By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

Sometimes, Rusty Easom’s long ride home from Rutland to his home in Senoia, a little west of Griffin, can drag on.

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Not so, early Saturday morning.

The Rutland head coach finally got home around 3 a.m., and spent the entire trip on the phone.

Well, there was his first game as a head coach to talk about, and it was a big one.

Rutland never trailed Friday night, and popped Hawkinsville 44-21 at Bobby Gentry Stadium to break a 23-game losing streak.

“They were just all so happy,” said Easom, the former defensive coordinator at East Coweta hired in January.

Easom could only laugh at some of the reaction.

“I had a couple of ‘em call me the GOAT (greatest of all time),” he said. “I’m not the GOAT, I can promise you that. I’m just so happy for ‘em, man. I can’t hardly talk about it without getting emotional.”

But he has Rutland 1-0 for the first time since 2013, and almost halfway to last year’s entire scoring total.

The Hurricanes have the most players in uniform than in years, but there’s not much depth, and Easom estimated maybe two dozen players saw action Friday night.

Tyson Royal, Kejean Searcy, Otto Foreman IV, and Jaquavious Ellington were among those going both ways. On the list of projected starters Easom provided heading into preseason practice, there were only seven seniors.

The Hurricanes went up 6-0, and then trailed 13-6 before taking a 14-13 lead. Two more touchdowns in the second quarter got the Hurricanes rolling to a 26-13 halftime lead.

“I was probably more nervous coming out of the locker room at halftime than I was to start the game,” he said. “I was worried that they thought it’s over with, that we’re done. There was a lot of work to be done.”

Not folding after giving up two touchdowns and then not getting inexplicably cocky – quite possible with teen agers, even after 23 straight losses – after taking a two-score lead is a sign of the Hurricanes’ progress.

Not bad for a group that had, by Easom’s recollection, 14 fumbles in the spring game.

Easom estimated running back Jessie Phelps to have cracked the 200-yard mark rushing. He was thrilled, if not a bit surprised, to get three takeaways on defense.

Thursday’s game-like walk-through gave Easom a little extra belief that Rutland was on target. The Hurricanes go through a game routine, no yapping on the sidelines, only business.

“It’s like a game, so you go out and kick off, and the offense goes out and they score, and you do PAT,” he said. “It’s called a ‘mock game.’”

He told the players there’s no talking – “it better be about football” - or silliness despite just going in helmets.

“They were communicating, they knew the calls, and the execution up front on the offensive line,” he said. “They were really sharp and focused.

“That’s when I knew we’re ready to play.”

Easom is happy to get the streak-breaker early, so the losses and talk of the losses, especially in the hallways, no longer linger.

“Had a kid tell one of the players this past week – the principal was sitting there of all things,” Easom said. “She asked one of the players about the game, and the kid piped up and was like, ‘I’m betting on the other team.’

“So she snatched him outta class and they went to the office for a conversation.”

Just Rutland’s luck, though.

The Hurricanes go so long without a win, and there’s no school Monday for Labor Day or Tuesday because of a teacher work day.

So by the time the players can accept the congratulations that have been so long in coming, they’ll be deep into preparation for Houston County. Easom’s happy task will be putting that long-awaited win in the rearview mirror while keeping the Hurricanes focused on the coming Friday.

“I know what it feels like, and I know what it takes to get there,” Easom said. “I’m just so happy to finally get that monkey off their back.”

Thursday

Brentwood 31, Trinity Christian 0

Friday

ACE 35, Notre Dame 21

Harris County 48, Westside 37
Harris County trailed 7-0, then took an 8-7 lead minutes later to start the back-and-forth. Harris County led 21-20 at halftime, and it was tied at 34 with five minutes left in the third. The 5A Tigers took a one-score lead early in the fourth and kept it.

Houston County 35, Central 7
The Bears improved to 2-0, getting going early en route to a 21-0 second quarter lead. Central broke the shutout in the final few minutes.

Howard 42, FPD 21
FPD looked a little sharper in the scoreless first quarter, but Howard (1-1) started showing its speed and size in a 21-6 second quarter en route to the road win. The Huskies racked up 451 yards in total offense, 289 coming on the ground with a balanced attack of Jeremiah Kelly (17-103) and Javarsia Meadows (15-107). QB Jaylon Clark was solid, completing 9 of 13 for 162 yards and two scores, one each to Meadows (120 yards on five catches) and Kelly (1-23), adding 79 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. The Vikings (0-1) had 164 yards in offense, 112 from QB Parker Ingram, who went 14 for 29. Harrison Aulds caught four passes for 61 yards. Elizabeth Rodenroth was perfect on all six PATs.

Johnson County 48, East Laurens 7

Jones County 27, Baldwin 0
The Braves have been here before, like last year. Jones County scored less than last year, but came up with a shutout for a margin only three points off the 2018 meeting. It was Jones County's first shutout since 2013 when the Greyhounds had three but only finished 5-5.

Lamar County 27, Greenville 0
Lamar County is 2-0 for the first time since 2016, the same year of its last shutout, 27-0 over Marion County.

Mary Persons 36, Jackson 29
Rico Harden turned a fourth-and-1 into a game-winning touchdown inside the final minutes, and Mary Persons broke up a “hail Mary” pass inside the 10 on the final play. The Bulldogs took advantage of turnovers and led 19-0 after one, Harden with two touchdowns and William Stewart one (80-yard run). The Red Devils got one score back before halftime, but the lead grew to 29-7 after Andre Jackson returned a fumble 42 yards for atouchdown with 4:14 left in the third. Jackson crept back and tied it at 29 with 5:04 left in the game. The Bulldogs (1-1) avoided their first loss to Jackson since 2012.

Mount de Sales 40, Landmark Christian 12
The Cavs more than doubled the War Eagles in yardage, pulling away with 33 points in the middle quarters. Josiah Cotton got MdS going with a 15-yard TD run midway through the first, and Landmark Christian answered midway through the second, but the conversion failed for a 7-6 Cavs lead. Dexter Williams went 69 yards right after the LC score, and Ethan Aler’s kick made it 14-6 with 5:24 left in the half. The lead grew barely two minutes later when Williams connected with A’Khori Jones for a 33-yard score and a 21-6 halftime lead. Cotton went in from 40, and Williams threw scoring passes to Drew Sheen and Jones of 52 and 40 yards for the third-quarter scoring.
Williams was 8 of 12 for 220 yards and three touchdowns passing, adding 51 yards on five carries and a score. Cotton gained 78 yards on seven carries with two touchdowns. Seen and Jones teamed for six catches and 137 yards receiving.

Oglethorpe County 14, GMC 7
The Bulldogs got in their own way with flags and penalties, losing to a team they beat 35-7 last year. GMC had won three straight over Oglethorpe County by 28, 17, and 14 points.

Pacelli 20, Crawford County 19

Perry 36, Northeast 20

Rutland 44, Hawkinsville 21
The head coaching debut of Rusty Easom was almost dream-like as the Hurricanes broke a 23-game losing streak, thumping a team that had won 24-7 last year in Macon. Rutland’s point total – boosted by a late touchdown by a backup – is 49.4 percent of last year’s total scoring (89 points) and 39.3 percent of the mark in 2017. It’s the seventh-highest point total in program history, and the victory margin was the biggest since beating Spencer 26-0 in 2014.
Jessie Phelps and Triston Thompson each ran for two touchdowns and Thompson passed for another. Jamarco Hughes and Tyson Royal had interceptions and Jamarion Marshall a fumble recovery. Rutland is 1-0 for the first time since 2013, a 6-5 playoff year, when it topped Southwest 41-7.

Savannah Country Day 20, Stratford 7
The Hornets had lost four straight to Stratford, but are now on a two-game winning streak over the Eagles. The score was different by a point from last year, a 21-7 SCD win. The Eagles broke the shutout in the final seconds after converting a fourth-and-1.

Temple 55, Putnam County 21

Toombs County 24, Hancock Central 0

Upson-Lee 28, East Paulding 27
U-L led 28-14 in the fourth only for East Paulding to score twice, and missed the second conversion. The Raiders – aided by a very short Knights possession of three incompletions - eventually reached the 1 inside the final minute, but the quarterback went from shotgun to under center suddenly and fumbled the snap. A conference later, the Knights had the ball with five seconds left, the East Paulding coaching staff arguing vociferously. One play later, it was over. Upson-Lee QB Jake Davis passed for 217 yards and three scores, while Milique Smith ran 25 times for 110 yards. East Paulding had more than 425 yards in total offense.

Warner Robins 43, Locust Grove 7

The Demons were more in control than last year, when they held on for a wild 50-40 win.

Washington County 28, Jefferson County 20
The Golden Hawks led from the start, 14-0 after onee and 14-7 at halftime, adding a touchdown four minutes into the third. They took a 21-14 lead into the fourth, Jefferson County recovered a fumble for a touchdown but missed the PAT with 10:43 left. Washington County (2-0) added a touchdown at the 4:07 mark.

West Laurens 16, Crisp County 13
Defensive standouts Spencer Dacus, D’Eryk Jackson, and Daniel Dorsey, among others, did their thing to lead the Raiders (2-0) to the road win. Dorsey had two picks and Jackson one, Daniel Lindo and T.J. Jones adding to the defensive effort. QB A.J. Mathis passed for two touchdowns to become the program’s career leader in that stat.

Wilcox County 46, Wilkinson County 2

Worth County 37, Dooly County 7

Veterans 28, Bleckley County 10

GISA/GAPPS

Central vs. Fullington

Deerfield Windsor 19, Westfield 14

John Milledge 37, Gatewood 0
The Trojans (1-0) were steady, with a touchdown in each of the first three quarters and two in the fourth along with a safety. Amaad Foston ran for touchdowns of 18, 42, and 10 yards, en route to 155 yards for the night. Kelvin Jackson caught a 16-yard TD pass from Patrick McDonell, who added a 1-yard scoring run. The last time Gatewood (1-1) was shut out? Nov. 18, 2016, 17-0 to John Milledge in the GISA 3A state title game.

John Hancock at Thomas Jefferson

Piedmont at Monsignor Donovan

Trinity Christian at Brentwood

Saturday

Peach County at Northside