Ola took a big step toward clinching its fourth straight trip to the playoffs with a big 20-13 win over rival Union Grove on Friday. The Mustangs need to win one of their final two games – Locust Grove and Warner Robins – to guarantee themselves a place among the top four.
Ola led 14-13 at halftime, scored late in the game and failed on the two-point conversion. The Mustangs then got a timely interception from senior Ty Holsey and were able to run out the game. Joel Jones ran for 200 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead the offense.
“It was a great thing that we made plays on special teams, offense and defense. It was a big game for us,” first-year Ola coach Tom Causey said. “I know it’s coach-speak and you hear it all the time but in order to have a good football team, you’ve got to learn to serve one another and play for each other. I think in the last month, month-and-a-half, we’ve been able to do that.”
Ola had a weird scheduling stretch where it played one game over three weeks because of two off weeks.
“We couldn’t be consistent,” Causey said. “We really needed to be out there playing. Now we’ve been able to be a little more consistent, which has given us more opportunities and the guys are getting better at it.”
There are now four teams in Region 2 with 3-1 league records – Ola, Dutchtown, Jones County and Warner Robins. It should create an interesting final two weeks of the regular season.
“There’s four teams with one region loss,” Causey said. “That’s why that game last week (against Union Grove) was so huge, because you don’t want two losses. That would have been tough on us if we’d lost that one.”
Three other important wins from last week:
Clarke Central back in playoff picture: The Gladiators converted a two-point play – their own version of the “Philly Special” – in overtime to beat Eastside 28-27 and keep their playoff hopes alive. Jaden Cofer scored on the reverse, with QB Lucien Anderson out front as the blocker.
“We were a little gassed by the end of the game,” Clarke Central coach David Perno said. “We knew we had a good play and they had been over-pursuing. Our quarterback was the lead blocker and there wasn’t anybody out there to block.”
Cofer had a big night. The junior caught 12 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns. He has 34 receptions for 447 yards and four touchdowns this season.
The Gladiators can now finish third in Region 8 with a win in the season-finale next week at Winder-Barrow.
The Gladiators have endured a difficult schedule. They’re only 4-5 overall, but four losses have come against ranked teams. It hasn’t helped that they’ve lost an all-state cornerback, a running back and an offensive linemen for the season with injuries.
“We’ve had a lot of young kids who have stepped up, so that’s been good,” Perno said. “I like this team and they’ve kept fighting. I think we’re probably better than our record and we could be a tough out in the playoffs, if we can just get there.”
Jefferson hands first loss to Loganville: Junior Sammy Brown ran for five touchdowns and caught another touchdown pass to help the Dragons end Loganville’s winning streak with a 42-6 win. The victory means Jefferson (6-2, 4-0) can win the Region 8 championship by winning one of its final two games (Heritage and Eastside). Loganville (8-1, 4-1) can snag the second seed by beating Flowery Branch on Friday.
Kell’s late run stuns Greater Atlanta Christian: The Longhorns scored two touchdowns in the final 90 seconds of the game for a 28-19 win over the Spartans. Kell (7-1, 3-1) is almost assured of finishing second in Region 6.
GAC went ahead 19-14 with 3:39 on a touchdown pass from Jack Stanton to Braylen Burgess. Kell quarterback Bryce Clavon led the Longhorns on a scoring drive and took it in from the 5 with 1:38 left. A two-point conversion gave Kell a 22-19 lead. The outcome was clinched when Davion Hampton intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown.
Clavon completed 8 of 18 passes for 186 yards and also ran for two touchdowns. Stanton completed 15 of 27 passes for 167 yards and three touchdowns.
Three top performers
Sammy Brown, Jefferson: The junior two-way standout led the Dragons to a 42-6 win over No. 4 Loganville. He ran 19 times for 282 yards and five touchdowns, caught two passes for 55 yards and one touchdown.
Caden Williams, Calhoun: Ran 40 times – a school record – for 261 yards and three touchdowns in 28-13 win over Dalton. The win solidified Calhoun’s hold on the No. 1 spot in Region 7. The Yellow Jackets can sew up the regular-season championship and top seed with a home win against Cass on Friday.
Roderick McCrary, Creekside: Is it good when you average 46.7 yards per carry? That’s what McCrary did when the Semifinals lit up Villa Rica 63-0. The junior ran four times for 187 yards – one of them for 72 yards – and scored three touchdowns and has run for 920 yards this season. Creekside ran 18 times for 354 yards and six touchdowns against the Wildcats.
Official AJC Top 10 – and unofficial next five: 1. Ware County, 2. Creekside, 3. Cartersville, 4. Coffee, 5. Cambridge, 6. Jefferson, 7. Jones County, 8. Dutchtown, 9. Warner Robins,, 10. Calhoun. Next Five – 11. Loganville, 12. Northside Columbus, 13. Kell, 14. Chamblee, 14. Lithia Springs, 15. Clarke Central.
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