Calhoun coach Hal Lamb isn’t likely to forget his 200th win.
The veteran coach reached that milestone on Friday night when his No. 1-ranked Yellow Jackets survived to beat No. 10 Peach County 20-14 in overtime at Phil Reeve Stadium. In 19 seasons as a head coach, the last 17 at Calhoun, Lamb is 200-46.
Lamb’s father, Ray Lamb, was 249-109-11 in 32 seasons at Warren County, Commerce and Monroe Area before he retired in 1992. They are the winningest father-son coaching duo in Georgia history.
Calhoun had to come up big in the final minutes to turn aside a spirited Peach County team. The Yellow Jackets survived a long field goal attempt by Peach in regulation and Baylon Spector recovered a fumble at the 1 in overtime.
The Yellow Jackets wasted no time winning the game. Quarterback Kaelan Riley scored on a 15-yard keeper on the first play to end the game. Riley threw for 166 yards and one touchdown and ran 28 times for 165 yards and one touchdown.
It was the closest game of the year for Calhoun, whose other close call was a four-point win against Class AAAA Carrollton in the second week of the season.
In other second-round games:
No. 2 Blessed Trinity beat Jefferson 38-12 for its 12th straight win, but the victory came with a high cost. The Titans lost three starters in the first quarter: defensive lineman Griffin Elder, quarterback Conor Davis and running back Milton Shelton. Shelton had to be taken from the stadium in an ambulance.
The backups came through for coach Tim McFarlin’s team. Tailback Garrett Dupuis scored on a 9-yard run and Elijah Hamilton scored on a 6-yard run -- after intercepting a pass.
Dupuis ran 21 times for 123 yards and three touchdowns, as well as catching a touchdown pass. Ryan Davis, the younger brother of Conor, had six catches for 113 yards. Jake Smith, a freshman replacement at quarterback, was 12-for-14 for 200 yards passing and the Titans totalled 371 yards of total offense.
Elbert County advances: The Blue Devils (10-2) will travel to Calhoun after it survived a 23-8 trip to Dodge County. Elbert intercepted two passes in the final two minutes, one by Mecole Hardman and the other by Joseph Johnson.
Hardman rushed for 222 yards and three touchdowns, including a 28-yard run on the first play after he came away with the turnover to ice the game.
Dodge County was limited to 148 yards rushing. Ryan Glover ran for 69 yards and Camron Young gained 59 for the Indians (11-1).
Knowlton, Westside roll on: Quarterback Savion Knowlton threw for 95 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 135 yards and three touchdown as Westside-Macon (8-3) rolled past Sonoraville 43-10.
Sonoraville (8-4) was hosting its first state playoff game, but got behind early and could not catch up. The Phoenix got 51 yards rushing and 41 passing from quarterback Cody Long and 51 yards rushing from Hunter Lay.
Adairsville eliminates Jackson: Roger Redd threw two touchdown passes the Tigers ousted No. 9 Jackson 34-16.. Sidnee Johnson and Marquel Lane each ran for scores and Torrey Hale had two touchdowns, one running and one receiving.
Dawson County ends Spencer's run: Dawson County (9-3) will be making its second trip to the state quarterfinals after a 22-12 win over Spencer. Quarterback Coey Watson ran for a touchdown and threw for two others, hitting Luke Martin and Tucker Maxwell for scores.
Westminster wins on the road: Zay Malcome ran for three touchdowns as Westminster's road warriors came back from LaGrange with a 49-28 win over No. 6 Callaway. It was the fifth straight week the Wildcats (8-4) have played away from home and won.
Schedule for quarterfinals
Westminster at Adairsville
Westside-Macon at Cedar Grove
Elbert County at Calhoun
Blessed Trinity at Dawson County
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