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. Many thanks to ACE, Central Fellowship, Dublin, FPD, Jones County, Stratford, and Tattnall on Friday for sending in postgame information and/or 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 to Central Georgia’s only roundup.

This week
* Thursday’s roundup
* Scouting Reports: This week’s GHSA and GIAA games
* Maxwell Predictions
* Who’s going to win this week’s games
* Central Georgia state composite rankings
* Central Georgia rankings
* Monday Morning Quarterback: Notes, reviews, Loughdmouthings
* Macon Touchdown Club players of the week

Last week
* Roundup: Rivalry nights go to Houston County, Warner Robins; Dublin starts slow, pulls away; more good D from Jasper County; FPD O quieted, JMA stunned again; Brentwood routs GHSA foe
* Scouting Reports: This week’s GHSA and GIAA games
* Maxwell Predictions
* Central Georgia state composite rankings
* Who’s going to win this week’s games?
* Central Georgia rankings
* Monday Morning Quarterback: Notes, reviews, Loughdmouthings
* Macon Touchdown Club players of the week

Class 5A

Warner Robins 54, Houston County 44
          Warner Robins led 7-0, 10-3, 13-10, 27-24, 33-31, and 40-37 into the fourth quarter, while Houston County was up 17-13, 24-13, 31-27, and 37-33 in a game loaded with big plays, like a Rasean Dinkins’ 90-yard kickoff return for a 33-31 lead with 10:33 left in the third. The Bears went up 44-40 on a touchdown pass from Antwann Hill to Austin Stinson with 5 minutes left, only for Skyler Williams to answer on a 5-yard run at the 2:11 mark to give the Demons a 47-44 lead. The Bears went for it on fourth down at their own 20, failed, and Warner Robins’ Da’veon Latimore sealed it with a 10-yard score with 63 seconds left. It’s Warners Robins’ highest point total under second-year head coach Shane Sams. The 98 points set a series record, passing the 92 in Houston County’s 62-30 win in 2014.

Class 4A

Ola 7, Jones County 3
          Ola’s defense did a job on the Greyhounds run game, holding them to 48 yards on 17 carries, though Devin Edmonds completed 21 of 39 for 187 yards and an interception. Ola ran for 112 yards on 32 carries, and completed 4 passes for 70 yards. The Greyhound went up with a 31-yard field goal early in the second quarter, the Mustangs answering later in the quarter. Jones County blocked a third-quarter field goal, then missed its own kick.

Class 3A

Baldwin 51, Cross Creek 22
          The Braves charged out to a 25-0 lead and kept on going for their first win under new head coach Kevin Patterson. Baldwin’s last 50-point game was a 52-12 win over Rutland in 2020.

Mary Persons 55, Fayette County 0
          It was only 14-0 after one, but the Bulldogs doubled that up in the second quarter for a 42-0 halftime lead. Mac Nelson had rushing and passing touchdowns (two in the first half) and several running backs got into the scoring column. The score matched that of Mary Persons’ win over Columbus last season

Peach County 35, Crisp County 7

Upson-Lee 16, Spalding 13
          After reaching the Spalding 5 and turning it over on downs, and then watching the Jaguars miss a field goal with 5:49 left, the Knights got the game-winner on Niko Wells’ 80-yard connection with Bentavious Reviere. Upson-Lee then came up with a defensive stop in the final 90 seconds to hold on.

West Laurens 28, Howard 27
          The Raiders led 21-7 after a 67-yard punt return for a score by Branden Brooks midway through the third quarter, the Huskies answered a few minutes later. They tied with a rushing score about five minutes into the fourth quarter only for the Raiders to retake the lead on their next possession, Ty Cummings going in from 3 yards out. Howard passed for a touchdown inside the final two minutes and went for the win with a conversion attempt, but West Laurens’ defense answered, and the Raiders were able to run out the clock.

Class AA

Lamar County 62, Rutland 7
          The Trojans treated Ed DeFore like home, exploding in the first half for a 31-7 lead, Kaden Carter passing to Ross Hamrick for a 35-yard score, Lamar County getting rushing scores from Caleb Laster and Qua Hughley to with a 64-yard kickoff return from Kenya Barnes and a 32-yard field goal from Caleb Miller. Rutland broke the shutout in the second quarter with a 94-yard kickoff return. Carter, Trace Morton, Jiwin Hamm and Zhaire McGeachy added second-half rushing TDs, Miller good on a 36-yard field goal.

Class A/I

Dodge County 33, ACE 28
          The action went from kickoff to horn, Dodge County was able to hold off upstart program ACE, which led 21-20 at halftime. Ace Hatcher’s 39-yard pass to Brice Whitley set up Hatcher’s short keeper for a 28-20 lead. Dodge County standout Duke Johnson, who already had TD runs of 50 and 12 yards, got the Indians back with a short score, then added the game-winner from 12 yards out. The Indians then broke up a last-minute fourth-down pass in the end zone to preserve the win and survive the game of turnovers. Hatcher ran 19 times for 128 yards and 2 scores, Josiah Harris adding 76 on 14. Whitley had an 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, and Noah Syme a 50-yard interception return.

Dublin 49, Washington County 0
          The band had barely been seated when the Irish took the lead on Micah O’Neal’s 55-yard run, less than three minutes into the game. Four minutes later, Trav Bostic went in from 2 yards, then from 11 2 minutes after that. O’Neal hit Willie Batts with a 26-yarder in the final minute of the first quarter, which ended with Dublin up 27-0. O’Neal added a TD pass and 67-yard punt return in the second quarter for a 40-0 halftime lead. It’s the biggest margin of victory in the series’ 48 games. The Irish outgained the Golden Hawks 300-195 on 29 fewer snaps.

Putnam County 28, Haralson County 3

Class A/II

Hancock Central 76, Josey 6
          The Bulldogs put up a whopping 38 points in the second quarter, en route to a 52-0 halftime lead. They cracked 60 points for the second time this season, and passed the 76-7 win over Crawford County late in the 2020 season.

Manchester 52, Macon County 6

Taylor County 32, GMC Prep 0
          The Vikings got going early and got all they needed by halftime. KJ Dugger’s TD run followed a long pass, then converting an interception into another score late in the first quarter.

GIAA

Class AAA

Athens Academy 47, John Milledge 14
          The GHSA Class A hosts had racked up touchdown yardage of 159 yards on two passes and three rushes to go with a fumble recovery for a score, all in the first half, when Athens Academy did all of its scoring. The Trojans have given up 140 points in four games, more than they allowed eight of head coach J.T. Wall’s 13 seasons. At 1-3, they’re one short of the most losses in a season under Wall, who went 7-4 in his first season. The hosts were held to 90 yards in total offense. Luke Elliott caught a 10-yard pass from David Todd in the third quarter and Carter Ivey went in from 30 yards in the fourth.

FPD 6, Brookstone 3 (for more)
          In a battle of stalling offense, FPD made a fourth-down touchdown pass in the final seconds of the first half stand in a rematch of last year’s GIAA Class 4A state championship game, a 44-24 FPD win. The last Vikings’ game to finish in single digits was a 7-0 loss in 2005 at George Walton. After early turnovers, the Cougars drove 55 yards on their next possession, but FPD’s defense stood up and forced a 27-yard field goal with 4:59 left in the first quarter. The Vikings finally broke through On fourth and 9 at the 20, Major Simmons connected with Benjamin McElreath battling in for the touchdown with nine seconds left in the half. FPD broke up a fourth-down pass on its half of the field in the final minute.

Lakeview Academy 28, Piedmont 20

Stratford 28, Wilkinson County 12
          The Eagles were in a fight through the first half, leading their former GHSA region foe 14-12 at halftime on Chase Spencer’s 8-yard run and Connor Fitzpatrick’s 33-yard pass to Jett Johnston. The Warriors answered with a 15-yard TD pass from Quenterrion Stanford to Terrelle Blount and a fumble return for a score. Fitzpatrick found Sal Phillips for a 34-yard score to get the Eagles going again, and Spencer added an 8-yard run in the third quarter. Spencer ran for 67 and Fitzpatrick 66, the quarterback completing 10 of16 for 156 yards. Stanford went for 230 yards on 15 of 23 passing, neither quarterback throwing an interception.

Tattnall 41, Calvary Christian 7
          While Tattnall’s offense was racking up158 rushing yards and 171 through the air, its defense was holding Calvary Christian to minus 15 yards rushing, and only 3 first downs. Antone Johnson ran for 103 yards on 13 carries with 3 TDs while Tate Morris was hot at quarterback, completing 9 of 11 for 171 yards and 1 TD. Tattnall got TD runs from Braxton Collins and Christian Weeks, while Morris hit Ty Hunnicutt with a 75-yard score.

Terrell 24, Mount de Sales 14
          Down 18-0 early in the fourth quarter and then 24-0, the Cavaliers battled back with late touchdowns.

Class AA

Flint River 37, Central Fellowship 7

Gatewood 16, Southland 13
          The Gators got the game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter.

Lake Oconee 35, Brentwood 34
          The War Eagles got a rushing touchdown with about a minute left, and went for two, but after a Lake Oconee timeout, Brentwood was flagged for a false start. It still went for two, and was stopped. It was tied at 7 after one, Lake Oconee leading 28-21 at halftime. After a scoreless third quarter. Brentwood tied it with a rushing TD about three minutes into the fourth quarter, Lake Oconee answering less than two minutes later.

Trinity Christian 49, Augusta Prep 14
          The Crusaders pulled away after leading 19-7 at halftime. Ben Castro-Poveda completed only 4 passes, but for 129 yards and a score. Wade Register and Ben Helton teamed for 128 rushing yards and 3 TDs. Trinity Christian outgained Augusta Prep 311-298.