Roundup: Night of a lifetime for Northside, forgettable one for Northeast & Dooly County, upset for Dodge County, scoreapalooza by Hawkinsville, John Milledge rolls
Class 6A
No. 11T Northside 23, No. 2 Lee County 20
The Northside football world won’t forget a lifetime win, seven seconds from a quality road loss to the state’s No. 2 team. Lee County quarterback Weston Bryan took a shotgun snap on fourth and 10 with seven second left, with the plan to run around and kill seven seconds. But he lollygagged in the backfield and didn’t go anywhere. Northside defenders Daylen Kendrick and Mikell Roberts zoned in from each edge and hit him, separating him from the ball. Derrick Hardy grabbed and shockingly sprinted 35 yards for the game-winning touchdown, crossing the goal line about four seconds after the clock hit triple zeroes. The shocker capped an impressive comeback by the Eagles, who muddled their way through three-plus quarters and a 20-0 deficit.
Northside crammed 23 points in less than seven minutes, getting started with Ashton Paredes’ 30-yard field goal at the 6:41 mark. A turnover soon followed, and DJ Hudson – who took over at quarterback in the second half – hit Duke McLinton for a 12-yard score barely a minute later. Hudson hit D’Shawn Hooten for a 16-yard score with 3:17 left. Soon, it appeared all Lee County had to do was run out the clock, the Trojans choosing to run a play rather than punt to a team without a punt return for a touchdown this season.
Lee County out gained Northside by 20 yards on 16 more plays, the Eagles actually outpassing the Trojans 161-156, both completing 10 passes. Hudson was 8 of 13 for 124 yards in relief of Damien Dee. The Northside defense held standout Ousmane Kromah – who had 275 yards and five scores against Houston County – to 81 yards on 30 carries.
Northside’s last win over a top-2 team? On Oct. 14, 2016, when the No. 4/3 Eagles knocked off No. 1 Lee County 26-7 at McConnell-Talbert.
No. 6T Thomas County Central 42, No. 10 Houston County 21
The Yellow Jackets and Bears had a game going for three quarters, with it tied at 21 going into the fourth after the Bears scored three times in the third. But the hosts took over and finished strong with three fourth-quarter scores, taking sole possession of first in Region 1 with Lee County’s loss. Antwann Hill Jr. was 22 of 33 for 237 yards and three scores, two to Kale Woodburn, who had seven catches for 94 yards. Ryan Taleb went for 130 yards rushing on 19 carries.
Veterans 27, Tift County 20
The Blue Devils made the Warhawks sweat, leading 12-7 early. Veterans got things going to take the lead and hold on for its first Region 1 win.
Class 5A
No. 9 Warner Robins 49, Union Grove Eagle’s Landing 18
The two-time defending 5A champs had 35 points on the board before losing the shutout late in the second quarter. By that point, the Demons had touchdown runs from Chase Reese and Malcolm Brown, and and TD catches by Aamir Quick, Isaiah Canion, plus a 65-yard pick-6 from Chaz Sturn.
Class 4A
Baldwin 42, West Laurens 21
The homestanding Raiders got off to a good start with a 14-0 lead, taking advantage of a slew of Baldwin mistakes or turnovers. The Braves tied it only temporarily in the third quarter, giving up a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to Johnny Williams. But Baldwin regrouped and took a 28-21 lead into the fourth quarter, taking a two-score lead early in the fourth on a TD pass. Baldwin improved into a three-way tie for fourth with Westside and Howard.
Griffin 35, Howard 16
Griffin took out a Bibb County team for the second straight week, knocking off Westside 35-14 last week. The Bears solidified themselves in third place after storming out to a 35-3 lead. Howard fell into a three-way tie for fourth with Westside and Baldwin.
Class AAA
No. 8 Peach County 54, Upson-Lee 0
The Trojans took sole possession of Region 2 in a big way, with their largest margin of victory since a two-week romp last year of 58-0 over Sumter County and 62-0 over Pike County. It’s Upson-Lee’s worst loss since 61-7 to Appling County in the first round of the 2020 playoffs, and drops the Knights into a tie for second with Jackson, who Upson-Lee beat last week.
Class AA
ACE 44, Rutland 30
The Hurricanes hung with the Gryphons, never letting ACE pull away. ACE led 28-12 in the second quarter, and Rutland cut it to 28-18 and then 28-24. The lead grew to 35-24, and dropped to 35-30 before ACE sealed it. The win put ACE into a two-way tie for second with Northeast, which lost to Spencer, which hosts ACE in the regular-season finale.
Central 63, Jordan 0
The Chargers scored 70 percent of their season’s points total against feeble Jordan. It’s Central’s first 50-point game since 52-28 over Jordan on Sept. 11, 2015.
Dodge County 47, No. 2 Cook 37
The Indians (4-5/3-2) disrupted the Region 1 race with their first win over a ranked team since only last season, when they won twice. It’s the first home loss this season for Cook (6-2/3-1), which had won five straight, three by double figures. It was also the most points given up by Cook since losing 52-7 to 5A power Ware County to open last season.
Spencer 14, No. 9 Northeast 13
The Greenwave Owls (6-2/3-0 pulled of a major upset, their first win over a ranked team since beating No. 5/7 Schley County 35-21 in 2019. The Raiders fell into a tie for second with ACE after their first loss to an unranked team team in AA or lower since Dodge County’s 35-21 win over the then-No. 8 Raiders in November of 2020.
No. 3 Thomson 27, No. 10 Putnam County 3
The War Eagles were held to their lowest point total by a Class AA or lower team since a 56-0 loss to No. 4/5 Hapeville Charter in the first round of the 2019 playoffs.
Washington County 42, Butler 6
The Golden Hawks climbed higher into the playoff hunt with their second 40-point game of the season. They scored a touchdown in each of the first three quarters, and put it away with 20 points in the fourth quarter.
Class A/I
No. 10 Bleckley County 49, East Laurens 14
East Laurens was able to hang for a quarter before Bleckley County scored 21 in the second quarter for a 28-7 halftime lead. Jahvon Butler scored three first-half touchdown with TJ Mays adding the fourth.
No. 8 Dublin 51, Jefferson County 0
The Irish were dominant, with a 44-0 halftime lead on a night in which they ran for 354 yards and held Jefferson County to 124 yards total offense. Kameron Hampton went for 122 yards and a score on 9 carries, with Jaquarius Evans adding 105 and two on seven. Demari Foster wasn’t far behind with 92 yards and a score on 7 carries. QB Micah O’Neal completed two passes, one for a touchdown to Trai Baldwin from 24 yards to get the scoring going.
Social Circle 30, Jasper County 0
The Redskins opened Region 5 play with their sixth straight win over Jasper County, which was shut out for the second time in its last three games.
II
GMC 49, Glascock County 29
The Bulldogs took control early with a 14-0 lead after one and a 35-14 advantage at halftime. GMC rushed for 240 yards, led by Caleb Bush’s 97 yards and two touchdowns. Jesse Washington added 79 and one. QB Tyler Saunders was a sizzling 7 of 12 for 183 yards and three touchdowns, to Bush, Ranch Williams, and Isaiah Womble.
Hawkinsville 77, Treutlen 44
By the end of the first quarter, Hawkinsville had more points than it had scored in all but one game this season. The tired teams went scoreless in the second quarter, and the Red Devils were revived after halftime, outscoring the visitors 42-30 in the second half.
No. 4 Johnson County 47, Wilkinson County 6
Johnson County won its third game by 40 points or better, dropping the Warriors from third place.
Macon County 30, Chattahoochee County 6
The Bulldogs took a big step up in the Region 6 standings, beating a team it was tied with. Macon County is at worst now in a tie for third (No score on Greenville-Central, Talbotton had been reported anywhere as of 3 a.m.)
Marion County 17, Taylor County 0
Marion County ran for 273 yards, led by 217 from Kleby Tymes on 25 carries. Taylor County suffered its first shutout of the season.
Hancock Central 64, Twiggs County 6
Wilcox County 53, No. 7 Dooly County 21
Wilcox County took over sole possession of first in Region 4 in a convincing way, with its third-highest point total of the season and fourth 50-point game. The Bobcats suffered their second straight loss, and second-worst of the season (48-6 to Irwin County)
GIAA
Class AAA
Brookstone 38, Westfield 17
A tight 10-7 game at halftime turned into a not-so-tight game, Brookstone taking control with a 21-7 third quarter, scoring three touchdowns in eight minutes. The Hornets were outgained 518-271 on one more snap. Brookstone’s defense “held” QB Hunter Kirkley to 137 yards in the air – on a 14-for-27 night - and 120 running, the Cougars stifling the rest of the Hornets offense to 14 yards
John Milledge 56, FPD 7
The Trojans became the first team to score 50 on the Vikings since Howard won 50-14 to open the 2018 season, and handed FPD its worst loss since 59-7 to Eagle’s Landing Christian in the first round of the GHSA Class A Private state playoffs in 2016. It was 42-0 at halftime, with Briggs Eady having scored from 1, 37, and 25 yards. Baylen Zeilinski had scores of 18 and 1 in that span, catching 107 yards worth of passes. The Trojans outgained the Vikings 361-63 on the ground and 203-149 through the air, on half has many completions, inwinnng their 45th straight game. Javian Butts ran for 128 yards and backup QB Kolt McMichael passed for 130 yards. FPD’s Jakhari Williams threw for 149 yards on 12 of 26 passing.
Stratford 41, Mount de Sales 14
Keondre Glover got the Eagles on the board early with a 2-yard run three minutes into the game, adding a 38-yard in the final minute of the first quarter. And then a 41-yarder less than three minutes into the second quarter helping the Eagles to a 41-0 halftime lead.
AA/A
Gatewood 38, Edmund Burke 28
Brentwood 48, Piedmont 12
Central Fellowship 42, Terrell 14
Fullington 29, Flint River 7
Aidan Price went for 276 yards and 3 touchdowns on 27 carries to lead Fullington, which rushed for 378 yards.