Region 4 was in full swing this past week and the games were predictably highly competitive—validating its standing as the most populated region of ranked teams in all of Class 4A. Troup came away with a big 43-33 win over Whitewater on Thursday to improve to 4-0 and 1-0 in region play. Quarterback Taeo Todd scored an 89-yard touchdown late in the first quarter to tie the game at 7. Todd passed for a touchdown early in the second quarter to cut into the Whitewater lead 20-14. With five minutes before halftime, Todd passed to Jay Young to make it a 23-20 game. Chris Moore tied the game with a 26-yard field goal with a minute left before halftime. Todd passed to Tray Blackmon to give Troup the 30-23 lead. With 8 minutes left in the third quarter, Todd scored on a short run to push the lead to 36-23. Whitewater cut into the lead on a 40-yard touchdown run from Logan Griffith late in the third quarter 36-30 and a field goal early in the fourth quarter made it a 36-33 game. Young’s 5-yard touchdown reception with a minute left in the game brought it to its final tally.Fayette County also earned a region victory on Thursday with its 34-0 win over North Clayton. As a result, Fayette County got its first win of the season—in large part to three touchdowns from Javon Graham proved the difference maker. Graham scored a 5-yard rushing touchdown to put Fayette up 6-0. He scored on 20-yard run late in the first quarter to expand the lead. WIth three minutes left in the first half, Graham scored on a run to put the Tigers up 21-0. Austin Jones scored on a 6-yard run to give Fayette a 27-0 lead. Marcus Collins brought the score to its final tally on a 10-yard run with two minutes left in the third quarter.
Starr’s Mill edged LaGrange in a 25-24 overtime thriller that was another top 10 showdown. The Panthers and Grangers game could not be decided in regulation and led to a thrilling overtime finish for Starr’s Mill as the Panthers served LaGrange its first loss of the season. The Panthers were first on the board when Andersen Cardoza rushed for a 28-yard touchdown early in the first quarter. LaGrange and Starr’s Mill traded field goals before the half to make it a 10-3 game. The Grangers scored two consecutive touchdowns in the third, a 19-yard touchdown pass by Jaylon Jordan and a 2-yard rushing score by Jaylan Brown to take the lead. Starr’s Mill tied the game at 17-17 to force overtime off a 56-yard touchdown pass by Bo Walker. Lagrange’s Magic Johnson scored the go-ahead touchdown, but Starr’s Mill responded with a 3-yard rushing score by Greigh Joseph and the game-winning two-point conversion scored off a rush by Cardoza. Additionally, Trinity Christian overcame five first-half turnovers and a 9-7 deficit to defeat Riverdale 20-15.
Perry looked outstanding in its 35-7 win over Peach County. Perry led 21-0 heading into the fourth quarter before closing out its largest margin of victory against Peach County since the 1983 season. Peach County did not gain any first downs in the opening quarter and Perry took the lead with an Armar Gordon touchdown pass to Traveon Wright. Gordon extended the lead with a 3-yard touchdown to Dakarai Anderson with 1:53 left in the half to push the lead to 14-0 and Demetrious Carter cashed in on Perry’s opening drive of the second half with a 1-yard score to put the Panthers up 21-0. Peach County’s lone touchdown came on a 4-yard run with 9:53 left in the game and Perry iced the victory with an 11-yard Anderson touchdown run and De’vuntae Kendrick’s interception touchdown return.
North Oconee scored a big 42-0 win over Madison County. The Titans began their scoring spree over Madison County with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Max Wilson to Khalil Barnes, before Barnes scored again in the quarter on the ground. Dom Elder rushed into the end zone to give the Titans their third score of the opening quarter. With 1:16 left until the half, Wilson scored off a quarterback sneak to go up 28-0. Wilson continued to shine in the third, scoring off a 35-yard rush before Elder scored again off a 37-yard rush.
In other 4A games: No. 9 ranked Bainbridge dropped a 26-18 loss to Class A Division I No. 6 ranked Brooks County at home. Quarterback Cam Sanders found Antavious Murphy on a 6-yard score to put the Bearcats up 7-0 in the first quarter, but Brooks County answered with a 19-0 scoring run and led 26-10 with just two minutes left. …Shaw also dropped a 33-20 home game to Columbus—its second straight loss after starting 2-0, but the rest of Region 1 earned victories in the three other contests. Cairo improved to 3-2 with a 27-14 road win over Pelham, Hardway earned its first win of the season against Harris County 23-20 and Westover defeated Turner County 35-20. …In Region 2, Griffin, Spalding, Baldwin and Westside-Macon were off on byes, but Howard joined Westside at 4-0 this season with a 14-3 win over Pike County. No. 4 ranked Perry dominated Class 3A No. 6 ranked Peach County 35-7—marking the Panthers largest victory over Peach County since 1983 and West Laurens suffered a 33-0 loss to Class A Division I No. 3 ranked Bleckley County. … In Region 3, No. 8 ranked Burke County improved to 4-0 with a massive 28-21 overtime victory against Class 3A No. 6 ranked Oconee County and New Hampstead (4-1) suffered its first loss of the season on the opposite end of the spectrum with a 28-27 overtime loss to Richmond Hill. Wayne County topped Statesboro 28-7, Southeast Bulloch defeated Tattnall County 23-9 and Islands dropped to 0-5 with a 49-0 loss to Brunswick. … Region 4 opened its region slate and it offered thrilling results. No. 5 Troup topped No. 3 Whitewater 43-33 to improve to 4-0, No. 6 Starr’s Mill edged No. 10 LaGrange 25-24 in overtime with a game-winning two-point conversion and Trinity Christian overcame five first-half turnovers to defeat Riverdale 20-15. Additionally, Fayette County topped North Clayton 24-0 to earn its first win of the year in another big region opener. … Region 5′s Hampton (4-1) dropped its first game of the season in a tough 49-2 region loss to Stockbridge, Lovett scored a 13-3 win over McDonough, Pace Academy bounced back from last week’s loss to Lovett with a 31-0 win over Woodland-Stockbridge and Luella earned its first win of the year in a 14-6 victory over Mt. Zion-Jonesboro. … In Region 6, Westminster cruised past Centennial 31-7, Holy Innocents’ topped Douglass 22-13, Southwest DeKalb topped Redan 55-6, Miller Grove fell in triple overtime 48-42 to Class 7A Central Gwinnett and Clarkston was on the receiving end of a 70-8 loss to Class 7A Osborne. Both Central Gwinnett and Osborne remain undefeated in their respective classifications. … No. 1 ranked Cedartown and 4-0 Heritage-Catoosa were off byes this week, but their four Region 7 counterparts played. Central-Carroll defeated Northgate 27-10 and Southeast Whitfield topped Armuchee 28-21, while Northwest Whitfield came up short 41-33 to Darlington and Sonoraville fell 40-7 to Calhoun. … Finally, in Region 8 East Forsyth improved to 3-0 for the first time in its young program’s history with a 42-0 win over Johnson-Gainesville. No. 2 ranked North Oconee opened up region play with an emphatic 42-0 win over Madison County, and North Hall earned its first victory of the year in a 69-0 win over East Hall.
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