Two previously undefeated teams lost Friday night, leaving Cartersville, Thomson, Ridgeland and Madison County as Class AAAA’s four remaining unbeatens. Oconee County fell in overtime to Eastside 32-31 and Effingham County beat Burke County for the first time in school history 28-21 to give the Bears their first loss. As for the unblemished records, Ridgeland won a shootout with Northwest Whitfield 48-42, Madison County scored a 20-14 victory at Franklin County, Cartersville outstripped Cedartown 44-6 and Thomson was on a bye.
In the non-region matchup between Oconee County and the Eagles, Eastside’s Billy Love kicked a 27-yard field goal with 55 seconds left in the game to force overtime (24-24). A Jared Hood 5-yard touchdown run in extra period gave Oconee County a 31-24 lead. Eastside answered with an Austin Holloway quarterback keeper touchdown run to make it 31-30 and head coach Troy Hoff elected to go for the win on the conversion. Holloway found Jamari Brown on a quick screen out in the flats before the sophomore followed his blockers and plunged his way into the end zone for the game-winning play.
Before the overtime, Josh Sims gave Eastside a 21-14 halftime lead with a pair of touchdowns. Oconee County’s Champ Bell caught a touchdown pass in the second quarter and opened the third quarter with a 17-yard touchdown run that tied it at 21-21. Hunter Reynolds kicked a 32-yard Oconee County field goal with 2:46 left before Love tied the game at 24-24 with his 27-yard field goal less than two minutes later.
Effingham County trailed Burke County 14-0 after the opening quarter and didn’t lead until its go-ahead touchdown with 55 seconds left (28-21). Here are more notable results from Friday’s slate:
The running tandem of Colby Wood and Zack Boobas carried the Dragons to a huge 31-28 victory over Class AAAAAAA Gainesville in what marked the two former state champion’s first-ever meeting. Both backs ran in two touchdowns apiece. Wood broke off scoring runs of 57 and 13 yards while Boobas added a pair of 6-yard scores. Hayden Kilgore knocked in a 26-yard field goal in the second quarter to give Jefferson a 17-0 lead. Gainesville quarterback D.J. Irons ignited the Gainesville comeback attempt with a 6-yard touchdown run just before the half.
Spalding nearly pulled off an upset against Class AAAAAA No. 1 Houston County, but fell short 28-24. Spalding opened the game with a 17-0 lead that held up late into the second quarter until the Bears chipped away to make it 17-8 at the half. Five-star quarterback Jake Fromm led the Bears to three second half touchdowns as they completed the comeback and improved to 6-0 for the second straight season.
Speaking of five-star quarterbacks, Cartersville’s Trevor Lawrence tossed five touchdown passes in Cartersville’s 44-6 win over Cedartown. The Purple Hurricanes outgained Cedartown 380 to 48 in total yardage. Lawrence finished 18-of-31 passing for 300 yards. Antoine Jefferson caught 10 balls for 153 yards and a touchdown, J’Kobe Orr caught two touchdowns and Trase Fezzia brought in a 43-yard touchdown pass. Cartersville has outscored its opponents 199 to 27 (34.4 points per game) during its 5-0 start.
