Has Westminster become the newest Cradle for Kickers?
Two years ago Harrison Butker was booming kicks out of the end zone and drilling every field goal attempt he tried. Butker was a great offensive weapon for the Wildcats and signed with Georgia Tech, where he’s been starting since his freshman season.
Now it looks like Trey Blasingame has signed up to be the next Butker. The senior kicked two field goals on Friday and booted four kickoffs out of the end zone as the Wildcats upset neighborhood rival Lovett 13-10. The victory was enough to get Westminster into the state rankings at No. 9 for the first time since 2012.
He wasn’t the only hero in the game. Running back Isaiah Malcome ran for 130 yards and Cole Haverty caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from Rankin Woley in the last quarter to provide the winning margin.
Westminster can’t take it easy. The Wildcats travel to Augusta on Friday for a game against Laney, another team that moved up from Class AA. Laney didn’t play last week after opening with a victory over Dublin.
Happy Days for Cedar Grove
The Cedar Grove Saints finally got to whip up on their big brother. The school was created in 1972, drawing students primarily from Walker (now McNair) and Southwest DeKalb.
Cedar Grove didn’t get many opportunities to play SWD, as the Panthers were always a much larger school. The two first played in 2002 and the results were about what you’d expect: Southwest won all six meetings, the closest game being a 17-6 win for the Panthers in 2007.
But with Cedar Grove moving into Class AAA and SWD dropping down into Class AAAAA in 2012, it made more sense to restart the series. And the Saints made Ellenwood proud by coming away with a 34-6 win.
The offensive start was LaBron Morris, who ran for three touchdowns (10, 40 and 18 yards), to lead the attack. James Hartsfield and Trey Shaw also ran for touchdowns for the Saints.
Central, Southwest Macon get attention
Traditional powers Peach County, Westside-Macon and Jackson are considered the three favorites in Region 2-AAA. Undetermined is which of the remaining six teams, a combination of schools from Columbus and Macon, will rise up and grab the other playoff spot.
Central Macon and Southwest Macon raised its hands on Friday. Central hasn’t made the playoffs since 2008 and hasn’t had a winning record since 2005. Southwest last made the playoffs in 2010 and had its last winning season in 2008.
The Central Chargers, beginning their third season under coach Jesse Hicks, beat Class A Wilkinson County 41-14 last week. That enabled the team to equal its win total from a year ago.
Junior quarterback Derrick Evans completed 9 of 11 passes for four touchdowns and sophomore running back Antonio Sanders ran 22 times for 208 yards.
The Southwest Patriots, winless a year ago, opened the season by beating Northeast Macon 21-16 to break a five-game losing streak against their rivals.
Jalyn Pauldo scored two touchdowns for Southwest, which erased a 16-6 deficit in the fourth quarter. Southwest’s defense then came up big with a goal-line stand at the end of the game to preserve the victory.
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