It was not a great night to be a ranked team in Class AAAAA.
Of the six ranked teams in action on Friday, only two of them came away with a victory. No. 8 Thomas County Central edged rival Thomasville 16-14 and No. 9 Jones County ran away with a 43-21 win over Washington County.
The others … not so good. No. 3 Bainbridge lost 29-12 to Lee County, No. 4 Ware County lost a 17-10 contest with Glynn Academy, No. 6 Rome dropped a 22-20 decision to Harrison, and No. 10 Woodland fell 51-12 at Valdosta.
No. 2 Stockbridge plays Mays on Saturday. No. 1 Buford, No. 5 Kell and No. 7 Carrollton were idle.
Here’s what we learned:
Bainbridge got a nice effort from quarterback Brett McLaughlin, who completed 14 of 32 passes for 156 yards and one touchdown. Zyon McGee caught six passes, including the touchdown. The Bears’ other score came on a 75-yard punt return from Lerone Broadnax. But Bainbridge was held to minus-2 yards rushing and allowed Lee County’s Mark Robinson to rush for 205 yards.
Ware County just can’t get over the hump against Glynn. The Gators lost to the Terrors twice last year, once in the state semifinals. This one was tied 10-10 at halftime, with Glynn winning on a second-half score. Jemar Lincoln scored the Ware County touchdown.
Rome lost four fumbles, the last one at the 2 yard line with less than five minutes to play that would have provided the go-ahead score. Jamious Griffin rushed 17 times for 177 yards and Jaylnn Sykes scored three touchdowns to lead the Wolves.
Thomas County Central scored its fifth straight win over Thomasville and now leads the series for the first time, 25-24. The Yellow Jackets were able to slow down Thomasville’s new pass-oriented attack.
Woodland’s score looks horrible, but the game was closer. The Wolfpack scored first and trailed just 13-12 in the second quarter before Valdosta took over. Despite the loss, it will likely be considered a positive growing experience for Woodland.
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