It was a good night for ranked teams on Friday.
All nine ranked teams that played won their games. And they each did it in a convincing manner.
The fewest number of points scored was 35; No. 9 Clarke Central overpowered Loganville 35-19. The most points scored was 70; Jones County whipped Eagle’s Landing 70-20. The narrowest margin of victory was seven points; No. 6 Coffee outlasted Veterans 45-38 in overtime. Three teams won by shutout. The average margin of victory for ranked teams was 34.1 points.
Ouch.
Here’s how it shook down.
Williams powers No. 1 Blessed Trinity: Senior Englan Williams ran for four touchdowns and the Titans celebrated homecoming with a 50-0 win over Hiram.
No. 2 Warner Robins routs Wayne County: The Demons scored 27 points in the second quarter to put it away. Ahmad Walker scored on a run and added a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown before the half.
No. 4 Cartersville rolls on: The Purple Hurricanes earned their third shutout of the season with a 47-0 victory over Woodland. Carlos Del Rio-Wilson threw two touchdown passes to Sam Phillips and another to Amari Orr, who also returned an interception for a touchdown. Quante Jennings rushed for two touchdowns.
No problem for No. 5 Calhoun: The Yellow Jackets crushed Cass 44-14 to set up next week’s showdown with Cartersville. Quarterback Christian Lewis threw three touchdown passes and Jerrian Hames ran for two scores for Calhoun.
No. 6 Coffee survives in OT: The game was tied six times and Veterans forced overtime when Daniel Gibbs kicked a 56-yard field goal at the final buzzer, after Noah Saylor had given Coffee the lead with a 46-yard field goal with less than a minute to play. The Trojans scored in its OT possession on Brady Skipper’s 10-yard run and Veterans turned it over after a bad snap to end the game.
Veterans quarterback Blake Ethridge threw for 390 yards and four touchdowns, two to Travahn Shorter. Coffee got three touchdown runs from Maurice Turner and two from quarterback A.J. Wilkerson.
No. 7 Starr’s Mill gets third straight shutout: The Panthers blanked rival Whitewater 42-0 and the senior class became the first to got 4-0 against their biggest rival. Starr’s Mill has blanked four opponents this season. William Yarbrough ran for three touchdowns and Greigh Joseph had a 99-yard touchdown run.
Fast start sparks No. 8 St. Pius: The Golden Lions overwhelmed King with 36 points to open the game and coasted to a 36-6 win. Mason Benefield ran for two touchdowns and Jack Tchienchou returned a punt for a score.
No. 9 Clarke Central clinches region: The Gladiators used three touchdown passes and one touchdown run from Will Robinson to defeat Loganville 35-19 and clinch the Region 8 championship for the second straight season.
No. 10 Jones County wins fifth straight: The Greyhounds kept its high-scoring offense in gear and surpassed the 50-point mark for the third time. It was a good night for Jones County, which celebrated homecoming and recognized its state-championship softball team at halftime.
Credit: Mark Brock, DeKalb County Sch
Credit: Mark Brock, DeKalb County Sch
In other big games:
Chamblee produces nine turnovers: The Bulldogs forced nine turnovers and blanked Liberty County 21-0 to guarantee a winning record for the first time since 2013. Dietrich Shugars caught a touchdown pass and came up with three interceptions for Chamblee. The Bulldogs also got interceptions from Jameel Avery, Jason Lynch and Sydik Ross and fumble recoveries from Jordan Townsend, Jacob Bedsole and Ja’Cari Waller.
Jonesboro to host Woodward Academy on Monday: The Region 3 puzzle will become clearer on Monday when Jonesboro (6-0, 4-0) and Woodward (4-3, 4-0) meet at Tara Stadium. Each team also has a game remaining with Creekside, the other team with an unblemished region record. Jonesboro blanked Drew 21-0 and Woodward Academy hammered Forest Park 49-0 on Thursday night to set up the first leg of the showdown.
