![[AMMENDED CAPTION] Stephenson's Marte Barton (12) hands off the ball during a GHSA high school football game between Stephenson High School and Miller Grove High School at James R. Hallford Stadium in Clarkston, GA., on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021. (Photo/Jenn Finch)](https://www.ajc.com/resizer/v2/H3HXVUQYMQJ3CAHFYW36VZSPWU.jpg?auth=76af27c2840ef0cc3f734bd1fd13230c75ad16790fa5286faedd121613401599&width=1600&height=900&smart=true)
Burke County’s 6-foot-3 senior Kohen Rogers intercepted LaGrange with 11 seconds left to seal a thrilling road 23-20 victory in the lone Class 4A game that was played on Saturday. LaGrange’s Jaylan Brown found Jaylon Jordan for a 95-yard touchdown in the first half that helped the Grangers go into the break 13-13. The Grangers fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half and Burke County took advantage of the short field to go up 20-13. Burke County increased the lead to 23-13, but Brown cut the deficit to 23-20 with a goal-line touchdown with 3:51 left before Rogers eventually sealed the win with his late interception. Burke County will visit Bainbridge in the second round after the Bearcats’ 58-20 win over Baldwin.
Kalil Townes’ one-yard touchdown run with nine minutes left in the game broke a 6-6 tie and Lovett held on for a 13-6 victory over visiting Westminster. It was the first-ever playoff meeting between the two longtime rivals and also a rematch of the first game of the season.
Westminster won that regular-season encounter — also at Lovett — 14-0, and another defensive struggle ensued in the playoffs. The Wildcats forced two turnovers in the opening quarter, as Wade Penn recovered a fumble and Bobby Yarbrough picked off a Preston Lusink pass, but in two trips inside Lovett’s 10-yard line they could get nothing more than one 25-yard field goal from Josh Brockman. After Townes scored his first touchdown of the night and the extra point was missed, Brockman added another field goal to make it 6-6 at halftime.
Both offenses continued to struggle in the third quarter before the Lions finally got things going with an unlikely score. Pinned back at their own 2-yard line following a perfect punt by Westminster, the Lions marched on a 98-yard drive that culminated in Townes’ second touchdown. The Wildcats twice had the ball in Lovett territory trailing 13-6 late in the fourth quarter, but one drive resulted in a punt and they fumbled a snap inside the red zone with 15 seconds left to end their comeback hopes.
Troup County held on to win 36-29 and advanced to the second round after defeating New Hampstead. Troup led 23-14 at halftime after Taeo Todd threw a touchdown pass to Logan Sinkfield with 59 seconds left in the first half. New Hampstead tied the game late in the third quarter at 29-29 after a touchdown and a successful two-point conversion to put the pressure on top-seed Troup. Todd connected with Sinkfield again, this time on a 65-yard screen pass that went for a touchdown to give Troup momentum going into the fourth quarter.
No. 5-ranked Benedictine will advance to the second round for the 11th-straight year following a 34-10 win over visiting Whitewater. After a scoreless opening frame, Whitewater led 7-0 and 10-3 in the second quarter, but the Cadets outscored the Wildcats 31-0 the rest of the game. Quarterback Luke Kromenhoek had a pair of rushing scores and two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Thomas Blackshear for Benedictine, which will host Spalding next week.
No. 9-ranked Wayne County led visiting Trinity Christian 21-13 at halftime, then added a touchdown and field goal in the fourth quarter to seal the 31-13 first-round win. The Yellow Jackets, who went 0-9 last season, are advancing to the second round under first-year head coach Jaybo Shaw and will travel to No. 3-ranked Perry next week.
Devin Ingram’s heroics led Stephenson to a thrilling 40-38 win over visiting Pace Academy. With the Jaguars trailing 38-26 in the fourth quarter, Ingram returned a kickoff 65 yards for a touchdown and then scored the game-winner on a 58-yard run with one minute remaining. Ingram finished with four touchdowns in total, returning another kickoff 70 yards to the end zone to go along with an 8-yard scoring scamper. Terrence Kiel scored four times for the Knights, including an 85-yard fumble return and a 44-yard run.
No. 1 ranked Cedartown jumped out to a 42-0 halftime lead and improved to 11-0 on the season with a 49-0 win over Cedar Shoals. Quarterback Reece Tanner threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Harlem Diamond, ran in a 50-yard score on a fake punt and found Demarcus Gardner for a touchdown pass that was set up by Gardner’s interception just before the half. Diamond also added a 20-yard interception touchdown return in the first half. Juelz Davis provided the only points of the second half with his 13-yard touchdown run in the third.
Walnut Grove picked up its first-ever playoff win by beating Heritage-Catoosa 17-13. It was also Walnut Grove’s first time hosting a playoff game. Ashton Adams threw a pair of second-half touchdown passes and Avery Schnier’s interception with two minutes left clinched victory for the Warriors. … North Oconee scored 49 unanswered points to emphatically erase an early deficit and defeat visiting Sonoraville 49-6. Both Trey Lenhardt and Khalil Barnes returned interceptions for touchdowns. Lenhardt had two interceptions and Barnes also scored a rushing touchdown. … Perry scored on its first six possessions to build a 33-0 halftime advantage over visiting Shaw on the way to a 40-6 victory. Demetrious Carter, Ahmad Gordon and Ahmad Lee had touchdown runs for the Panthers, who also got a touchdown pass from Armar Gordon to Kory Pettigrew. … Logan Sinkfield caught three touchdown passes from Taeo Todd to lead Troup County past visiting New Hampstead 36-29. Sinkfield’s third score late in the third quarter broke a 29-29 tie, preceding a scoreless fourth. Todd and Tray Blackmon had rushing touchdowns for the Tigers. … Spalding scored the last 19 points of the game to sprint past visiting Westover 26-7. Curt Clark ran for a 25-yard touchdown and tossed a 34-yard scoring strike to Dwight Terrell. … Cairo trailed 14-10 in the third quarter but scored 17 unanswered points to beat visiting Westside-Macon 27-14. Braylon Robinson ran for a touchdown and also threw touchdown passes to Corey Baker and Tyree Kelly. Landon Vickers added a pair of field goals for the Syrupmakers.
CLASS 4A Second Round Pairings
Stephenson at Cedartown
Burke County at Bainbridge
Lovett at North Oconee
Wayne County at Perry
Spalding at Benedictine
Walnut Grove at Stockbridge
Cairo at Troup
Central-Carroll at Holy Innoncets’
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