojans couldn’t get the offense going after scoring 112 in their first three games. Pacelli scored first, four minutes into the game, and it stood that way until a field goal two minutes into the fourth. The visitors sealed in the final two minutes.
Perry 34, Veterans 14
The Warhawks kept some of the momentum from last week’s rousing win at Jones County, turning in a long drive for a score and a 7-0 lead. Perry tied it, and then the teams slugged it out back and forth until the Panthers got a late second-quarter touchdown pass for the lead. They opened the third with a long scoring drive and a 14-point lead, going up 20 points early in the fourth quarter t improve to 3-0.
Putnam County 42, Social Circle 22
The favored War Eagles struggled early, trailing 15-7 after a quarter. They pulled within a point late in the first half, and took the lead on a TD pass with a few minutes left in the third. Putnam County went off late in the fourth quarter with three touchdowns in the final six minutes, including a fumble recovery for a score.
Rockdale County 31, Westside 29
The teams had a wild second half, Rockdale County outscoring homestanding Westside 25-22. The Bulldogs were down 29-19 after a Westside passing touchdown with 6:49 left left, scoring four minutes later, pulling within four after the missed PAT. The scenario repeated itself after recovering the onside kick, with the game-winning score and missed point-after with 1:38 left.
Schley County 55, Taylor County 0
The Wildcats were up 35-0 at halftime, and racked up 267 rushing yards and 164 through the air. It’s Taylor County’s worst loss since 66-6 to GMC early in the 1974 season.
Southwest Georgia 21, CFCA 20
Tattnall 42, Deerfield-Windsor 7
Antone Johnson’s 9-yard touchdown less than three minutes into the second quarter broke a 7-7 tie, and broke the seal for the Trojans. Brayden Smith went 68 yards to open a drive and score four minutes later. Smith’s punt return set up Demario Wilmore’s rushing TD with 18 seconds left in the half, putting the Trojans up 28-7 at the break. Yasir Seleem went in for a short-yardage score early in the third quarter, and then he finished the scoring on a 36-yarder with 4:22 left in the third.
Telfair County 50, Hawkinsville 16
Terrell 27, Gatewood 20
Upson-Lee 40, McIntosh 14
It was close for a little while, tied with 4:29 left in the first quarter. Then Tra Bloodser scored on a long run late in the first quarter, and TJ Searcy went in on fourth down for 20-7 lead with 2:11 left in the half. The Knights got it right back, and KJ Rockemore went more than 50 yards for a 27-7 halftime lead. Bloodser scored again in the third quarter and Keyston Smith followed a few minutes later for a 40-7 advantage.
Warner Robins 49, Northside 7
Maybe some folks stayed home and kept McConnell-Talbert from holding an overflow crowd because they knew something. Warner Robins stormed out to a 28-0 halftime lead, QB Christon Lane throwing TD passes to Cam Flowers, DK Sturn, and Deuce Petty from 32, 28, and 27 yards, Malcolm Brown adding a 4-yard score. Northside returned a blocked field for a score at the 8:33 mark of the third quarter, but momentum didn’t last long, Brown going in from a yard out less than two minutes later. Lane threw another score, in the third quarter to Daveon Walker, finishing 11 of 22 for 247 yards and four scores.
Walker caught five passes for 101 yards, and Brown ran for 76 yards on 17 carries. Damien Dee passed for 99 yards for Northside, accounting for more than half of the Eagles’ 171 yards total offense. The Demons racked up 378 yards on one less play en route to their fifth straight in in the series, winning the last three by 42, 47, and 39.
Washington County 22, Swainsboro 21
The Golden Hawks went from an 8-0 lead into a deep hole, a 21-8 deficit, and in the fourth quarter. They cut into the deficit 10 seconds into the fourth quarter on a 52-yard run from Dontavius Braswell, and then scored the game-winner on a 2-yard run by Ahmaad Brooks at the 7:17 mark, then held on – thanks to an interception deep in their own end and a defensive stand right after that - in their first game of the season.
Worth County 42, Rutland 6