Roundup: Big nights for Veterans, Upson-Lee, Hawkinsville, Dodge County, FPD's Green, JMA's Eady
Any update will be around noon Saturday, based on 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.
So this is how September starts?
Westfield jumped out of GISA action to visit an old friend, Stratford, and it was expected to be a decent game.
But the Hornets were without head coach Rob Fitzpatrick and offensive coordinator Greg Robinson, who tested positive for COVID early in the week, as well as a few players for injuries and COVID-related items.
So former Northside head coach Kevin Kinsler and former Dodge County head coach Rex Hodges tried to steer the undermanned – moreso when Coleman Williams went down with a first-half leg injury - Hornets ship.
And Stratford rolled 49-14.
To the west, Upson-Lee was heading for a game-tying touchdown, throws an interception inside the 5 on its first pass attempt of the game, got the ball back, and scored the touchdown and game-winning two-point conversion to beat Harris County 29-28.
And to the east, Veterans never led, but tied the game with 2:17 left, and the defense answered to force overtime. There, Jones County scored first and hit the PAT. Veterans scored, and head coach Milan Turner rolled the dice and went for two. Quarterback Matthew Bruce - solid in all phases all night - powered in the conversion for a stunning 43-42 win.
Icing on the cake: beautiful weather.
Friday
Bleckley County 35, Toombs County 18
Bleckley County is 3-0 for the first time since 1991, and has won three games by a little more each week. The Royals trailed 6-0 for a chunk of the first quarter until the PAT after Eli Mullis’ 11-yard TD pass to Darvin Yates. Bleckley County added to it on Jahvon Butler’s short score early in the second quarter, Butler doing it again about five minutes later en route to a 21-6 halftime lead. Mullis connected with Jaden Mobley early in the third quarter for a game-clinching score.
Brentwood 35, Briarwood 13
Coffee 34, Houston County 10
The Bears fell to 1-2 for the second time since 2018 with their second loss this season to a lower-classification ranked team. Coffee broke a 7-all tie with a 74-yard interception return for a touchdown in the final minute of the first quarter. The Trojans added a late second-quarter run for a 21-7 halftime lead. The Bears got a field goal a few minutes into the third quarter, but Coffee returned another interception for a score midway through the quarter.
Dodge County 30, West Laurens 22
The Indians were down 20-0 at after a quarter and won the second half 30-2, improving to 3-0 for the first time since 2018, the final year for head coach Rex Hodges. The Raiders took advantage of two fumbles, and executed a fake punt, converting all three plays into touchdowns. Demron Gordon’s short rush and the PAT gave Dodge County its first lead at 23-20 early in the fourth quarter. The AA Indians put away the win over the 4A Raiders with a TD pass inside the last five minutes.
East Laurens 41, Bryan County 6
The 2-1 Falcons have scored 111 points in three games, and are on track to put up 200 points for the first time since 2015. East Laurens led 20-0 at halftime and clinched it with a 21-0 third quarter. Kashmere Bryant ran for one TD and passed for another in the first half, Eli Downing adding a long scoring run. The Falcons returned a fumble more than 70 yards for a touchdown early in the third.
FPD 28, Brookstone 7
Griffin Green made Brookstone see red, handling all the scoring for the Vikings on runs of 14, 8, 39, and 8 yards. The Vikings led only 7-0 at halftime, but put up two touchdowns in the third quarter and held Brookstone scoreless until the final two minutes. Green went off for 185 yards on 26 carries, 7.1 yards a carry. Quarterback Jakhari Williams completed 14 of 18 for 113 yards, and FPD’s defense held Brookstone to minus-10 yards rushing while surrendering 146 yards in the air.
Gatewood 40, Trinity Christian 16
Gatewood is 2-o for the fifth time in head coach Jeff Ratliff’s nine starts.
Greene County 48, Twiggs County 40
Twiggs County gave the hosts a quality battle after trailing 28-12 early in the third quarter.
Hawkinsville 42, Baconton Charter 0
The Red Devils followed being shutout on the road with a more convincing shutout at home. Hawkinsville last cracked the 40-point mark in a 41-39 win over Crawford County in 2019. It was the Red Devils first win by at least 40 points since 41-0 over St. Anne-Pacelli to end the 2017 season.
John Milledge 41, Pinewood 6
Briggs Eady ran for 74 yards and passed for 219 while Bud Veal and Jalan Butts scored two touchdowns each to lead John Milledge to a rout in what was roundly expected to be a decent game. The Trojans scored 20 in the second quarter, on Veal’s 55-yard TD catch from Eady, Butts’ 20-yard run, and a 17-yarder from Chaze Goddard. Butts added a 65- yard interception return, and Baylen Zalinski caught a 21-yard score from Eady before Veal’s 5-yard run closed it out. JMA ran for 192 yards and passed for 219, getting 15 more first downs.
Johnson County 42, Wilkinson County 14
The Trojans led 28-7 at halftime, squelching the Warriors’ hopes of going 2-0 for the first time since 2011.
Lamar County 35, Jackson 24
CJ Allen scored on runs of 2, 1, and 22 yards - en route to 176 yards on 25 carries - to lead the Trojans to a 21-3 halftime lead, and he added a 52-yarder in the second half. Lamar County also got a 16-yard run from Devin Bateman as the Trojans’ smallest second-half lead was 10 points. Tony Altman and Kale Bryan had interceptions for the Trojans, 3-0 for the second time in three years, doing so under first-year head coach Travis Ellington. The same thing happened in 2019 under then-first-year head coach Jeff Sloan.
Luella 40, Rutland 13
After a scoreless tie through one, Luella got going with two touchdowns in the second quarter, although Rutland was within 13-7 after Christian Brown’s interception return for a touchdown early in the third quarter. Luella answered shortly after that with a long touchdown pass, adding a short passing score a few minutes later.
Marion County 12, Taylor County 7
The Vikings broke an eight-game losing streak to Marion County last year, having scored only seven points in the two most previous meetings. Marion County passed for 72 yards and ran for 164.
Mount de Sales 38, Southwest 16
The private-school Cavs had only a little trouble with the public-school Raiders in their first meeting. Southwest pulled with in 10-8 after Travion Searcy’s 7-yard run and Nate Strong’s conversion catch, following A’Khori Jones’ 52-yard score and Chepe Benjume’s 30-yard field goal. Kobe Butts put Mount de Sales up 17-8 at halftime with a 5-yard run. The Cavs, who outgained Southwest 419-202, started pulling away three minutes into the third on Fernando Washington’s 15-yard scoring run, Jones adding a 42-yarder less than five minutes later for a 31-8 lead. Searcy ran for 77 yards on 17 tries, and was 10 for 22 for 117 yards passing. Jones went for 201 yards and three scores on 13 carries, Washington adding 131 and one on 17.
Pacelli 17, Central 7
The Chargers fell to 0-3 for the first time since 2017 after losing on the road to a game scheduled when the matchup with Westside was cancelled.
Piedmont 41, John Hancock 20
Putnam County 69, Jasper County 0
Putnam County has had least one 50-point game for the fifth straight season, and may have set a program record for points. It was the War Eagles’ second straight shutout.
Stratford 49, Westfield 14
Westfield was without two coaches and a few players, and Stratford wasn’t, although the Eagles likely had an edge if both teams were full go. The Eagles marched out to a 35-0 halftime lead over their former GISA rivals, taking advantage of every Hornet mistake and turning in some big plays. Keondre Glover went for 39 and 14 yards in first-quarter touchdown runs four minutes apart, adding a 23-yard touchdown catch in the first. He finished with 110 yards on 10 carries, Nate Slappey getting 128 on nine. The Eagles had a 375-176 advantage in total offense on 11 more plays. Ryan Powers caught three passes for 71 yards and averaged 21.1 yards per kickoff return for Westfield.
Upson-Lee 29, Harris County 28
The Knights broke out a run-heavy power offense, and didn’t throw their first pass until the final minutes. It was in the red zone, and was picked off, U-L down by a touchdown. Harris County coughed it back up with less than 90 seconds left, and do-everything T.J. Searcy quickly scored. Anthony Bloodser connected with Kingston Smith for the conversion and lead, Searcy finishing it off with a sack. The Knights led 21-7 only for Harris County to tie it with the first of two 71-yard touchdown passes. The second put the visitors up 28-21 with just less than seven minutes left. The interception game with
Veterans 43, Jones County 42, OT
It’s the second time this season Jones County has been upset at home, having opened the season with a 33-28 loss to Northeast, then ranked eighth in AA. Veterans came in with no momentum, opening with a 48-7 loss to Northside and then having a winnable game against West Laurens postponed for COVID reasons. A year ago, Veterans was 2-0 and ranked sixth in 5A when it thumped the Greyhounds 30-6 at Freedom Field. Jones County rebounded from its 0-3 start to reach the semifinals, and the Warhawks won one more game and ran into adversity the rest of the season en route to a 4-6 finish, four of the losses by seven points or less. The Warhawks answered every Greyhound score, not leading until the end behind Bruce’s stellar passing and game management performance. Veterans gained confidence with a scoring drive to open the second half that took up nearly the entire third quarter.
Ware County 41, Baldwin 20
The visiting Braves led 7-3 until Ware County’s Thomas Castellanos threw a 34-yard TD pass in the final minutes of the first quarter. He did it again early in the second quarter twice, the second time after an interception in Baldwin territory. The Gators led 31-14 at halftime, and Baldwin cut the lead by a score a few minutes into the third quarter.
Windsor 58, Holy Spirit 0
Postponed
Aucilla, Fla., at Fullington, cancelled
Hancock Central at Burke County, ppd
Northside at Howard, Ed DeFore, ppd.
Peach County at Griffin, ppd.
Pike County at Tattnall, ppd.
Washington County at Thomson
Westside at Central, Henderson, ppd.
Thursday
Perry 21, Crisp County 0