ELCA goes downThe 37-game winning streak for No. 1 (Private) Eagle's Landing Christian Academy is over. The Chargers fell Friday at Class AAA Pace Academy, 17-16. ELCA (1-1) jumped out to a 16-3 lead at halftime, thanks to a blocked punt for a safety, and a two touchdown passes from Brayden Rush to Justin Robinson – a 39-yarder and a 6-yarder. Pace countered with a 27-yard field goal by Patrick Markwalter.
But Pace controlled the line of scrimmage throughout the second half and scored two third quarter touchdowns, including the go-ahead score on a 2-yard run by Keashawn Perryman and a 2-point conversion run by Lawrence Jordan II with a little more than a minute left in the third quarter. ELCA was playing without star WR/RB Justin Menard, who suffered a concussion last week.
“Nobody wants to lose,” ELCA head coach Jonathan Gess said afterward. “The streak was nice but it was going to end eventually. It was like a house of cards. Eventually it was going to come crashing down.”
ELCA will try to start another streak next week at Class AAAAAA Heritage-Conyers.
Two losing streaks endNo. 8 (Private) Savannah Country Day and No. 2 (Public) Irwin County each ended losing streaks on Friday. Savannah Country Day moved to 2-0 with a 21-7 win over No. 7 (Private) Stratford Academy, a team the Hornets had lost to the last four years in a row. Meanwhile, Irwin, last year's public state runners-up, was 0-19-1 in the last 20 meetings against Class AA No. 9 Fitzgerald, before Friday's 16-10 win.
Commerce moves to 2-0Commerce, pubic No. 8, easily dispatched of Athens Christian, 38-0. The Tigers' defense was clicking on all cylinders as it held the Eagles to just four first downs and 77 yards total in the game. Offensively, Nate Ray accounted for four total touchdowns: three rushing and one passing. He rushed for 96 yards on 10 carries and passed for 24 yards.
Pelham has arrivedThe days of Pelham being a doormat are apparently over. Since the arrival of Dondrail Pinkins in 2015, the Hornets are 25-7 with three playoff appearances. The three years prior to Pinkins, Pelham was a combined 9-21. The Hornets maintained their dominance over Randolph-Clay on Friday with a 57-0 win. In the last three meetings between the two teams, Pelham has outscored the Red Devils 160-38.
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