No. 2 ranked North Oconee opened its Region 8 slate with an impressive 38-0 win over Madison County. The Titans led 14-0 after the first quarter and 28-0 at the half to overwhelm the Red Raiders and were fueled by Landon Roldan’s trio of touchdowns in the victory. Top-ranked Benedictine improved to 5-0 with a 35-10 win over Class 3A Hebron Christian. The classification also saw several other successful results outside of 4A. Burke County exploded for a 49-17 win over Oconee County—leading 28-10 before an explosive final frame. Westminster defeated Class 6A Centennial 31-22. Michael Buhay completed 10 of 14 passes for 117 yards and threw both of his touchdown strikes to Brand Morgan as visiting Westminster defeated Centennial. The Wildcats also got a touchdown run by Wade Penn and a scoop and score off of a fumbled lateral by Lawton Sodemann. Centennial battled back to make it a one-possession game in the fourth quarter thanks in part to touchdowns by Sean Siracusa and Palmer Sperier, but Will Simpson’s 49-yard field goal with a little more than two minutes remaining iced it for Westminster.
In Region action, Starr’s Mill pulled away for a major 21-7 win over LaGrange. The Panthers missed the playoffs despite a 7-3 overall record last season and so Friday’s win over LaGrange was significant. Taylor Ratinaud broke a 7-7 tie with an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter as Starr’s Mill battled past visiting LaGrange. Ratinaud also intercepted a pass late in the fourth quarter to put away any chance LaGrange had of mounting a comeback. The Panthers got touchdown runs by Dorsey Benefield and Logan Inagawa. LaGrange’s lone score came just prior to halftime on a 63-yard pass from Malik Kemp to Denorayon Reid that tied things up at 7-7.
Pace Academy blanked Woodland-Stockbridge 37-0 on Thursday. Maddox Crawford scored twice on the ground and Terrence Kiel Jr. returned a punt for a touchdown. … Holy Innocents’ led 28-0 at halftime and coasted to a 38-14 victory over Douglass. The Golden Bears got two touchdowns from Nemo High and one each by Nick Morgan, Jamie Savula and Zach Jackson. … Cedar Shoals won a defensive struggle with Walnut Grove 14-6. The Jaguars trailed 6-0 midway through the second quarter, but Anthony Hubbard scored on a 20-yard run to give them a 7-6 lead at halftime and Taiwan Green provided the clincher from three yards out with two minutes left in the game. … Cairo had too much firepower in all three phases for Pelham in a 43-27 victory. The Syrupmakers faced deficits of 7-0 and 14-7 before taking control thanks in part to special teams and defense. Bryian Duncan returned an interception for a score and Keshen Spence returned a kickoff for a touchdown and also recovered a blocked punt for a TD. … Southeast Bulloch shut out Tattnall County 17-0. A dominant defensive effort saw Kyle O’Brien score on an interception return. Quentin Reed added a touchdown run and Cole Snyder kicked a 40-yard field goal for the Yellow Jackets. ….Additionally, Northwest Whitfield defeated Darlington to improve to 4-1 and Central-Carroll defeated Northgate to improve to 5-0—setting the stage for what is going to be a dramatic playoff battle in Region 7 this season.
Class 4A Week 5 Standings and Results
Region 1
Cairo 0-0, 4-1
Westover 0-0, 3-2
Bainbridge 0-0, 2-2
Shaw 0-0, 2-3
Hardaway 0-0, 0-5
Friday, Sept. 15
Cairo 43, Pelham 27
Harris County 40, Hardaway 13
Shaw 28, Columbus 15
Westover 40, Turner County 27
Region 2
Spalding 0-0, 4-0
Westside-Macon 0-0, 4-0
Baldwin 0-0, 3-1
Howard 0-0, 2-1
Perry 0-0, 2-1
West Laurens 0-0, 2-2
Griffin 0-0, 0-4
Friday, Sept. 15
Howard 49, Pike County 0
Perry 42, Peach County 21
West Laurens 33, Bleckley County 27
Region 3
Benedictine 0-0, 5-0
Burke County 0-0, 4-0
Southeast Bulloch 0-0, 3-1
Wayne County 0-0, 3-1
New Hampstead 0-0, 2-2
Islands 0-0, 0-5
Friday, Sept. 15
Benedictine 35, Hebron Christian 10
Burke County 49, Oconee County 17 Brunswick 63, Islands 0
Richmond Hill 28, New Hampstead 26
Southeast Bulloch 17, Tattnall County 0
Wayne County 31, Statesboro 13
Region 4
North Clayton 2-0, 4-1
Troup 1-0, 4-0
Trinity Christian 1-0, 2-2
Starr’s Mill 1-0, 2-2
LaGrange 0-1, 2-2
Whitewater 0-1, 2-2
Fayette County 0-1, 0-4
Riverdale 0-2, 0-5
Friday, Sept. 15
* North Clayton 36, Fayette County 17
*Starr’s Mill 21, LaGrange 7
*Trinity Christian 56, Riverdale 18
* Troup 56, Whitewater 7
Region 5
Stockbridge 2-0, 3-2
Lovett 2-0, 2-2
McDonough 1-1, 3-1
Hampton 1-1, 2-3
Pace Academy 1-1, 2-3
Luella 1-1, 1-4
Mt. Zion-Jonesboro 0-2, 0-4
Woodland-Stockbridge 0-2, 0-5
Thursday, Sept. 14
*Pace Academy 37, Woodland-Stockbridge 0
Friday, Sept. 15
*Stockbridge 41, Hampton 20
*Luella 38, Mt. Zion-Jonesboro 3
* Lovett 38, McDonough 20
Region 6
Holy Innocents’ 0-0, 5-0
Miller Grove 0-0, 4-1
Stephenson 0-0, 3-1 Westminster 0-0, 2-2
Southwest DeKalb 0-0, 2-3
Hapeville Charter 0-0, 1-3
+Druid Hills 0-0, 2-1-1
+Clarkston 0-0, 1-3
+Stone Mountain 0-0, 0-4
Friday, Sept. 15
Osborne 37, Clarkston 6
Holy Innocents’ 38, Douglass 14
Miller Grove 32, Central Gwinnett 21
Southwest DeKalb 22, Redan 18
Westminster 32, Centennial 21
Region 7
Central-Carroll 0-0, 5-0 Northwest Whitfield 0-0, 4-1
Heritage-Catoosa 0-0, 3-1
Sonoraville 0-0, 2-3
Southeast Whitfield 0-0, 1-3
Cedartown 0-0, 1-3
Friday, Sept. 15
Central-Carroll 21, Northgate 17
Northwest Whitfield 21, Darlington 17
Calhoun 52, Sonoraville 16
Armuchee 53, Southeast Whitfield 10
Region 8
North Hall 2-0, 4-0
East Forsyth 1-0, 3-0
North Oconee 1-0, 3-0
Madison County 1-1, 3-1
East Hall 1-1, 2-2
Cedar Shoals 1-1, 1-3
Cherokee Bluff 1-1, 1-3
Walnut Grove 0-2, 1-3
Chestatee 0-2, 0-4
+Johnson-Gainesville 0-0, 1-3
+Seckinger 0-0, 0-4
Friday, Sept. 15
*Cedar Shoals 14, Walnut Grove 6
* Cherokee Bluff 48, Chestatee 0
East Forsyth 49, Johnson-Gainesville 0
* North Oconee 38, Madison County 0
*North Hall 49, East Hall 14
About the Author
