The race for the Region 2-AAAAA championship took a dramatic and surprising turn on Friday when perennial contenders Warner Robins and top-ranked Northside-Warner Robins both lost and gave up a combined 107 points in the process.
The new teams to beat? Houston County and Jones County, who are tied for first place with 3-0 region records.
Jones County sophomore quarterback Bradley Hunnicutt passed for 350 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Greyhounds past Northside 45-37, becoming the first team other than Warner Robins to beat the Eagles in the regular season since a 24-7 loss to Lowndes in 2008. The Greyhounds, who are 4-0 overall for the first time since 1999, are seeking the third region title in school history and their first since 2001.
Houston County led 28-23 at halftime but outscored Warner Robins 34-7 in the second half to beat the Demons 62-30. The Bears got three touchdowns in the second half and four overall from Kenny Gant, who rushed for 109 yards, according to the Macon Telegraph. The 62 points were the most allowed in a game by Warner Robins since a 67-13 loss to Macon’s Lanier in 1966. Houston County is 4-0 overall for just the second time since 1997 and is seeking the first region title in the program’s 24-year history.
The region’s new co-leaders will meet in a showdown on a Thursday (Oct. 16) at McConnell-Talbert Stadium in Warner Robins.
Region 8 standings upside down
If the playoffs were held tomorrow, three of the regulars from Region 8 (Clarke Central, Flowery Branch and Heritage-Conyers) wouldn’t make the field. That’s because another crazy weekend in the region has left Lanier, Salem and Gainesville as the only unbeaten teams in region play, just ahead of fourth-place Winder-Barrow, which hasn’t won more than two games in a season since 2007. Lanier and Gainesville won as expected, but the other region games were shockers. Salem kicked a 21-yard field goal with 1:24 remaining to beat Clarke Central 19-17, the Seminoles’ first win in the series since 2004. Winder-Barrow routed previously unbeaten Loganville 46-7 for its first win over the Red Devils since 2003. And Flowery Branch, the region champion in 2012, dropped to 0-2 in the region with a 35-16 loss to a Heritage team that came in 0-3 overall.
Creekside wins Region 6 showdown
Fourth-ranked Creekside (4-1) rallied with 21 points in the fourth quarter to beat No. 3 Stephenson 28-14 in a battle of Region 6-AAAAA superpowers. Creekside’s Bricen Terry rushed 29 times for 208 yards, including 151 in the second half. The turning point in the game came late in the third quarter, when Creekside stopped Stephenson (2-2) four times inside the 1-yard line as the Jaguars were trying to take a 21-7 lead. Creekside took the ball 98 yards on the ensuing drive and tied the game on a 19-yard pass from Felix Harper to Myles Clark. Both teams will be off next weekend before beginning subregion play on Oct. 3 (Creekside vs. Mays and Stephenson vs. Miller Grove).
Things looking up for Forsyth Central
Count Forsyth Central among the most improved teams in Class AAAAA. The Bulldogs gave fifth-ranked Kell all it could handle before losing 28-14. Kell took the lead for good on a 73-yard pass from Cameron Rosendahl to Josh Blancato with 2:35 to play in the third quarter but didn’t secure the victory until Rosendahl’s 1-yard sneak with 2:58 left in the game. One more victory will give Forsyth Central (2-2 overall, 0-1 in 7-AAAAA Div. B) its best season since the 2009 team finished 4-6. “I can’t say enough about Forsyth Central,” Kell coach Derek Cook said after the game. “Those guys brought it to us tonight. They played well on both sides of the line and made it really difficult for us at times to move the ball and stop them from moving the ball.”
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