Jaybo Shaw has been given much credit for Wayne County’s turnaround from an 0-9 finish in 2021 to the 10-3 record in the coach’s first season last year.
If there’s a single player that has made the most difference, it’s probably Matt Fuller, a running back and linebacker committed to South Carolina. He led the Yellow Jackets with 1,757 yards and 90 tackles last season.
Fuller is off to a great start in 2023. He rushed for 291 yards and four touchdowns – both career highs – on 14 carries and had four tackles Thursday in Wayne County’s 49-20 victory over Bradwell Institute.
“He is one of 28 seniors that decided to do everything they can to put this football program back on track,” Shaw said. “It is a special group that loves each other and loves Wayne County.’’
Top five
*Gainesville RB Gavin Hall rushed for 203 yards on 19 carries and had two receptions for 49 yards in a 34-26 victory over Marist.
*Houston County QB A.J. Hill was 16-of-16 passing for 287 yards and four touchdowns, all in one half, in a 52-12 victory over Sumter County.
*Norcross QB/WR A.J. Watkins passed for 95 yards and two touchdowns, rushed for 107 yards and one touchdown and caught five passes for 33 yards in a 45-23 victory over Marietta.
*South Forsyth PK Davis Little kicked field goals of 60 and 57 yards and made both extra points in a 37-20 loss to Lanier.
*Wayne County RB/LB Matt Fuller rushed for 291 yards and four touchdowns on 14 carries and had four tackles in Wayne County’s 49-20 victory over Bradwell Institute.
Best of the rest
*Alexander QB Jaylen Mack rushed for 200 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries and intercepted a pass in a 33-15 victory over Riverwood.
*Athens Academy WR/DB K.J. Whitehead had five receptions for 119 yards and a touchdown and intercepted a pass in a 42-7 victory over Dade County.
*Bainbridge RB Keenan Phillips rushed for 206 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries in a 55-3 victory over Eagle’s Landing Christian.
*Brantley County QB Kirkland Cannon passed for 100 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 100 yards and three touchdowns in a 46-20 victory over Atkinson County.
*Buford DE Bryce Perry had three sacks, two QB pressures and two tackles in an 18-0 victory over St. Frances of Baltimore.
*Calvary Day WR Thomas Blackshear had five receptions for 150 yards and two touchdowns in a 49-8 victory over Islands.
*Camden County RB Jaden Dailey rushed for 146 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries in a 23-12 victory over Columbia.
*Carver (Atlanta) DL Jamontez Hines had five tackles for losses and five sacks in a 28-12 victory over LaGrange.
*Chamblee QB Ashton Bolston rushed for 150 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries and was 9-of-20 passing for 131 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-29 victory over South Cobb.
*Chattahoochee WR D.J. Avery had nine receptions for 165 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-28 loss to Forsyth Central.
*Clinch County RB Jeremy Bell rushed for 176 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries and scored a fourth TD on a 62-yard punt return in a 35-14 victory over Berrien.
*Coahulla Creek QB Chase Ward was 11-of-16 passing for 167 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 35 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-13 victory over Murray County.
*Coffee RB Fred Brown rushed for 234 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries in a 38-13 victory over Tift County.
*Colquitt County QB Ny Carr had seven receptions for 136 yards and two touchdowns in a 48-17 victory over Dutch Fork, S.C.
*Columbia QB Jadan Baugh rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries and was 6-of-15 passing for 80 yards in a 23-12 loss to Camden County.
*Cook RB Keshun McKever rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries in a 28-0 victory over Pelham.
*Creekside DB Kevon Gray had five tackles, broke up three passes and returned a fumble for a touchdown in a 35-23 victory over Kennesaw Mountain.
*Dodge County ATH Duke Johnson had 11 tackles, two tackles for losses, one sack, 76 rushing yards and a 15-yard reception in a 10-7 overtime loss to Bleckley County.
*Douglas County ATH James Johnson had five receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown, four kickoff returns for 138 yards, one punt return for 45 yards, seven solo tackles and two pass deflections in a 35-28 victory over Stockbridge.
*Druid Hills DL Xavier Norris had five tackles for losses and three sacks in a 26-7 victory over KIPP Atlanta.
*Dunwoody DL Luke Cole had five tackles for losses and two sacks in a 35-7 victory over North Springs.
*Early County ATH Charles Williams rushed for 78 yards, scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion and had four solo tackles in a 29-15 victory over Miller County.
*Etowah QB Xavier Mahoney rushed for 111 yards and three touchdowns, caught a 40-yard TD pass and threw for 49 yards while playing only the first quarter of a 63-14 victory over Lassiter.
*Fayette County LB Solomon Brown had seven solo tackles and three sacks, each causing a fumble, in a 37-24 loss to McIntosh.
*Fellowship Christian RB C.J. Givers rushed for 221 yards and four touchdowns, one a 93-yarder, on 14 carries in a 38-3 victory over Mount Pisgah Christian.
*Flowery Branch LB Cam Haynes had 12 tackles, blocked a punt and helped keep the opposing offense out of the end zone (only score a kickoff return) in a 38-7 victory over Decatur.
*Hebron Christian RB Devon Cardwell had 169 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns in a 70-14 victory over Chestatee.
*Hephzibah RB Telly Johnson rushed for 226 yards and four touchdowns on nine carries in a 35-14 victory over Westside of Augusta.
*Howard WR/LB Nate Campbell had four receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown, three tackles and two tackles for losses in a 42-6 victory over Southwest.
*Jasper County LB Tyler Banks had four sacks and six tackles in a 20-18 victory over Walnut Grove.
*Jeff Davis LB Carter Mullis had five tackles, four for losses, two assists, a QB pressure, an interception, a pass breakup and a game-sealing sack in a 23-20 victory over Charlton County.
*Kennesaw Mountain LB Christian Winston had four tackles for losses and two sacks in a 35-23 loss to Creekside.
*Lakeside (Atlanta) RB/DB Jean-Luc Noison rushed for 206 yards and two touchdowns and returned an interception 35 yards in a 26-6 victory over Berkmar.
*Lamar County DB Kemarion Hardin intercepted three passes in a 47-12 victory over Wilcox County.
*Lowndes LB Coleman Lewis had a team-leading 13 tackles, one tackle for a loss, one interception and two pass breakups in a 46-21 victory over Christ School of North Carolina.
*McIntosh County Academy DE Derrick Irons had two tackles, four tackles for losses, one sack, one assist, a fumble recovery and a safety in a 26-0 victory over Johnson of Savannah.
*Mill Creek RB Cam Robinson rushed for 229 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries in a 49-14 victory over North Gwinnett.
*Mount Paran Christian PK George Childs made field goals of 32, 37 and 40 yards, one at the end of regulation to force overtime, then one in overtime for the game winner, in a 29-26 victory over Midtown. Childs also recovered his own onside kick to start the second half.
*North Hall QB Tanner Marsh was 17-of-23 passing for 196 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 137 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries in a 49-34 victory over White County.
*Parkview DB Antonio White-Williams had six solo tackles and four tackles for losses in a 43-24 victory over Kell.
*Peachtree Ridge QB Darnell Kelley was 28-of-35 passing for 300 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-7 victory over Seckinger.
*Pickens DE Charlie Gibbons had seven tackles, three tackles for losses, three sacks, a forced fumble that he returned for a touchdown, a 23-yard field goal and four extra points in a 38-21 over Sonoraville.
*Richmond Hill WR/RB/KR Nick Bliss scored on a kickoff return (86 yards), a blocked punt return (55 yards) and a rush (4 yards) and totaled 245 all-purpose yards in a 34-7 victory over Effingham County.
*Ringgold RB Haddon Fries had 26 carries for 183 yards and one touchdown in a 21-12 victory over Heritage of Ringgold.
*Savannah Christian freshman DL LaDamian Guyton had 3.5 sacks, two tackles for losses and a forced fumble in a 49-0 victory over Hilton Head Christian of South Carolina.
*Stephens County RB Javin Gordon rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns, had 38 yards receiving and 49 yards returning kicks and recovered an onside kick in a 31-29 victory over Habersham Central.
*Stephenson RB Devin Ingram rushed for 178 yards and three touchdowns and returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown in a 46-20 victory over Lithia Springs.
*Swainsboro LB Jerrod Steward had seven solo tackles, two tackles for losses and a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown in a 39-7 victory over Metter.
*Temple RB/DE Jace Glenn rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns, caught a 26-yard pass, made five tackles, one for a loss, and had two QB pressures in a 57-6 victory over Pike County.
*Trion QB Kade Smith was 12-of-15 passing for 276 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 83 yards on six carries in a 56-14 victory over Gordon Lee.
*Walton DL Wendell Gregory had three tackles for losses, two sacks, three solo tackles and three assists in a 49-27 victory over Grayson.
*Westlake WR Travis Smith Jr. caught five passes for 174 yards and had TD receptions of 82 and 60 yards in a 52-28 victory over North Cobb.
*Westside (Macon) QB Paul Risper was 14-of-20 passing for 217 yards and four touchdowns, scored on a 13-yard run and made two tackles in a 56-0 victory over Central of Macon.
*Worth County WR Kerrian Dawsey had seven receptions for 249 yards and two touchdowns in a 22-21 loss to Turner County.
Lines of distinction
*Banks County’s offensive line of Brett Griffin, Mason Dodd, Andrew Humphries, Ashton Camp and King Johns paved the way for 371 yards in a 53-13 victory over Johnson of Gainesville.
*Gilmer’s offense line of Bryson Fink, Blane Banks, Austin Green, Kyler Norton and Avery Moseley and tight ends Blake Reece, Charles Norman and Tyler Wright cleared a path for 406 rushing yards in a 42-14 victory over Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe.
*Greene County’s offensive line of Vontae Dunn, Jaxson Lawrence, Tim Gresham, K.D. Andrews, Jay’shaun Jernigan and Zabian Smith powered the way for 387 yards rushing on 56 carries with three touchdowns in a 37-12 victory over B.E.S.T. Academy.
*Holy Innocents’ offensive line of Colin McGinty, Jackson Phoenix, Charlie Davidson, Sam Snyder, Leighton Bittel, Patton Price and Tyler Woods paved the way for 319 rushing yards on 60 carries in a 24-14 victory over Pace Academy. Jacobi Murray rushed for 186 yards. Holy Innocents’ attempted no passes.
*North Oconee’s offensive line of Daniel Waldrop, Cade Cagle, Alex Hamby, Cam McCullers and Bode Massie and tight ends Jack Kelly, Luke Waterworth and Noah Jordan blocked for 439 yards of total offense in a 29-12 victory over Oconee County.
*Sandy Creek’s offensive line of left tackle Nick Watts, left guard Jaden Godfrey, center Ryan Moore, right guard Justin Moore and right tackle Carl Anderson with H-back Mark Hill paved the way for a school-record 502 rushing yards and six touchdowns in a 44-24 victory over Newnan last week. Sophomore running back Amari Latimer rushed for a school-record 274 yards.
*Union County’s offensive line of Jaxon Tutherow, Kaden Kombs, Cody Meeks, Easton Shumaker and Mayo Collins-Spiva paved the way for 304 rushing yards and 167 passing yards in a 50-12 victory over Fannin County. Braylen Rader rushed for 134.
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