This is why we play the games, right?
Overall, there weren't a ton of unexpected outcomes Friday night in AA. The higher-seeded teams went 13-3, but there were a pair of 4 over 1 upsets. Before we get to those, you can get the updated bracket here, or scroll down to see all of Friday's results and next week's matchups.
Washington-Wilkes, a preseason favorite in Region 8-AA, finally played like the team many expected to see and scored a 21-6 win over Region 7 champ Darlington, which entered the postseason ranked seventh in the state.
The Tigers (7-4) have played good defense this year, but turned in their best performance Friday night. Darlington’s Trey Edge entered the game with 1,448 rushing yards, but Darlington was held to minus-1 rushing yard and 27 total yards on the night.
Offensively, Washington-Wilkes has gone to a more run-heavy playbook in recent weeks and it is starting to pay dividends. After struggling to move the ball consistently for much of the season, the Tigers scored 89 points in their final two regular season games and churned out 244 rushing yards on 45 carries on Friday against a Darlington defense that hadn’t given up more than 20 points since Week 1.
Washington-Wilkes will play at Brooks County next week.
Meanwhile, Pace Academy (6-5), the No. 4 seed from 6-AA and in the playoffs for just the second time since beginning varsity play in 2008, had its best offensive showing of the year in a 49-28 win over Region 5 champ Bowdon.
Quarterback Kevin Johnson, who is committed to James Madison over reported offers from South Carolina, Boston College and Marshall, led the Knights with five touchdown passes to break open a game that was tied 21-21 at the half. It’s the first playoff win in program history for the Pace, which needed a come-from-behind 20-16 win over B.E.S.T. Academy last week to get into the playoffs.
Pace Academy plays at Jefferson County next week.
End of an era
We pause here to tip our hats.
Bowdon’s loss brings an end to the career of one of the winningest coaches in Georgia High School football history, as long-time Red Devil coach Dwight Hochstetler announced prior to the game that this season would be his last.
I’ll contend that any man who shoulders 36 years in the service of young men is deserving of gratitude. The hours are unthinkable, the dedication immeasurable. That should be said before we get to the other stuff … and in Hochstetler’s case, the “other stuff” is significant.
He’ll walk away from the Friday night sidelines a winner of 345 games, good for fourth all-time in one of the most talent-laden, tradition-rich states in the country. He won 75 percent of the games he coached and three of the four state championship games in which his teams appeared. He was head coach for 36 years at two schools and endured only two losing seasons, one as a rookie in 1978. He came in coaching against the wishbone and left in the era of the shotgun spread, and always found ways to win.
He’s been a good one, and no doubt, he’ll be missed.
Droughts ended
- Model (9-2) won its first playoff game since the 1979 state championship game, outlasting Union County, 50-36 on the road, after never scoring more than 34 points in the regular season. Nine wins also marks the most for the Blue Devils since 1979. Senior running back Nakyle Watkins led Model on Friday with 360 yards and five touchdowns on 36 carries. The Blue Devils play at Fitzgerald next week.
- Rabun County (9-2) secured its first playoff win and best record since a run to the quarterfinals in 1998 with a 24-20 win over Chattooga on Friday. The Wildcats led 24-6 before holding off a late rally by the Indians. Rabun County, the Region 8 champ, will host Benedictine next week.
- Coosa (8-3) also snapped a decade-long slump with a 14-7 overtime win over Greene County for the Eagles' first playoff win since 2004. Coosa plays at Vidalia next week.
Dunson does it again
Heard County’s Duranta Dunson made it known last week that the collarbone injury that cost him part of his senior season was in the rearview last week when he ran for 303 yards in a win over Bremen that secured Region 5-AA’s No. 2 seed for the Braves. To reinforce the point, he ran 32 times for 267 yards in Heard County’s 28-21 win over Wesleyan on Friday.
The Braves jumped out to a 28-0 lead early, but had to hold off a Wesleyan rally in the second half to escape with the win. They’ll travel to face Region 3 champ Screven County next week.
Benedictine rolls in top-10 tilt
They didn’t post astronomical numbers against No. 9 Thomasville like they have against their past three opponents, but the fourth-ranked Cadets cruised to 35-0 win nonetheless. Benedictine led 28-0 at the half, and leaned heavily on the running back trio of Chance Jackson (12 carries, 86 yards, two TDs), John Kennedy (9/83/1) and Chris Harris (10/58).
Quarterback Stevie Powers threw a season-low seven times, completing five. That was enough to cover 77 yards and find Brad Stewart for a pair of touchdowns. Powers is now over 2,500 passing yards on the season.
Another top-10 matchup on deck
The most-anticipated game of the second round should be No. 3 Lovett (8-3) at No. 6 Macon County (9-2).
Lovett, the defending state champ, breezed past Bremen, 56-21, on Friday behind four first-half touchdown passes from Willie Candler in the Lions' first game since a 14-7 loss to top-ranked Greater Atlanta Christian two weeks ago.
Macon County, the Region 4-AA champ led by all-everything linebacker Roquan Smith and quarterback K’hari Lane, dropped Dublin, 21-7. It was the seventh straight win for the Bulldogs, who are giving up just eight points per game during that span.
Friday’s results
Heard County 28, Wesleyan 21
Screven County 20, Monticello 14
Brooks County 24, Bacon County 17
Washington-Wilkes 21, Darlington 6
Lovett 56, Bremen 21
Macon County 21, Dublin 7
Benedictine 35, Thomasville 0
Rabun County 24, Chattooga 20
Lamar County 28, Swainsboro 14
GAC 41, Chattahoochee County 13
Coosa 14, Greene County 7
Vidalia 56, Berrien 35
Jefferson County 52, Bleckley County 37
Pace Academy 49, Bowdon 28
Model 50, Union County 36
Fitzgerald 53, Bryan County 28
Next week
Heard County at Screven County
Washington-Wilkes at Brooks County
Lovett at Macon County
Benedictine at Rabun County
Lamar County at GAC
Coosa at Vidalia
Pace Academy at Jefferson County
Model at Fitzgerald
