A couple of teams from the two power conferences in Class 5A came away with huge wins on Friday to move a step closer to securing a home-field advantage for the state playoffs.
In Region 1, No. 6 Ware County scored an impressive 35-3 road win over No. 4 Coffee, and in Region 7, No. 7 Calhoun outslugged No. 9 Blessed Trinity 32-27 on the road. Both have difficult tasks ahead – Ware County plays No. 1-ranked Warner Robins this week and Calhoun still has No. 2 Cartersville – but the wins most likely mean they will finish first or second in their regions.
“That’s probably the most complete football game in all three phases that we’ve played maybe in two year,” Ware County coach Jason Strickland said. “It was impressive to be coming off that loss to Benedictine and see just how focused our guys were the last two weeks of practice.”
Ware was helped by the return of linebacker Trey Hargrove, the team’s emotional leader. “Getting him back was a big boost for us,” Strickland said.
The Gators scored on their first two possession, with Thomas Castellanos throwing to Jarvis Hayes on a 50-yard post, then adding a 40-yard run from Castellanos to go up 14-0. Another touchdown with 15 seconds left in the half seemed to deflate the Trojans, Strickland said.
Calhoun quarterback Christian Lewis accounted for three touchdowns – throwing for scores to Cole Speer and Quin Smith and running for another. Gage Leonard ran for two touchdowns, one of them after he intercepted a pass.
The Yellow Jackets gambled and recovered a pair of onside kicks and were able to limit Blessed Trinity’s all-state running back Justice Haynes to four touchdowns.
In Region 1: Veterans likely locked up a playoff spot with its 24-7 win over Wayne County. The Warhawks scored twice in fourth quarter thanks to a muffed punt and a 70-yard pick-six from Hayden Sanders. No. 1 Warner Robins did not play.
In Region 2: Whitewater won its sixth straight game by beating McIntosh 55-7. Braxton Mueller returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown to set the tone. Quarterback Austin Williams ran for two touchdowns and threw for another for Whitewater. … Griffin hammered Northside Columbus and has a showdown next week with Starr’s Mill, which did not play.
In Region 3: Mundy’s Mill beat Drew 13-7 to remain in the playoff hunt. No. 3 Creekside and No. 5 Woodward Academy did not play.
In Region 4: Dutchtown rallied to beat Stockbridge 7-6 to remain unbeaten in the league and set up a potential showdown with Jones County. Jones County escaped with a 48-42 win over Ola in overtime. John Alan Richter threw a touchdown pass to Connor Bass with 17 seconds left and caught a two-point conversion pass from Zion Ragins to tie the game. The Greyhounds blocked a field goal in overtime and won it on Richter’s keeper. Richter threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns.
Region 5: No. 8 St. Pius had no problems with Lithonia, beating the Bulldogs 43-6. Austin Taylor returned a kickoff for a touchdown; he had earlier run for an 18-yard score. Luke Jacobellis and two touchdown runs, Alex Possert threw a touchdown pass to Charles Weick and Shug Bentley added a 41-yard pick six. … No. 10 Decatur did not play.
Region 6: Villa Rica remained unbeaten in the league with a 49-0 over North Springs. … Lithia Springs beat Maynard Jackson 27-12 for its first league win to move into the playoff picture.
Region 7: No. 2 Cartersville beat feisty Hiram 34-14 to remain perfect in league play. Jake Parker was 11-for-16 for 137 yards passing and the Hurricanes spread out the 287 rushing yards between seven backs, with Amari White carrying eight times for 84 yards and three scores.
Region 8: Clarke Central made it a happy homecoming with a 40-7 win over Walnut Grove. Cooper Evans kicked a pair of field goals and the Gladiators got big defensive plays from Kahari Dean (fumble recovery) Renaldo Faust (interception) and Bilal Jones (pick six) to win their fourth straight game. … Eastside held off Loganville 10-9 to get back in the picture for the league’s No. 2 spot. … Jackson County whipped Johnson to give coach Rich McWhorter his 299th career victory.
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