Central Georgia's HS football roundup: Game-winning FGs for Warner Robins, Macon County; Perry Ds up; Mary Persons handles it at home; Tattnall knocks out 10-0, FPD wins, and more
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
GHSA
Class 6A
No. 11 Woodward 27, No. 9 Houston County 7
For only the second time this season was Houston County (9-3) held to seven points or less, and only the third time to less than 26 points. Woodward, meanwhile, held its ninth opponent in 12 games to eight points or less. The Houston County defense had trouble getting off the field, although it was a scoreless first quarter and the Bears held Woodward (10-2) to a field goal early in the second quarter. But the hosts got the ball back on downs and turned it into a touchdown run four minutes into the quarter. Woodwardâs line and linebackers kept the pressure on QB Antwann Hill with several sacks. A 23-yard TD run with four minutes left in the second quarter put the War Eagles up 17-0. A nice run by Ryan Taleb set up Hillâs 69-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Johnson, the Bears pulling within 17-7 with about three minutes left in the half. Both teams battled through some sluggish play and mistakes, Woodward all but putting it away with a rushing touchdown three minutes into the third quarter. Houston County survived a muffed punt in its own territory, and soon got inside the 10 only for a penalty to negate one play just before fumbling. The War Eagles took advantage of some subpar tackling to kill time, then got a break when they fumbled and the Bears recovered only to give it back on the same play. Breakdowns continued, and the hosts added a field goal in the final minutes.
Class 5A
Warner Robins 23, Ware County 21
The Demons were down by one with 62 seconds left, Ware County taking the lead after gaining possession following a missed Warner Robins field goal. Warner Robins started the next drive off poorly, but a 25-yard pass from Judd Anderson to Isiah Canion put the Demons on the 25 with two seconds left. On came Alfred Medina, who missed that kick only minutes earlier. No problem, for Medina drilled the game-winner with room to spare and push the 9-3 Demons into the quarterfinals for the seventh straight year and 11th time this century. The scoring came early, Myles Joynerâs interception setting up Rasean Dinkinsâ short run for a 6-0 lead. The Anderson-Canion connection hooked up for a 72-yard score and a 13-0 lead with just less than five minutes left in the first. Ware County fumbled on first and goal and Warner Robins covered it in the end zone, the Gators then getting an interception, all in the first quarter. A 54-yard touchdown pass pulled the Gators within six, and they took the lead on a short run with four minutes left in the half. Not for long, the Demons needing few plays and little time to get an 8-yard run from Dinkins and the PAT for a 20-14 halftime lead. The teams muddled through the third quarter â including a blocked field goal by Warner Robins - and most of the fourth. The Gators were held on a fourth-and-goal, then had a short field after a punt only to to be picked off by Dinkins in the end zone. Medinaâs 34-yard field goal was wide right, and Ware County took over with 3:19 left, going ahead with 1:02 left. The Gators looked like they were going for two, but settled for a kick and a 21-20 lead.
No. 1 Coffee 45, Jones County 14
The Greyhounds were hanging with the Trojans (12-0) for three quarters, trailing only 24-14 â tying the most points Coffee had given up in a game all season. Coffee got a score early in the fourth, but the Greyhounds (8-4) couldnât counter, the Trojans sealing it with about three minutes left. Jones County junior QB Devin Edmonds was 18 of 36 for 217 yards and two scores, but suffered three interceptions, entering the game with only eight all season. Tyler Stewart caught 9 passes for 111 yards and Zion Ragins 3 for 102, but the Greyhounds managed only 75 yards rushing. The Trojans improved to 12-0 for the first time since 1982 when it lost to Valdosta â after two region playoff games â 29-18 in the state quarters. Jones County finished with its eighth eight-win season since 2014, after hitting eight wins only five times in program history (unofficially, dating back to 1945, according to the Georgia High School Football Historians Association).
Class 4A
No. 5T Perry 7, No. 2T Bainbridge 3
With perfect weather, the offenses couldnât get going. Bainbridge (9-3) went up 3-0 almost midway through the first quarter, then got an interception and drove again, only for Perryâs defense to bow up and then block a field goal. The defense kept winning until a pass from QB Colter Ginn â back from injury â to Kory Pettigrew set up Ahmad Gordonâs 47-yard touchdown run in the final minutes of the second quarter. Bainbridge then threatened only to give it back on downs at the Perry 25. The punts and stalls continued, Perry (10-2) with a fourth-down stop. The Panthers then combined clutch defense with enough clock-eating offense to hold on. Ginn was 11 of 16 for 75 yards on his return, and Gordon went for 125 yards on 23 carries. The defenses dominated a game of two offense-oriented teams, Perry holding Bainbridge to 37 points below its average, the Bearcats holding the Panthers to 35 below their norm. It was the lowest point total for Bainbridge since a 42-0 shutout by Marist in the 2020 semifinals, also at home. It was the fewest points in a Perry game since an 11-0 loss to Monroe to open the 2015 season. The Panthers lost 7-3 to Mary Persons in the middle of the 2005 season.
Class 3A
No. 3 Mary Persons 42, No. 10T Crisp County 20
The karma was on the Bulldogsâ side early, when a Crisp County pass was just behind a receiver, who bobbled it right into the arms of Christian Stewart, who took it in 34 yards for an early score. The Cougars followed a long kickoff return with a tying score a few minutes later. A long Duke Watson run set up a jet sweep pass to Seth Davis, who battled only to fumble into the end zone, a teammate recovering for the touchdown. QB Mac Nelson and Davis then hooked up on a sweet lob throw into the end zone for a 23-yard score and 21-7 lead. The Cougars answered, and then quickly got a pick-6, but missed the PAT and trailed by one. The next time Mary Persons lined up, though, Watson went left and outside and didnât stop until he finished a 70-yard TD run. The Bulldogs got some cushion late in the first half on Nelsonâs short keeper for a 35-20 lead. It stayed that way until Stewart struck again, blasting up the middle foa 49-yard score with only 3:33 left in the game. The Bulldogs reached the 11-win mark for the fifth time in head coach Brian Nelsonâs 12 seasons. By comparison, Mary Persons didnât reach double-digit wins under Dan Pitts until his 16th season (1974), and he get his fifth until his 21st (1979), ending with 16 in 39 years.
No. 9 Carver-Columbus 8, Upson-Lee 7
A week after breaking the hearts of Savannah Country Day with an epic comeback, Upson-Leeâs hearts were broken amid one of its best defensive performances in years, coming two weeks after a sterling defensive night in a 15-0 loss to quarterfinalist Mary Persons. Carver was held to less than 10 points for only the fifth time since 2017. Upson-Leeâs only score was defensive, and it put the Knights up midway through the second quarter. Jeremiah Search followed a strip sack by grabbing the ball for a scoop and score, Caleb Beverly putting the Knights up. They went three and out after an interception, and the defensive slugfest continued, neither offense able to muster much of anything normal. Carver came up with an interception and then a score on a throwback pass. A QB dive on the conversion gave the Tigers the lead in the final 75 seconds of the third quarter. Upson-Lee was wounded by an intentional grounding call, but the defense kept stepping up. Mistakes cropped up again, but Upson-Lee drove inside the 30. The Knights tried a 36-yard field goal that was short, but Carver called time. Upson-Leeâs next try was again short, and Carver took over with two minutes left, and was able to close it out.
Class A/Division I
Irwin County 31, No. 3T Bleckley County 0
Facing one of the smaller classificationsâ top programs with hopes of getting a statement win, Bleckley County (9-3) instead suffered it first shutout under seventh-year head coach Von Lassiter, and worst loss under him since falling 54-20 in October of 2018 to No. 8/6 Washington County. Irwin County (7-5) recorded its first shutout since last yearâs second round, and only its third since early in the 2021 season (63-0, Wilkinson County). The Indians have gotten past the first two rounds for the seventh straight time, and under three head coaches.
No. 11 Brooks County 22, No. 6 Dublin 7
The Irish were held to single digits for the second time this season, both times by teams outside the top 10 (10-7, ECI, Sept. 8). Dublin entered the game having scored 65, 62, 63, 41, and 49 pints since losing 42-28 to Bleckley County. Kameron Hamptonâs 40-yard score put Dublin (9-3) up at the 2:04 mark of the first quarter. But that was it offensively, Brooks County taking the lead back with a short rushing touchdown about three minutes into the second quarter. It remained a one-possession battle through a 28-yard Brooks County field goal late in the third quarter. The Irish got inside the 45 a few times in the fourth quarter, turning it over on downs inside the 30 midway through the fourth. The Trojans converted an interception in Dublin territory into a clinching score with about three minutes left.
No. 8 Swainsboro 18, No. 9 Lamar County 6
The battle of linemen and running backs went to the visitors, who held the hosts to under 10 points for the second time this season, joining 3A Upson-Lee (38-7 in August). The Trojans (9-3) lost in the second round for the second straight year, falling 27-23 to Bleckley County a year ago, also at home. Almost shockingly, Swainsboroâs first score came on a 39-yard touchdown pass at the 4:05 mark of the first quarter, the Tigers running for two. They added a 17-yard run and conversion in the final minute of the second quarter for a 16-0 halftime lead. A bad punt snap led to a safety four minutes into the fourth quarter for an 18-0 lead, the Trojans breaking the shutout on Ty Headâs 3-yard run a minute after the safety.
Class A/Division II
Macon County 38, Aquinas 35, OT
The gamble of Jose Gutierrez trying his fourth field goal of the season paid off. The senior drilled a 30-yarder to give Macon County the win in overtime of an offensive thriller. Heâs now 3 of 4 on field goals this season, and matched his season long. The see-saw game got rolling with Aquinasâ 50-yard TD pass with 8:18 left in the first answered three minutes later by Macon County. The Bulldogs went ahead early in the second quarter, the Irish countering six minutes later. Macon County went up a score only for Aquinas to get a 5-yard TD run in the final minute of the second quarter for a 21-all game at halftime. The Bulldogs needed six minutes to follow the Irishâs third-quarter score, tying it at 28 until midway through the fourth quarter when Aquinas got a 45-yard scoring run. Brian Harris connected with Tyler Felder for a 24-yard score two minutes later, Gutierrez tying it with the PAT. Aquinas missed a field goal in the final minute. The Bulldogs reached the double-digit win total for the fourth time in head coach Dexter Copelandâs nine seasons, their best run since seven such seasons in eight under C.B. Cornett from 1990-97.
GIAA
Class 4A
No. 5 Tattnall 34, No. 4 Bethlehem Christian 20
Tattnall had the number of undefeated Bethlehem Christian early on. Antone Johnsonâs 17-yard run put the Trojans up midway through the first quarter, and Braxton Collins added a 15-yarder almost four minutes later for a 14-0 lead. It grew to 21-0 on another Collins run in the final 90 seconds of the first quarter. A high snap on a punt led to Bethlehem Christianâs first score almost three minutes into the second quarter, but the Trojans got it back in the final minute on Johnsonâs fourth-and-10 pass for 30 yards and a score to Ty Hunnicutt. BC got within two touchdowns twice in the second half, but Tattnall (5-6) was too much.
No. 1 FPD 23, No. 9 Strong Rock 13
FPD went up 14-0 early, on Jakhari Williams TD passes, of 8 yards to Hayden Aulds and then with a nice 17-yard pass-and-catch with Carter Hays. Strong Rock kicked two third-quarter field goals to one for FPD (7-2-1), the Vikings all but sealing it with a 17-yard Williams run at the 10:43 mark of the fourth quarter. Strong Rock got a short run a little more than two minutes later, but the Vikings defense shut the door after that. Aulds ran for 118 yards on 18 carries, Williams surviving sacks and pressure to complete 14 of 19 for 169 yards and two scores. Hays caught seven passes for 81 yards, Benjamin McElreath four for 56. Strong Rock passed for 205 yards, but managed only 31 yards on 24 carries.
Class 3A
No. 1 John Milledge 48, Tiftarea 19
Win No. 61 straight was as uneventful as most of the previous 60. It as only 14-6 after one, JMA getting TD passes from Kolt McMichael to Jalan Butts and Bud Veal. Javian Butts ran in a score from 17 yards, and then Jalan Butts returned a kickoff 78 yards for another one, McMichael connecting with Veal again, for 39 yards, to finish a 21-6 second quarter for a 35-12 halftime lead. Javian Butts went for 148 yards and McMichael passed for 205, Veal catching 94 yards worth for the Trojans, who racked up 426 yards in total offense and picked off three passes.
Class AA
No. 3 Briarwood 21, No. 6 Brentwood 6
No. 5 SW Georgia 42, No. 4 Central Fellowship 14
No. 1 Edmund Burke 35, No. 8 Piedmont 0
No. 2 Gatewood 54, Augusta Prep 12
The Gators passed 50 points for the second time this season, and second time against Augusta Prep. Gatewood won 62-6 in early September over Augusta Prep. The Gators have won at least nine games in six of head coach Jeff Ratliffâs 11 seasons.