CLASS AAAAA: Camden County rallies to win

Kingsland —- Greg Baker and Daniel Valdez scored fourth-quarter touchdowns as second-ranked Camden County came from behind in the fourth quarter to beat fifth-ranked Northside-Warner Robins 28-20.

Northside had taken a 20-14 lead on a 15-yard run by Xavier Bacon with 3:03 left in the third. Bacon rushed for 161 yards and scored two touchdowns.

But Camden scored twice in the fourth quarter, on Baker’s 5-yard run with 8:32 left and Valdez’s 2-yard run at 4:10. Both drives were without passes.

After the Valdez touchdown, Camden’s Josh Johnson forced Bacon to fumble, and Camden ran out the clock. Camden had the ball at the Northside 13 when the game ended.

Camden scored on its first possession of the game on Baker’s 4-yard run with 7:17 left in the first quarter. Aundre Johnson’s 38-yard run to the 10 on third-and-9 was the key play.

Camden converted another third-and-long for its next touchdown, a 71-yard pass from Christian Milstead to Deangelo Smith, to make the score 14-0 with 6:00 left in the half.

Northside cut it to 14-7 with 27 seconds left in half on Joe Scott’s 6-yard pass to Evan Arthur. Bacon scored twice in the second quarter, once on a 35-yard run, for a Northside lead that would not hold.

Camden is 12-0. Northside finished 10-2 with losses to No. 1 Lowndes and No. 2 Camden on the road.

This was the first game in state history in which two top-five teams in the highest classification had met in the round of 16.

—- Todd Holcomb

More Class AAAAA

> Coffee 35, Chapel Hill 14: Melvin Loving ran for two touchdowns, and L’Shaun Smith ran for one and passed for another for Coffee (9-3), which lost three of its final four regular-season games but has recovered for a pair of playoff victories. Chapel Hill finished 9-3.

> Lowndes 62, Bradwell Institute 21: Robert Anderson scored four touchdowns for No. 1 Lowndes (12-0), which won its 26th straight game and earned a spot in the quarterfinals opposite Grayson.

Anderson scored three times in the first quarter as the Vikings sprinted to a big lead. The Vikings had 422 total yards, 354 on the ground.

> Newnan 42, Tift County 0: Russell Powell passed for 208 yards and rushed for 114 more as Newnan (12-0) pulled away in the second half after leading 7-0 at halftime. Jamal Ramsey’s two interceptions keyed the Cougars’ sixth straight shutout and eighth in nine games.

Newnan earned another shot at North Gwinnett in the third round. The Cougars lost to North Gwinnett in the third round last year.

Class AAAA

> Statesboro 14, North Clayton 12: On fourth-and-3 at Statesboro’s 12-yard line with 2:45 remaining in the third quarter, defensive end Willie Burden sacked North Clayton’s Clarence Jackson for a 3-yard loss, when a field goal would have given the Eagles the lead.

Statesboro’s defensive stand was the major reason the Blue Devils (11-1) are still in the hunt for their sixth state title and Rodney Hackney’s North Clayton club will spend the offseason looking to improve its special teams play.

Hackney’s decision to go for it on fourth down was precipitated by having an extra-point attempt blocked and a two-point try fail on the team’s two touchdowns.

Statesboro and North Clayton each scored two touchdowns in the first half, and the difference was the Blue Devils converting both of their extra-point attempts.

—- Andrew B. Adler

> Griffin 34, Brunswick 30: Sheldon Hancock and Buck Hancock each scored two touchdowns for Griffin (9-3), which trailed 24-14 in the second half before coming back. Brunswick was driving in the waning moments before a sack by Xavier Dixon and Telvin Nash ended the threat. Griffin plays Southwest DeKalb in the third round.

> Mt. Zion-Jonesboro 19, Ware County 0: Drexel Copeland caught touchdown passes of 18 and 27 yards, and Karon Hodge returned an interception 8 yards for another score as fourth-seeded Mt. Zion (8-4) won on the road against 2007 state finalist Ware (6-6). The Bulldogs advanced to the third round for the first time since 1999.

> Rome 19, Sandy Creek 13: Rome (10-2) built a 19-0 lead on the strength of touchdowns by P.J. Green and Malcolm Watkins. Sandy Creek was penalized for intentional grounding in the end zone, giving Rome a safety. Conor Young’s 29-yard field goal made it 19-0.

Sandy Creek (11-1) scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns, from Alex Chisum and Jarrett Davis, the last coming with just under 3 minutes remaining.

> Westside-Macon 49, Jonesboro 11: Robert Brown carried 10 times for 114 yards and a touchdown, and Marcus Wilson scored a pair of TDs for No. 1 Westside, which allowed double-figure scoring for the first time in 2008 but topped 40 points for the eighth time.

—- Compiled by Jay Stone