Islands High of Savannah overcame a 13-point halftime deficit to earn the school’s first varsity win on Friday by beating New Hampstead 14-13.
Islands and New Hampstead both opened in 2012 and have played two seasons of junior varsity football. The win was the first for Islands (1-2), while New Hampstead (0-4) is still looking.
New Hampstead took a 13 lead at the half thanks to a 46-yard pass from Kareem Terry to Dearious Young and a 2-yard run from Nicklaus Pikramenos. The second score was set up via an interception by Michael Loftin.
But Islands got the momentum with a big 55-yard kickoff return to start the second half. Thomas McBee scored on a 9-yard run to complete the drive.
The Sharks’ go-ahead score was set up when Richard Lucas blocked a punt late in the third quarter. Quarterback Charlie Harrell scored on a 4-yard run on the next play.
Turnovers played a critical part in the game. New Hampstead lost three fumbles and Islands had only one turnover.
Islands had been beaten by a combined 100-20 in its first two games.
Other things we learned on Friday night:
West Hall ends skid vs. rival: West Hall improved to 3-0 with a 38-0 win over rival North Hall. It was their first win in the series since 2002 and broke a seven-game losing streak to the Trojans. Four different players scored for West Hall, with Jay Crawford getting a pair. Isiah Rowe blocked to punts for West Hall, which has yet to allow a point this season.
Washington County's A.J. Gray is pretty good: The Georgia Tech commitment ran for two touchdowns and threw for two touchdowns in reaping 255 combined yards in a 42-3 win over Veterans. The game was delayed because of lightning and then called with 1:53 left in the third quarter. The No. 1-ranked Golden Hawks improved to 3-0.
Allen leads Peach County: Quarterback Robert Allen threw for 172 yards and two touchdowns, both to Saire Davis to lead the No. 5 Trojans to a 48-0 win over Southwest Macon. Nick Searcy ran for 61 yards and two touchdowns and Peach (3-0)limited Southwest to just two first downs.
Titans still rolling: No. 3 Blessed Trinity (3-0) took advantage of three turnovers and overwhelmed Creekview 37-0. Quarterback Connor Davis completed 12 of 15 passes for 201 yards, including touchdowns to Matthew Higgins and Chris Siebert. Elijah Hamilton added a 108 yards rushing and two touchdowns to lead a Titans' offense that totaled 459 yards.
Westminster rocks the Granite Bowl: The No. 8 Wildcats (3-0) went on the road and stunned Elbert County 24-7. The Westminster defense slowed an Elbert team that had scored 75 points in its first two games, limiting the Blue Devils to 220 yards and one score. Westminster seized the momentum in the second half with Zay Malcome's 70-yard kickoff return and tacked on a pair of long, time-consuming scoring drives to put the game away.
No. 4 Jefferson overpowers rival Commerce: The Dragons (4-0) beat their neighborhood rival 28-3 behind the passing of Evan Shirreffs. He completed 7 of 15 passes for 142 yards and three touchdowns. Jefferson's underrated defense limited Commerce to 7 rushing yards.
No. 7 Ringgold blanked by Adairsville: The Region 6 battle was no contest, as Adairsville dominated Ringgold 35-0. It was the most one-sided score in the history of the series. The Tigers are now 3-0 for the first time since 2011, when they went 10-2.
No. 2 Calhoun blitzes Gordon Central: The Yellow Jackets scored four times in the first quarter and went on to beat Gordon Central 49-7. Calhoun (3-0) was led hy quarterback Kaelan Riley, who threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in the first period. Riley completed 8 of 15 for 154 yards and two touchdowns.
Other nuggets from Friday night …
No. 10 Central Carroll celebrated a return to the state rankings with a 55-0 win over Hardaway. The Lions (3-0) rushed for 481 yards. … Jackson, expected to be a player in Region 2-AAA, ran for 268 yards and squashed Kendrick 40-2. … In Region 1-AAA Div. A, Dodge County whipped up on Savannah 40-0, with quarterback Landon Martin throwing for 44 yards and running for a touchdown, and Gerrard Davis and Roscoe Wilcox each rushing for a pair of touchdowns. Wilcox had 82 yards rushing. …. No. 9 Westside Macon beat West Laurens 36-10, improving the Seminoles dominance in the series to 5-0.
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