Trinity Christian (5-2) outscored Whitewater (23-7) 20-0 in the fourth quarter to pick up its fifth-straight victory (27-23) and improve to 4-0 in Region 4-4A. Quarterback Henry Broadnax found Austin Morrow for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 23-20 with just over three minutes left and after a crucial defensive stop went through the air to complete the game-winning touchdown pass with 2:00 left.
Visiting Cedartown did all of its scoring in the first half, getting three touchdowns in both the first and second quarters to defeat Heritage-Catoosa 42-0. The Bulldogs got two touchdown passes from Reece Tanner to Harlem Diamond, the first a 29-yard score in the first quarter and the second a 51-yard touchdown for the game’s final points. Diamond rushed for a 71-yard score for the first touchdown of the night, and Tanner had a 1-yard quarterback sneak for a TD in the second quarter. Also for Cedartown, Khamarion Davis had a 9-yard touchdown rush and Patrick Gardner had a 2-yard touchdown rush.
Stephenson held off visiting Westminster 18-13 in a back-and-forth battle. The Jaguars twice gave up six-point leads, first in the final seconds of the opening half and again early in the fourth quarter. However, Cheik Keita’s second rushing touchdown gave Stephenson an 18-13 advantage that it would not relinquish. Devin Ingram also scored for the home team, while Westminster got touchdowns from John Collier on a quarterback sneak and on a 47-yard pass play from Collier to Henry Chartrand.
Host East Forsyth improved to 5-1 and 3-1 in Region 8 with the biggest victory in the young two-year program’s history—a 14-7 win over Cherokee Bluff. The teams went into the half tied 0-0 and Cherokee Bluff found the endzone midway through the third quarter to gain its 7-0 lead. Sophomore quarterback Brock Szakacs connected with sophomore Andrew Frank on a key completion to set up a first and goal at the Bears’ two-yard line and junior Will Moffitt punched it in to tie the game before the Broncos’ game-winning touchdown.
Northwest Whitfield snapped a two-game losing streak with an emphatic 48-0 victory over visiting Southeast Whitfield. Ike Ralston set the tone early for the Bruins when he recovered a fumble on the Raiders’ opening kickoff, and Owen Brooker connected with Isaiah Foster on the next play for a 7-0 lead. Brooker finished the night with four touchdown passes, with the other three going to Gavin Nuckolls, Hudson Grey and Braxton Floyd. Nuckolls also threw a 47-yard touchdown completion to Evan Jones in the fourth, and Tony Burnecke and Holden Lane added rushing scores.
Starr’s Mill bounced back from last week’s 3-0 loss to Trinity Christian with a flawless 33-0 shutout victory over the rival Wildcats. Max Pronzy connected on a 43 and 30-yard field goal and Jacob Free ran in an 18-yard touchdown to put Starr’s Mill up 12-0 at the half. The Panthers added two defensive touchdowns and a 1-yard Blake Turner touchdown run in the second half to seal the victory. Will Clem returned an interception for a touchdown and Josh Phifer pounced on a fumble for a touchdown.
LaGrange celebrated a massive 62-7 homecoming victory over North Clayton to improve to 2-2 in Region 4-4A. Quarterback Jaylan Brown found the Grangers’ homecoming king J’Arthur Dunn for a 50-yard touchdown to go up 7-0 and then rushed for an 11-yard score before tossing a 30-yard strike to Jaylen Jordan to build an early 21-0 lead. AJ Tucker had touchdown runs of 1 and 88 yards, Tayshon Lemon scored on an interception touchdown return and sophomore Steven Hill hauled in a touchdown pass. Head coach Matt Napier got to see his underclassmen shine and freshman Jardon Stringer had a 60-yard touchdown reception to go with his 53-yard punt return touchdown.
Stockbridge improved to 4-0 in Region 5 to gain sole possession of first place following a convincing 34-0 win at Lovett. The Tigers dominated on each side of the ball and their offense excelled both on the ground and through the air. Quarterback Cobey Thompkins threw for 138 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a score. Shelton Lewis hauled in two of Thompkins’ scoring strikes and also came up with an interception on defense. Jordyn Mack rushed 16 times for 134 yards and a touchdown to go along with 55 yards and another score on three receptions. Edward Minor went for 105 rushing yards, while Diontre Stone had 65 yards and a TD. Stockbridge led 14-0 at halftime and by the final 34-0 margin going into the fourth quarter.
No. 8 ranked Bainbridge opened up its Region 1 schedule with an emphatic 59-7 win over Westover and Cairo became the first Region 1 team to improve to 2-0 with a 42-14 win over Hardaway---giving the Syrupmakers a 138-14 scoring edge over their last three opponents. In Region 2, Howard moved to 1-2 in region play with its 14-13 win road over Spalding and the Jags’ dropped to 1-2 in the region as a result. Westside-Macon picked up a 22-8 win over West Laurens and No. 3 ranked Perry will visit Griffin on Saturday. Defending state champion Benedictine topped an undefeated Burke County team 28-3 on Thursday, New Hampstead opened its region schedule with a 34-22 win over Southeast Bulloch and Wayne County topped Islands 56-7. Region 4 had another massive week with Troup moving to 7-0 and 4-0 in region play with its 52-14 win over Riverdale. Troup’s last region title came in 1987 and at this point Trinity Christian remains the only other team in the region without a defeat after pulling off a dramatic 27-23 comeback victory over Whitewater. Stockbridge is alone at the top of the Region 5 standings after a 34-0 win over Lovett and Stephenson is alone at the top of Region 6 with its 18-13 win over Westminster and Miller Grove’s 14-7 loss to Holy Innocents’. In Region 7, No. 1 ranked Cedartown pummeled an undefeated Heritage-Catoosa team 42-0—scoring all of its points in the first half and No. 2 ranked North Oconee represented Region 8 with a 55-12 win over Cedar Shoals to improve to 6-0 and 4-0 in the region. The other big result out of Region 8 was East Forsyth’s stunning 14-7 win over Cherokee Bluff that has the 5-1 Broncos (3-1 in region play) in the hunt for the program’s first-ever playoff berth.
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