Saturday Afternoon QB: One big game, a few upsets, some quality wins, quality losses
(May be updated)
Big ‘n
FPD 49, Tattnall 28
The rematch bore only one resemblance to the first game. FPD won.
This time, the Vikings started taking some control in the second quarter with three touchdowns en route to a 28-14 halftime lead.
And impressively, they maintained that, at a minimum.
Dalton Cox was a monster, scoring on a pair of 1-yard runs, and adding touchdown passes of 66 and 72 yards to Titus Moore and 23 and 4 to Dillian Rosado.
Moore caught nine passes for a ridiculous 205 yards, and Cox was a nifty 20 of 31 for 375 yards, four touchdowns and one interceptions.
Tattnall couldn’t run its way back into the game, trying only three passes and completing none.
The 49 points scored by FPD? Athens Academy has given up only 29 more points alllll season. But 20 came from 2-8 Riverside Military and 14 from 6-5 Hebron Christian.
Upsets
Baldwin 21, Eastside 16
The Braves won by the same score they lost to ranked Class 5A Griffin in midseason.
Lincoln County 28, Taylor County 12
Losing on the road to a traditional power is no shocker, but few thought this was a double-digit game either way.
Dooly County 56, Trion 35
The Bobcats have been rolling, and the upset here is clearly the spread. It was Dooly County’s biggest playoff win since 37-13 over Lincoln County in 2013, and a nice turnaround from last year’s 42-0 first-round loss. Dooly County won three playoff games in the runner-up year of 2012 by only 9, 6 and 3, so this was impressive.
The computer said …
Eastside by 7, lost by 5; Tattnall by 2, lost by 21; Taylor County by 1, lost by 16; Trion by 2, lost by 21.
No surprise
Jones County 32, Griffin 8
Another expected showdown between ranked teams – ala Bainbridge and Warner Robins a few weeks ago – failed to materialize as the home team took control early. In this case, Griffin was remarkably undisciplined, with 12 first-half penalties – mostly of the preventable 5-yard variety - to go with subpar execution. Jones County frustrated the Bears all night to the point of an incident in the stands that led to some players leaving the bench. Good hustle by Griffin prevented a sure touchdown on a long pass, a Bear defender poking the ball out inside the 5 for a touchback, but little else went right for the visitors. Only an ankle injury to QB Teldrick Ross marred the night for Jones County.
Americus-Sumter 27, Howard 13
The Huskies, as some predicted, gave Americus-Sumter plenty to deal with, trailing only 12-7 at halftime. But big plays did in the Huskies, A-S scoring on a 68-yard pass in the third quarter and a 61-yard run in the fourth. Impressive was Howard’s fight: The Huskies’ final score came with less than two minutes left, after it was pretty much decided. That didn’t happen until the 2:52 mark of the fourth quarter, so Howard was down only 20-7 until then. Howard more than held its own, with only two fewer first downs. Take away those two plays – which, of course, one can’t – and the Huskies outgain the Panthers 317-269. So clearly Howard wasn’t knocked around by any stretch. And the Huskies lose only about eight starters.
The computer said …
Jones County by 20, won by 24; Americus-Sumter by 15, won by 13; Mary Persons by 25, won by 27; West Laurens by 6, won by 7; Peach County by 40, won by 45; Dodge County by 39, won by 36; Rockmart over Monticello by 41, won by 40; Screven County by 26, won by 35.
Better than, less than
Warner Robins 30, South Effingham 17
The good news is that the Demons’ lack of sharpness in most areas should lead to a sharp week of practice – and perhaps some extra conditioning – for the second round. Off-kilter passing game, penalties, settling for field goals (and stunningly missing some). One-win South Effingham scored at the end of the game, so this was ostensibly and figuratively a 20-point win, filed in the “a win is a win is a win” folder. But anywhere near the same execution won’t have as positive an ending next week.
Dublin 42, Harlem 0
Dublin in the playoffs looked like Dublin in the playoffs. The Irish made the Bulldogs woozy in the first quarter with a 21-0 lead and Harlem never responded. It was trip down Memory Lane for Dublin: 40 carries, 346 yards, 8.7 a carry, six touchdowns. Jermaine Cooley led with 126 and two on 11 carries, Corteveyas Mitchell right behind with 12-99/1. Worth noting is that this was Dublin’s first playoff shutout since hammering Cook 60-0 in the first round of the 2006 playoffs, which ended with the Irish 14-0-1 and tying Charlton County 13-13 in the championship game at the Shamrock Bowl.
The computer said …
Warner Robins by 38, won by 13; Westside by 25, won by 14; Dublin by 13, won by 42; Darlington by 10, won by 23.