Central Georgia Sports ReportComment

HS roundup: Lamar County stunned at home; West Laurens, Peach County cruise, Dublin takes region rematch, Hawkinsville holds on; Stratford, John Milledge, Brentwood are GIAA championship game-bound

Central Georgia Sports ReportComment
HS roundup: Lamar County stunned at home; West Laurens, Peach County cruise, Dublin takes region rematch, Hawkinsville holds on; Stratford, John Milledge, Brentwood are GIAA championship game-bound

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

Class 5A
Houston County 59, Creekview 14
          The Bears cracked the 50-point mark in the playoffs for the third time in nine playoff games under head coach Jeremy Edwards, and won their fourth straight first-round game. They scored a season high and won by their second-biggest margin of the year. The lead was 49-7 at halftime, after Creekview pulled within 14-7 late in the first quarter. Westen Ard got the second-quarter flurry going with a 1-yard run early on, Jeffrey Thomas following Jarrod Henry’s blocked punt with a short run three minutes later for a 28-7 lead. Two big-play scores followed, with Ryan Maxwell hitting MJ Mathis for a 55-yard score and Colin Anderson going in from 63 yards.
Next: 2/2 Houston County at 5/1 Rome (47-16 over Lovejoy)

Class 4A
North Oconee 31, Perry 15
          The Panthers’ streak of non-losing seasons stopped at eight with Perry’s first first-round loss since 2018. The visitors got within 21-7 late in the first half and held North Oconee to only a field goal in the third quarter, but the Titans sealed it with an 18-yard TD pass four minutes into the fourth quarter. The Panthers scored in the final two minutes to avoid being held to single digits for the third time this season.

Warner Robins 28, Eastside 14
          The underdog Demons needed only three minutes to take the lead for good, on Jaden Hill’s short run. After letting a few opportunities slip away, they went up 14-0 on a TD pass with 81 seconds left in the first quarter. Eastside converted an interception into a touchdown with 2:58 left in the half. Jaden Hill’s short run made it 21-7 with 7:03 left in the third. The Eagles got back within a score five seconds into the fourth quarter, but Warner Robins sealed it with 7:34 left. The 7-4 Demons avoided losing a second straight first-round game for the first time since 2015-16.
Next: 1/2 Warner Robins at 7/1 Cartersville (53-0 over Jackson)

Class AAA
West Laurens 45, Beach 6
          Beach found out about Ty Cummings, after a punt pushed the Raiders back to the 1. No problem. Cummings went left, and was gone for a 99-yard touchdown to put the Raiders up 14-0 30 seconds into the second quarter. The Raiders rolled, Cason Pollock throwing for two touchdowns among his completions, and Jayce Blash tied  a school record with his ninth career interception as West Laurens (11-0) took a 31-0 halftime lead.
Next: 20. Oconee County (39-37 over Northwest Whitfield) at 4. West Laurens

Peach County 53, Cherokee Bluff 28
          The Trojans were a little anxious after the week off, exploding to a 27-3 lead after one quarter and 53-6 at halftime. That’s more points than the Trojans have scored in all but one game this season. Peach County has won 10 of its last 11 first-round games.
Next: 12. Peach County at 5. Jenkins (50-45 over Whitewater)

Class AA
Morgan County 29, Westside 8
          The Seminoles (3-8) put the Bulldogs on notice for a half, trailing only 7-0 at the break after a scoreless first quarter. A 4-yard run two minutes into the third quarter got Morgan County going, and Westside’s region rival returned a fumble 50 yards for a 22-0 lead with about eight minutes left in the third quarter. Westside broke the shutout on a 93-yard pass play with about four minutes to go in Spoon Risper’s final game as head coach.

Class A/Division I
Berrien 7, Lamar County 0
          The Trojans will have a week or so to live with the label of suffering the biggest upset of the 2025 playoff as an undefeated No.2 seed losing to No. 31 that was only 3-7 and hadn’t blanked an opponent since 2018 and had only one other playoff win since 1991. The other two No. 2 seeds in the ranked classes won 50-20 and 62-26. The average score of the other eight top 3 seeds’ games in A/I, AA, and AAA was 56-9. Lamar County was shut out for the first time since falling 17-0 in 2021 to St. Anne-Pacelli during that GIAA school’s stint in the GHSA. Berrien took the lead on a 60-yard double-pass touchdown play early in the second quarter, and the Trojans struggled to threaten. But Lamar County got inside the Berrien 5 with about four minutes left in the game, but lost yardage and gave it back on downs.

Bleckley County 26, Jeff Davis 7
          Thanks to Bleckley County’s defense, an early missed PAT kick didn’t matter. The Royals went up 12-0 midway through the second quarter on Kix Foskey’s 10-yard run, and that was all the hosts needed. Jeff Davis scored on a long pass right after Foskey’s score, but Bleckley County countered with Isaiah Simeton’s 1-yarder with three minutes left in the half. They added a short Brody Fleming run late in the third, going on to hold Jeff Davis to a season-low total in scoring.
Next: 14. Bleckley County at 3 Worth County (68-0 over McNair)

Dublin 40, Washington County 7
          The Irish (9-2) opened up the passing game, and Jeff Davis completed 6 of 9 for 76 yards and two touchdowns, adding a 1-yard touchdown run. Washington County passed for 247 yards on 17-of-40 completions, but was held to 43 yards rushing. Dublin ran for 290 yards behind a balanced backfield. Dontavious Cannon ran for 86 yards and a score, while Trav Bostic added 81 yards and Jamarcus Knight 62. Dublin rolled out to a 19-0 halftime lead, the Golden Hawks (5-6) breaking the shutout on Wilson Mays’ 9-yard pass to Aiden Watts. Washington County hurt itself with 16 penalties for 138 yards.
Next: 9. Fitzgerald (42-9 over ACE) at 8. Dublin

Fitzgerald 42, ACE 9
          The Gryphons (5-6) stunned the hosts by marching out to a 9-0 lead on Bryson Vincent’s 5-yard run midway through the first quarter and Henry Carter’s 27-yard field goal a minute into the second quarter. Fitzgerald (8-3) dealt a quick body blow with an 80-yard touchdown pass 71 seconds after Carter’s field goal, and took the lead with a 6-yard run at the 5:30 mark of the second quarter for a 14-9 halftime lead. Fitzgerald took control with two third-quarter touchdowns less than two minutes apart, one a 39-yard interception return. Vincent ran for 56 yards and caught 5 passes for 46 yards, while quarterback Ace Hatcher passed for 116 yards – but was picked off three times – and ran for 50. Fitzgerald ran for 261 yards on 29 carries.

Heard County 49, East Laurens 0

Jasper County 44, Gordon Central 13
          The Hurricanes reached the 10-win total for the first time since 1988 with their second straight first-round win. Jasper County had its third-best scoring night of the season.
Next: 10. Pepperell (28-21 over Bremen) at 7. Jasper County

Northeast 41, Fannin County 0 (Click here for the full story)
Next: 12. Swainsboro at 4. Northeast

Thomasville 38, Putnam County 0

Rabun County 56, Dodge County 21
          The hosts doubled up the visitors in touchdowns in the first two quarters for a 28-14 halftime lead. But Dodge County (7-4)couldn’t manage a score in the third quarter while Rabun County turned in its third 14-point quarter, which it matched in the fourth.

Class A/Division II
Brooks County 24, Taylor County 6
          The Vikings (7-4) pulled within 10-6 on a 47-yard TD pass about three minutes into the third quarter, but Brooks County (6-5) threw for an insurance touchdown early in the fourth quarter, sealing it with four minutes left.

Charlton County 35, Macon County 7
          The hosts (5-6) had chances early, but couldn’t convert, and a 7-7 game tilted in Charlton County’s direction in the second half en route to a 15-7 halftime lead. The visitors (6-5) started taking control midway through the third quarter, and put it away after a botched punt snap inside the 10 with 2:13 left in the third quarter.

ECI 63, GMC 0

Hawkinsville 24, Trion 21
          The Red Devils (9-2) took the lead for good on a rushing score late in the first quarter, adding another one before Trion (4-7) countered in the last minute of the second quarter, Hawkinsville taking a 17-14 lead at halftime. The Red Devils went up by two scores with five minutes left, Trion cutting the lead down with a touchdown pass around the two-minute mark, Hawkinsville recovering the onside kick.
Next: 4/2 Hawkinsville at 8/1 Lincoln County (43-6 over Randolph-Clay)

Heard County 49, East Laurens 0

Jenkins County 38, Wilkinson County 27

GIAA
Class AAAA
Stratford 33, George Walton 6 (Click here for the full story)
State championship: Saturday, Nov. 22, 6 p.m., at Mercer, Stratford vs. Brookstone

Brookstone 13, FPD 0
          The defensive battle went to the hosts in the lowest-scoring game involving Brookstone since, well, FPD topped Brookstone 6-3 on Sept. 6, 2024. The Cougars outrushed the Vikings 120-119 on two fewer carries, and had the stronger passing night, 13 for 18 for 123 yards and two scores to 9 of 13 for 50 yards and one interception. Brady McHugh managed 76 yards on 16 carries in his FPD (8-4) finale. Brookstone (10-2) went up a 25-yard pass from Broughton Branch to Sammie Labay with 1:24 left in the first quarter. The slugfest continued until the 3:22 mark of the third quarter when Branch hit Mitchem Kelly on a 6-yard score.

Class AAA
John Milledge 35, Frederica 7
          Asa Wall ran for 96 yards and a touchdown to go with 106 receiving yards and a score to lead the Trojans, who returned to the title game after a year’s break. Lewis Cheney completed 8 of 15 passes for 139 yards, with TD passes of 27 yards to Bryce McDonel and 51 to Wall. McDonel added an 88-yard interception return for a touchdown as JMA held Frederica to 84 rushing yards.

Deerfield-Windsor 26, Westfield 14
          Lane Sceals was 23 of 29 for 278 yards and a TD to lead Deerfield-Windsor, which ran for 179 yards. The Hornets led 7-6 for much of the first quarter, D-W retaking the lead early in the second quarter and adding to it on Sceals’ 25-yard TD run for a 20-7 lead. The Hornets got to within 20-14 in the third quarter, but that only lasted a Knights’ rushing score three minutes into the fourth quarter.
State championship: Friday, Nov. 21, 7:30 p.m., at Mercer, John Milledge vs. Deerfield-Windsor

Class AA
Brentwood 42, Briarwood 14
          The defending champs pulled away in the second half, rushing for more than 300 yards, mostly from quarterback Baylor Cobb, who accounted for four touchdowns (two rushing, two passing).
State championship: Saturday, Nov. 22, 3 p.m., at Mercer, Brentwood vs. Southwest Georgia