The season began with Washington County and Calhoun holding the top two positions in the Class AAA ranking and it’s been that way every week. Now the two undefeated teams will meet for the state championship at the Georgia Dome.
The two will play for the championship on Friday at 4:30 p.m. at the Georgia Dome. It will be the first meeting between the two established state powers.
Washington County 28, Blessed Trinity 17
No. 1-ranked Washington County spotted No. 3 Blessed Trinity 10 points to start the game before responding with a 28-17 victory at the House of Pain in Sandersville. Washington County (14-0) has now scored 715 points, breaking the old mark of 707 set by Buford in 2013.
Quarterback A.J. Gray rushed 30 times for 277 yards and scored three touchdowns to put the Golden Hawks in the championship game for the second straight year.
Gray, a Georgia The commitment who had rushed for 442 yards and eight touchdowns the previous week, also completed 8 of 12 passes for 89 yards.
Blessed Trinity (13-1) took the lead on a 28-yard field goal by Mitchell Rostowsky and a 3-yard touchdown run by Milton Shelton.
Trailing 10-0 for the first time all season, Washington County turned to Gray for the answer. He got free on an 81-yard run and added a 3-yard touchdown to put his team ahead. The Golden Hawks scored on a 15-yard run by Ethan Ray to take a 21-10 halftime lead.
Gray stretched the lead to 28-10 with a 35-yard run in the third and Blessed Trinity scored on a 70-yard pass from Conor Davis to Pat Jasinski.
Blessed Trinity was led by Shelton, who carried 22 times for 112 yards. Davis completed 2 of 6 passes for 90 yards, with one interception. Jasinski caught both the passes.
Washington County’s Ray ran 16 times for 89 yards. Logan Hunt caught four passes for 67 yards.
Calhoun 19, Westminster 8
No. 2 Calhoun relied on its underrated defense and its highly regarded quarterback to turn aside No. 6 Westminster 19-8 at Phil Reeve Stadium.
Calhoun quarterback Kaelen Riley completed 18 of 23 passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns. Riley also ran for 55 yards. He threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Thomas Lester for the only score in the first half, then connect with Lester again for 44 yards in the third quarter. Riley’s final score was a 55-yard pass to Malik Lawrence that put the Yellow Jackets ahead 19-0 in the final quarter.
Cole Jackson rushed for 68 yards and Lester had six receptions for 131 yards.
Westminster (12-2) had its best chance early when it had a first-and-goal from the 1 after Noah Nix recovered a fumble at the Cahoun 45 and the Wildcats drove it toward the endzone. But Westminster could not punch it in. Zay Malcome, who ran for 89 yards, was stopped on fourth down.
“Our defense plays with relentless effort,” Calhoun coach Hal Lamb told the Calhoun Times. “They played extremely well again tonight. That goalline stand was huge.”
The Wildcats got a touchdown with two minutes remaining on a 9-yard pass from quarterback Rankin Woley to Tyler Gillikin. The two-point conversion from Woley to Davis Houk.
“I thought when we didn’t score it really took a lot of the steam out of us,” Westminster coach Gerry Rhomberg told the on-field reporter for the WCAT Internet broadcast after the game. “That would have been hugh to get up on them. Our kids fought hard and battled the whole game.”
The game wound up starting at 9 p.m. One of the Westminster busses was involved in minor accident on its way to the game. Then a bank of lights went out at the park, pushing the start back even more.
The Yellow Jackets (14-0) are back in the championship game for the sixth time in seven years. This is Calhoun’s first season in Class AAA.
About the Author
