HS FB: The Mac hosts Northside's exorcism, Baldwin stuns Dublin late, West Laurens storms back to shock Dodge County, Mary Persons rebounds, Lamar County pops Bowdon, Bleckley County cruises, more
Editorâs note: Thanks to FPD, John Milledge, and Dublin for sending game information Friday night to The Central Georgia Sports Report.
Useable and fairly complete information was available on MaxPrepsâ Scoretracker feature for Mary Persons, West Laurens-Dodge County, Upson-Lee, ACE-Southwest. Dublin-Baldwin, Taylor County, John Milledge, and Brentwood.
Games for Warner Robins-Northside and Jones County-Houston County were not listed in MaxPreps.
Note: Scoretracker users, please note the time of major plays and all scores, and use names as much as possible. Please check accuracy of yardage listed as well.
GHSA
Class 6A
Houston County 45, Jones County 14
Another weather delay didnât help Jones County on the road. The Bears finished off a nice balanced drive with Austin Stinsonâs 3-yard run with 7:30 left in the first quarter. Stinson went 85 yards for a score to end the first quarter, in time before weather arrived. The lead grew to 31-7 at the half.
Northside 32, Warner Robins 10
A missed PAT wasnât foreshadowing for another rough night â following a weather delay - after all. Northside went from a 7-6 deficit early in the second quarter on a 68-yard pass from Keirion Tate to Jaânoah Hicks. That, after the Eagles let chances slip away, is where it stood at halftime and past the midway point of the third quarter. Tate turned in the play of the game that turned the game, when he took off on a tackle-evading and winding scramble for a highlight-reel 49-yard touchdown run. A Demon was ejected on the play, and the Eagles missed another conversion but led 12-7 at the 5:34 mark of the third quarter. Three plays later, Warner Robins fumbled it back on the Demon side of the field at th 26, and Tate did it again, leaving the pocket to the left for a 26-yard score only 72 seconds after his last run. A missed PAT kick left it at 18-7 with 4:22 left in the third. Warner Robins had to settle for a 20-yard field goal after a long drive, getting within a possession with 9:46 left in the game.
But the Eagles were able to shut the door only a few minutes later. Tate threw a laser to Hicks for a 44-yard gain to the 1, Tate going in from the 2 two plays later, and the lead after a successful PAT kick put the Eagles up 25-10 with 7:03 left. The win broke a 9-game losing streak in the series for Northside, which went 1-9 last season.
Class 5A
Perry 48, Howard 7
The Huskies woke up the Panthers early by taking adavantage of a mistake to take a 7-0 lead. Perry started rolling from their for its first win, Howard falling to 1-2.
Class 4A
Mary Persons 42, Rockmart 21
Back to nearly full health, the Bulldogs played like it with a dominant win over a quality opponent. In the home opener, Mary Persons took a 28-7 lead, and played to a 14-14 second-half draw. Jordan Singleton hit Isaiah Hendricks for a 79-yard score in the opening minutes to get Mary Persons going, a 46-yarder to Mason Stephens making it 13-0 midway through the first quarter. The Singleton-to-Stephens hookup worked again about three minutes into the second quarter for a 20-7 lead. Singleton was 9 of 13 for 238 yards and 4 scores, Stephens catching 3 for 94 yards. CJ Banks ran 8 times for 88 yards and 2 scores.
Peach County 30, Jefferson 23
The Trojans led from the start, sparked by Ashton Bartonâs first-play 80-yarder and taking a 23-6 halftime lead. Caiden Ivoryâs long TD pass to Cam Barth put Peach County up 30-13 in the third quarter.
5A Winder-Barrow 27, Upson-Lee 6
The Bulldogs made the most of the long ride to Thomaston, ut not before Upson-Lee scored its first touchdown of the year, Justin Howard passing to Peyton Howard early in the second quarter. But that lead didnât last long, Winder-Barrow taking the kickoff back 90 yards, and taking the lead early in the third.
CENTRAL GEORGIAâS BEST HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL COVERAGE
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Last week
đ HS FB: Jasper County stuns Mary Persons, Dublin handles Perry, Warner Robins survives thriller with Northeast, Veterans comes back and holds on, ACE storms back
đ Scouting Reports: This weekâs GHSA and GIAA games
đ Maxwell Predictions
đ Whoâs going to win this weekâs games?
đ Central Georgia state composite rankings
đ Central Georgia rankings
đ Macon Touchdown Club players of the week
Class 3A
Lamar County 20, Bowdon 7
The biggest win in Barnesville in awhile was a typical Lamar County win: efficient offense and solid defense. And some special teams. Jayden Doctor went 56 yards on a fake punt to put Lamar County up three minutes into the second quarter. They added to the lead less than two minutes into the third quarter on Carson Howellâs 2 yard run. Doctor made it 20-0 on a 25-yard run with 5:20 left in the game, Bowdon and former Lamar County head coach Jamie Abrams breaking the shutout with 2:44 left.
Class AA
ACE 35, Southwest 14
The hosts got off to quite the start, following a quality goal-line stand with a 92-yard run by Jedd Kinley on the first play from scrimmage. It took until the second quarter for more points, coming on a hook-and-lateral, a pass from Ace Hatcher to Brady Balkcom, who pitched to Jaylen Davis for the 14-yard score. Southwest answered to make it 14-8 in the second quarter. ACE countered with a long drive, Hatcher going in from the 1 en route to a 21-8 lead at halftime. He added a 56-yarder early in the third quarter to all but put it away for the 3-0 Gryphons.
Baldwin 20, Dublin 14
The first meeting between the teams since 1975 was a memorable on, Baldwin overcoming a 14-0 deficit and scoring the game-winner on a 67-yard pass from Kamden Patterson to Justin Burton with 54 seconds left for the win. Dublin got past the 50 on its final possession, but was held on fourth down near the Baldwin 40. Baldwin held the Irish to 5 fewer first downs, 15-10. The Braves ran 9 more plays and gained 35 more yards, both rare accomplishments for opponents at the Shamrock Bowl. Dublin, which lost 3 fumbles, got 97 yards on 14 carries from Ryland Yates, the Irish held below 200 yards on the ground. Tavares Hooks ran for 114 yards on 14 carries for the Braves, Patterson throwing for 173 yards on only 10 completions on 29 attempts. Burton caught 3 passes for 127 yards.
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Bleckley County 35, Jasper County 7
The game started about 45 minutes late because of lightning, but the Royals got started early, scoring first on Brody Flemingâs long pass to Jason McNulty. It took awhile to add on, Fleming finding Kelvin Sneed Jr. for a 14-yader early in the second quarter, Bleckley County going on to take a 28-0 lead as Jasper County couldnât get going and build on last weekâs win over Mary Persons.
West Laurens 30, Dodge County 29
The host Indians seemed en route to a quality win over a nearby and bigger rival. Then halftime arrived, with Dodge County up 29-17. West Laurens threw a 13-0 second-half shutout, starting with Kingston OâNealâs 51-yard kickoff return for a touchdown late in the third. Braylen Robinsonâs 1-yarder put West Laurens up by 1 with 5 minutes left, but the conversion failed. The Raidersâ defense saved the win by stopping the Indians the rest of the way.
Washington County 16, East Laurens 14
Class A
Lake Oconee 40, Crawford County 7
McIntosh County Academy 19, GMC Prep 0
Schley County 27, Hawkinsville 19
The hosts scored 13 points in the fourth quarter to drop Hawkinsville for their fifth win in the last six meetings.
Taylor County 41, Manchester 14
A 19-0 second quarter pushed the Vikings to their third win against 15 losses with Manchester, wins in which Taylor County managed a total of 23 points. The Vikings broke a 7-all tie with a long touchdown pass, and added a 7-yard run by Jahmari Carter for a 20-7 lead. They converted a fumble recovery into a Jaden Hodo rushing score en route to a 33-7 halftime lead. Taylor County is 3-0 for the first time since 2020.
Wilkinson County 25, Jefferson County 12
The Warriors got into the win column for the first time under new head coach Mack McCord, avoiding a second straight 0-3 start.
GIAA
FPD 48, George Walton 19
The Vikings found a little more balance in cruising to its third straight win. They ran for 4 touchdowns and passed for 2 more, getting an 81-yard kickoff return from Cason Chatfield as well. A 21-0 second quarter put FPD in control. Eli Rutherford led the 210-yard run game with 93 yards on 14 carries. Cash Walker was 7 of 10 for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns, completing passes to 5 receivers. Six Vikings scored: Dylan Reeves, Harris Everitt, Mason Garvin, Jacorey Burke, Rutherford twice, and Chatfield.
Mount de Sales 28, Twiggs County 0
The Cavs have scored 110 points in 4 games, compared to 136 and 187 in 10 games the past 2 seasons, and have more wins than in the past four seasons (2,3,1,2).
Stratford 38, Brookstone 0
Only one of the teams from the last yearâs Class 4A state title game played that way, Stratford marching out to a 31-0 halftime lead. The Eagles have scored at least 35 points a game so far, and earned their first shutout since hammering Calvary Christian 56-0 in last yearâs second game.
Athens Christian 21, Tattnall 14
John Milledge 35, Bulloch 23
The Trojans never trailed, but they sweated. JMA took a 14-0 halftime lead on a first-quarter 33-yard run by Jamel Cooper and second-quarter 3-yarder from Asa Wall. Bulloch pulled within 5 in te third quarter on a safety and 50-yard run. Wall caught a 12-yard TD pass from Nathan Snow for a 21-9 lead, countered by a 75-yard scoring pass. But Wall went in from the 6 and Cayden Wingfield from 66 to seal it. John Milledge won despite being outgained 375-330, aided by 3 Bulloch turnovers.
Westfield 40, SW Georgia 8
The Hornets got things going after last weekâs loss to FPD, improving to 3-1 for the second time in head coach Chad Campbellâs four seasons.
Brentwood 42, Robert Toombs 8
The War Eagles got more than enough in the three-touchdown first quarter, leading 35-0 at halftime. Brayden Tysonâs short run got Brentwood going only a few minutes in, Jones Sheppard going in from 30 yards and then adding a pick-6 in a short span. Tristan Robinson added some dazzle with a 77-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, the first-half scoring capped with a 26-yard pass from Baylor Cobb to Quez Collins.
Creekside Christian 46, CFCA 29
Trinity Christian 28, Augusta Prep 21
The Crusaders took the lead in the third and held on for the road win. Tayt Evans ran 18 times for 137 yards and a score while WillJ Harris added 113 yards and a score on 13 carries.