Central Georgia Sports ReportComment

HS 🏈 roundup: Mary Persons holds off Peach County; Perry pulls away from Baldwin; Dublin sharp in rout; shutouts for Upson-Lee, Lamar County, Westfield; 56th straight for John Milledge

Central Georgia Sports ReportComment
HS 🏈 roundup: Mary Persons holds off Peach County; Perry pulls away from Baldwin; Dublin sharp in rout; shutouts for Upson-Lee, Lamar County, Westfield; 56th straight for John Milledge

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By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com 

🏈 Any update will be around 11 a.m. Saturday, based on new information contributions from teams over night. Thanks to Northside for a box score, and Jasper County and ACE for information.

🏈 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.

🏈 Thanks to John Milledge for a game box Friday night, to Perry for offensive stats, and Mary Persons for some info.

Class 5A
Jones County 35, Dutchtown 28
          A defensive stand early followed by a Jones County score, Zion Ragins scoring for 19 and then powering his way in for a strong 18-yard score. A huge 72-yard pass play from Devin Edmonds to Javon Solomon was for naught when the Greyhounds (6-2/4-0) barely missed a fourth-and-18 down conversion. The teams traded interceptions, but Jones County did something, Edmonds hitting Tyler Stewart for a 60-yard catch-and-run score for a 14-0 halftime lead. Dutchtown (2-5/1-2) tied it at 21 with six minutes left in the game, only for the Greyhounds to quickly get a 65-yard pass play to Stewart and then a pick six from Deterrence Holloway Jr., less than two minutes later, Dutchtown adding a final score in the final minute. Ragins led Jones County on the ground with 72 yards on 11 carries. Edmonds was 9 of 18 for 267 yards, three touchdowns and two picks. Stewart was money, with four catches for 179 yards and three touchdowns.

Class 4A
Perry 33, Baldwin 16
          Baldwin was threatening to be the first region team to beat the Panthers at Herb St. John since the last region team beat the Panthers anywhere, Spalding 31-16 at Perry on Oct. 1, 2021. But the Panthers, down seven at halftime, were revived in the second half and outscored Baldwin 24-0 in the second half. Lamar Pounds got Baldwin going early with a keeper, and the Braves added a conversion. Perry stalled and kicked a field goal, then scored on Ahmad Gordon’s short run to lead 9-8. Micah Welch went right for 40 yards and a score, Baldwin adding the conversion for a 16-9 lead with 7:50 left in the second quarter. A hustle play by Perry’s Maurice Hayes Jr. – he shoved Jacobe Jackson out of bounds at the end of a long gain, causing a fumble Perry recovered inside the 5 to stop the threat. Baldwin ended Perry’s trip near the red zone with an interception. Welch broke off a run of nearly 90 yards, but again, the Braves couldn’t convert, and led 16-9 at halftime. The second half was all Perry, starting with a field goal two minutes into the third to pull within four. Baldwin turned it over on downs, and Perry converted with a rushing touchdown for an 18-16 lead with three minutes left in the third. Another rushing score early in the fourth put the Panthers in control of the Braves, who suffered yet again from momentum-killing mistakes. Backup quarterback Cullen McDaniel, in for injured starter Colter Ginn (thumb) showed up and went 14 of 21 for 175 yards, with two interceptions. Gordon ran for 201 yarsd and two scores on 29 carries, and Dakarai Anderson caught six passes for 66 yards. Welch had nearly 170 yards at halftime, but the Braves offense was held without a first down in the second half until the final two minutes.

Spalding 43, West Laurens 6
          The fifth-ranked Jaguars 8-0/4-0) rolled out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead and it was a 37-6 game at halftime. West Laurens (2-5/0-3) battled Spalding 33-24 last year.

Class 3A
Mary Persons 13, Peach County 7
          The winner in the previous 20 games in this series had scored ast least 30 points in the last six games, and in 11 overall. It was a scoreless tie through three quarters as the teams – as did everybody in Central Georgia – battled mist and rain and slipping and a wet ball. A sack by 94 ended a Peach County threat inside the 10 at the end of the first half. A field goal try by Mary Persons early in the third was blocked. Naturally, Duke Watson broke the shutout with a 23-yard scoring run 39 seconds into the fourth quarter. After a big gain by quarterback Nemo Jones, Watson added to the lead from 8 yards out a little at the 7:42 mark, only for the PAT to be blocked. A 34-yard pass from DJ Hudson to Sammy Williams and a fourth-down conversion set up a 5-yard run from quarterback D.J. Hudson at the 4:22 mark. Peach County recovered the onside kick at midfield after it bounced off a Bulldog helmet. An intentional grounding call sabotaged that drive, and Mary Persons (7-1/2-0) ran the clock down to inside a minute, the Trojans (2-5/0-1) taking over on their 49 with 49.2 seconds left. They lost a few yards, and the final pass attempt and lateral was quickly stopped to preserve the Bulldogs’ win. Watson ran 24 times for 150 yards, and Mac Nelson was 7 of 10 for 107 yards.

Upson-Lee 43, Jackson 0
          The Knights put it away with a 35-0 halftime lead en route to their fourth straight shutout and fifth game this season with at least 35 points. The last time Upson-Lee (7-1/2-0) had three shutouts in a season was in 1994 when the Knights went 8-3. Ja’quan Bentley had 108 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries at halftime, the Knights with 187 yards on the ground. They held Jackson to minus-24 yards through the first two quarters.

Class AA
Sumter County 17, Dodge County 0
          The Indians’ longshot hopes for the postseason were pretty much finished with their second-worst loss of the year and first shutout since the start of the 2021 season. Dodge County fell to 1-7/0-4 while Sumter County is 4-3/2-1.

Class A/Division I
GIAA 3A Brookstone 64, Crawford County 16
          The trip home from Columbus was a disappointing one for the Eagles after the worst loss since falling 66-0 to 6A power Lee County in September of 2020. Crawford County (1-7) lost its sixth straight to a GIAA school.

Dublin 65, Dooly County 21
          The homestanding Irish (5-2) flexed some muscles in a big way to roll to the non-region win with their highest point total of the season, and since putting 71 up on East Laurens last year. Xavier Bostic’s run followed less than two minutes later, after recovering the kick, by Micah O’Neal’s pass to Willie Batts put the Irish up 13-0 four minutes into the game. Demarco Foster’s 40-yard run made it 22-7 with 4:18 left in the first. Malachi O’Neal’s short run made is 44-21 at the half.

Swainsboro 63, East Laurens 0
          The Tigers put it away astonishingly early, going up 44-0 after a quarter, and resting in a scoreless second quarter. East Laurens (2-5/0-1) suffered its first shutout of the season.

Lamar County 23, Temple 0
          The Trojans (6-2/1-0) took care of business against scrappy Temple (4-4/0-1), looking to break a 10-game region losing streak. Qua Hughley broke the scoreless tie with a 10-yard run 38 seconds into the second quarter, Ty Head going in from the 2 eight minutes later, the Trojans missing both PATs for a 12-0 halftime lead. The third quarter was a mutual shutout and Caleb Miller’s 32-yard field goal five seconds into the forth made it 15-, Kaden Carter closing out the scoring with a 12-yard sore at the 5:51 mark of the fourth quarter. Lamar County (6-2/1-0) recorded its third shutout in four games. The last time the Trojans - who outgained Temple 393-102 - had this many blankings was in 2012 when they had four in a state semifinal season.

Class A/Division II
GMC 34, Hancock Central 22
          GMC (2-6/1-2) led 27-8 at halftime only for Hancock Central (34-/1-1) to creep back into the game, the Bulldogs closing out.

Schley County 45, Taylor County 6
          The Vikings’(5-2/3-1) upset hopes were shoved aside quickly as top-ranked Schley County (7-0/4-0) marched out to a 24-6 halftime lead. The loss broke Taylor County’s five-game winning streak, and was the biggest margin of defeat since 51-7 to Manchester to end the 2021 regular season.

Wilkinson County 28, Twiggs County 0
          The teams played a few weeks ago, Wilkinson County winning 49-0. And with a bye week, they apparently decided to play again in a non-region game.

GIAA
Class AAA
Tattnall 47, Mount Sales 14
          The Trojans had little trouble with their city rival, leading 21-6 after one and 34-6 at halftime en route to improving to 4-4/1-1, the Cavs falling to 0-7/0-2. Antone Johnson went for 161 yards and three touhdowns on the ground for the Trojans.

John Milledge 40, Stratford 6
          The visiting team led for awhile in Milledgeville, courtesy of Stebin Horne’s 29-yard field goal. Then Javian Butts scored at the end of the first quarter for a 7-3 lead. Bud Veal scored twice, on runs of 20 and 29 yards before Horne added another field goal, and it was 26-6 at halftime, the Trojans on the way to their 56th-straight win. Butts added an 80-yard run and Veal a 3-yarder in the fourth quarter for JMA’s fifth 40-point game this year. Butts went for 294 rushing yards on a night when the Trojans gained 491 on the ground. Stratford rushed for 171 yards but was 0 for 7 passing.

Westfield 52, Heritage 0

          Westfield (4-4/1-1) recorded its highest point total since last year (63-34 win over Tiftarea) and biggest margin of victory since thumping Monroe Academy 55-0 in 2002. It’s Westfield’s first shutout since last year’s 35-0 win over Heritage (3-4/0-1).

Class AA
Central Fellowship 35, Trinity Christian 6
          The Lancers returned to form, storming out to a 28-0 halftime lead, and holding onto a shutout until the midway point of the fourth quarter.

Gatewood 34, Fullington 6
          Fullington felt good early with a 6-0 lead, but it didn’t last long, the Gators scoring two touchdowns before the end of the first quarter en route t a 27-6 halftime lead.

Briarwood over Piedmont, no final score as of 3 a.m.