Fellowship blasts Darlington to win Region 6 title
The Paladins completed the second undefeated regular season in program history with an emphatic 44-7 win over Darlington, Friday. Fellowship Christian (10-0, 6-0) led 14-0 in the second quarter before the Tigers cut the lead in half on a 25-yard touchdown run by senior Kolin Rogers. But Fellowship added two more touchdowns before halftime and then shut out the Tigers in the second half.
For the Paladins, junior RB Murphy Reeves led all rushers with 198 yards on 22 carries, while Josh Cole added 116 yards on just eight carries, including three touchdowns. Fellowship rolled up 458 yards of total offense in the game. Darlington (9-1, 5-1), which had 362 yards, was led on the ground by Rogers, who finished with 172 yards rushing on 23 carries. QB Griffin Brewster was 13-of-32 for 172 yards passing, Patrick Shelley had six catches for 93 yards, and Trystin Wright had four catches for 61 yards.
Savannah Country Day outlasts Johnson County to claim Region 3 crown
The Hornets (10-0, 6-0) completed their first undefeated regular season and won their first region title since 1980, in 47-42 donnybrook over Johnson County (8-2, 5-1).
Savannah Country Day led 14-6 after the first quarter before the teams combined to score 50 points in the second quarter, 30 by Johnson County, which took a 36-34 lead into halftime.
The Hornets took the second half kickoff and went 54 yards on five plays to take the lead for good as sophomore RB Davion Smith ran 34 yards for a touchdown to give SCD the lead for good. Smith finished with 132 yards on 13 carries.
CJ Graddy had 143 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Trojans. Germivy Tucker, who entered the game with 1,114 yards on the season, had 113 yards and three scores.
Mitchell County upsets Pelham for Region 1 championship
The Eagles’ defense held high-flying and previously unbeaten Pelham to less than 30 points for the first time this season en route to a 36-28 win.
The Eagles capitalized on several Pelham mistakes including turnovers and penalties, and on several occasions, turned those mistakes into points. The most costly mishap for the Hornets occurred on the ensuing kickoff after Mitchell County had taken a 30-28 lead in the fourth quarter, thanks to an 8-yard run by De’Shaun Sherman. Senior WR/DB Earl Waters recovered for the Eagles, who tacked on another score to put the essentially put the game away. Pelham fumbled away the kickoff after that Mitchell County score and the Eagles ran out the clock.
Mitchell County had built an 18-14 lead at halftime by taking advantage two Pelham interceptions. But the Hornets took the second half kick-off and scored in just six plays to take a 21-18 lead. After stopping the Eagles on their ensuing drive, Pelham looked to pad its lead but Mitchell County junior DB Xavier Williams picked off another pass and two plays later, Eagles’ QB Quantavious Hunter threw a pass to Rodney Jones that was tipped by a Hornet defensive back before Jones pulled it in for a touchdown to put Mitchell County up 24-21.
Pelham retook the lead, 28-24, after recovering an Eagle fumble late in the third quarter and cashing in with a 45-yard touchdown run by senior QB Kendrick Patterson.
In other games of note:
Athens Academy 50, Hebron Christian 21: The Spartans won their third consecutive Region 8 title and ninth in program history. RB/DB Kurt Knisely led the way with touchdown runs of 16, 68, 20 and 3 yards and also recorded a critical interception with eight minutes remaining in the game and the Spartans leading 36-21. QB Palmer Bush threw two touchdown passes to Deion Colzie, the first a 21-yarder with 3:04 left in the first quarter and the second a 61-yard pass with 11 minutes left in the third quarter.
Wesleyan 27, Trinity Christian 6: Sophomore RB Griffin Caldwell ran for 88 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries to lead the Wolves.
Christian Heritage 13, Whitefield Academy 7: Gage Leonard ran for 115 yards to lead the Lions.
Mount de Sales 23, Aquinas 20: The Cavaliers claimed their first undefeated regular season and first region title since joining the GHSA in 2014. The last time Mount de Sales finished 10-0 and won a region championship was 1997 when the Cavs were competing in the GISA.
Irwin County 49, Turner County 0: Irwin County finished the regular season undefeated for the second consecutive season and won its third straight region title.
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