By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

Houston County 38, West Forsyth 14
The Bears took control early, on an 80-yard run by Austin Stinson and a 31-yard catch by Jeffrey Thomas, for a 14-0 first quarter lead that grew to 21-0 at halftime. West Forsyth connected on a 85-yard touchdown top pull within 21-14, but the Bears pulled away.

Northside 42, Eagle’s Landing 6
Northside won its third opener in the last four tries, and avenged last year’s 20-14 loss to Eagle’s Landing. It was the Eagle’s top scoring output since a 58-7 win over Veterans in 2022.

Warner Robins 34, Veterans 23
Veterans was in position much of the night to pull off the upset, leading 10-0 and 17-7. But a weather delay boosted Warner Robins, which avoided its first loss to the Warhawks. The Demons took the lead on Chandler Dyson’s 43-yard run with just less than 10 minutes left in the game, adding a clincher a few minutes later after Veterans fumble.

Editor’s note: Thanks to FPD, John Milledge, and ACE for sending game information Friday night to The Central Georgia Sports Report. Information was available on MaxPreps’ Scoretracker feature for Warner Robins, Upson-Lee, Howard, Mary Persons, Taylor County, ACE, Bleckley County, Dublin, and Brentwood.

Note: Scoretracker users, please note the time of major plays/scores, and use names as much as possible.

Valdosta 52, Jones County 14
The Wildcats cracked 50 points for the third straight opener, having beaten Tucker 63-19 and 65-19, thoroughly enjoying their first trip to Gray. The Greyhounds gave up more than 50 for the first time since Perry’s 56-21 win early in the 2023 season.

Peach County 63, Perry 24
The visiting Trojans made themselves at home early en route to the most points scored by either team in this series’ history, 46 games worth, and Peach County’s biggest margin of victory since 40-0 in 2009. Ashton Barton got Peach County on the board less than three minutes from short yardage, then – after a penalty nullified an 80-yard scoring run by Kaden Ivory – eventually took it 72 yards for a 13-0 lead with 3:16 left in the first quarter. Peach County went off in the scond quarter en route to a 42-14 halftime lead.

Baldwin 47, Washington County 20
The Braves evened the series at 12 all with their third win in a row, and biggest margin since a 48-7 romp in 1997. It spoiled the Golden Hawks debut of head coach Jay Ware, Washington County losing its fifth straight opener.

Bleckley County 28, West Laurens 3
The Royals opened 2026 the same way they opened 2021, with an impressive win in Dexter. Then, the Royals beat West Laurens 21-14, the Raiders going on to a 5-6 season. They weren’t state semifinalists the year before, as was the case this year. It’s the second season-opening loss to a smaller-classification team for West Laurens in a few years, the Raiders falling 20-10 to Dodge County in 2023. The Royals led 14-3 at halftime, and got a clinching TD run from Zyion Love a few minutes into the fourth quarter, adding icing with Kix Foskey’s run.

Howard 27, Southwest 6 (Click here for full story)
The Huskies led 21-0 after three, and lost the shutout in the final 93 seconds.

Lamar County 24, Upson-Lee 3 (called early in third quarter for time constraints)
The Trojans won their seventh straight opener, and the third against a higher-classification team. The game started late because of weather, and was called in the third quarter as the game neared 11 p.m. It spoiled the debut of U-L head coach and alum Logan Winkles. Lamar County led 24-0 before a late second-quarter field goal. The game was called three minutes into the third quarter.

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Mary Persons 52, Jackson 31
The meeting in the Backyard Brawl will go down as perhaps a top-10 battle. Mary Persons led 30-24 at halftime, lost the lead in the third quarter, got it back on a 39-yard pass from Jordan Singleton to Daniel Jungberg, and added two touchdown runs in the fourth quarter to pull away for the most points in the series. Ironically, the teams scored 83 points in their 83rd meeting, the most points scored in a Bulldogs-Red Devils game.

Central 30, Greenville 0 (Click here for full story)
The game was called in the second quarter because of lightning and a second game scheduled at Thompson Stadium.

ACE 45, Wilkinson County 13
The Gryphons put up their best point total beating Wilkinson County 51-14 in 2024. ACE has cracked the 35-point mark in every opener under head coach Keith Hatcher. ACE led 45-0 before Wilkinson County scored in the third quarter. Ace Hatcher ran for 134 yards on 10 carries for the Gryphons, adding 41 yards through the air.

Dublin 32, Jasper County 0
The Irish opened the season with a shutout for the second time in four seasons, but this one was a bit more impressive than the 64-0 home win over Wilkinson County in 2023. It’s the first time the Hurricanes have been shut out since losing 35-0 to Morgan County in 2023. Dublin handled Jasper County 42-7 in the second round of the 2024 playoffs. Dublin’s defense had two interceptions in the first few minutes, including a pick-6. The Irish started putting it away with rushing touchdowns from Matthew Batts, Vicente Bond, and Jamarcus Knight en route to a 25-0 halftime lead.

Johnson County 32, East Laurens 15
The Trojans avenged last year’s 27-21 loss and improved to 31-18 against East Laurens.

Putnam County 21, Greene County 0
The War Eagles beat Greene County for the second straight year, which hasn’t happened since 2012-13. It evened fourth-year head coach Joel Harvin’s record at 17-17.

Hancock Central 20, Cross Creek 18

Macon County 36, Dooly County 0
The Bulldogs made the most of Spoon Risper debut as head coach, with their first shutout and biggest margin of victory over the Bobcats since winning 45-0 in 2016.

GMC at Atkinson County, ppd

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Hawkinsville 25, Marion County 16

Taylor County 28, Pike County 17
The Vikings made a winner of new head coach Jess DeVoursney by holding on after taking a 21-14 first-quarter lead. The Pirates pulled within 21-17 late in the third quarter, but the Vikings sealed it with a short rushing touchdown inside the final three minutes.

Claxton 20, Twiggs County 7
GIAA
Bulloch 36, Brentwood 33
The War Eagles led 26-14 at halftime and 33-21 after three, but the hosts scored twice in the fourth quarter, getting the game-winning rushing score just before midnight.

Briarwood 28, Gatewood 6
Briarwood led 14-0 at halftime and added a clinching TD pass a few minutes into the third quarter.

Mount de Sales 28, Creekside 0
The Cavs are 2-0 for the first time since 2022, and have scored 61 points, 45 percent of last year’s total.

FPD 13, Deerfield-Windsor 0
The Vikings scored 1:08 into the game, and then with 1:55 left, en route to recording their first shutout since 34-0 over Bethlehem Christian in the second round of the 2024 playoffs. FPD held D-W to 134 yards in total offense and eight first downs. FPD quarterback Cash Walker and running back Harris Everitt ran for 76 and 75 yards on 29 carries as the Vikings went for 177 yards on 35 carries.

John Milledge 38, Tiftarea 0
The Trojans were in early cruise control, leading 35-0 at halftime. They outgained Tiftarea 274-42 on the ground, led by Jamel Cooper’s 122 yards. He scored one touchdown, Asa Wall covering 103 yards on four rushing touchdowns.

Tattnall 38, Piedmont 2
After two games, Tattnall has almost doubled last year’s total of 45 points, with 85 points. Allowing nine points in two games, albeit against Class AA teams, is the Trojans’ best such stretch since allowing seven to Hawkinsville and Deerfield Windsor to open the 2021 season.

Sherwood Christian 47, Central Fellowship 7

Stratford 46, St. Anne-Pacelli 14
The Eagles are 2-0 for the seventh straight season, and have outscored their first two opponents 81-21. A year ago, that margin was 89-22. They’ve now beaten Pacelli by 32 points two games in a row.

Westfield 17, Strong Rock 3
The Hornets are 2-0 for the third straight year.

Trinity Christian 14, Robert Toombs 8
The trio of Tayt Evans, Will-J Harris, and Jude Evans teamed for 234 yards on the ground, Harris getting both touchdowns, both in the second half.

Windsor 7, Thomas Jefferson 6