The Loganville-Clarke Central game was an offensive delight, one that is unlikely to be equaled during the regular season.
Loganville won the game 51-50 by scoring two touchdowns in the final 1:33 after being down 43-27 with 11:55 remaining and 50-39 with 2:44 on the clock. Yes, it came over a Clarke Central that was already ravaged by injuries and suspensions, but any win over the Gladiators will look good on the resume regardless of circumstances.
“This was an evidence game,” Loganville coach Gene Cathcart said. “You need something because you’re working this hard. Last week we got blown out because we turned the ball over five times against a good football team, but it doesn’t have to be a good football team to beat you when you turn the ball over five times.
“So, we’re learning not to lose games, but we’re also learning how to hang in there together. Faith is the belief in things unseen, but it surely is good to see something happen every now and again. I sure am happy for our kids.”
Trailing by 11 points with less than three timeouts remaining, Loganville scored on a 14-yard pass from Brody Hannah to Joseph Barnes with 1:02 left, missed the two-point conversion and trailed 50-45. The Red Devils make a remarkable play to recover the onside kick and had the ball at the 40 with no timeouts remaining. Hannah threw a long completion to the 2 and on third down, after taking a procedure penalty, he fired the 7-yard winning touchdown pass to Ahmeed Soaure Jr.
Clarke was able to get in position to try a long field goal attempt from Cooper Evans, who had already kicked three field goals, but it fell about five yards short.
Hannah, a sophomore, completed 35 of 61 passes for 551 yards, seven touchdowns and no interceptions. Soaure, a junior, caught 13 passes for 296 yards and four touchdowns, giving him 44 receptions for 913 yards and 11 touchdowns. Barnes, a senior H-back, finished with 10 catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns.
“It’s been a battle of attrition but we’ve had guys step up,” Cathcart said. “I can’t emphasize enough the teamness of this one and just hanging together through adversity.”
Clarke was already without cornerback Kaleb Sewell (shoulder separation) and offensive tackle Garrett Hess, who watched the game from crutches, and lost cornerback Xavier Bailey to a shoulder separation in the third quarter of Thursday’s game.
A bright spot for the Gladiators was running back Corey Watkins, who carried 28 times for 269 yards and two touchdowns and caught a 19-yard touchdown pass.
No. 100 for Northgate’s McDonald: Not only did Northgate defeat McIntosh 56-21 to move into a share for the lead in Region 3, the Vikings also handed coach Mike McDonald his 100th career victory.
Evan Garrett did most of the heavy lifting. The senior returned the opening kick for a 97-yard touchdown and went on to rush 25 times for 282 yards and four touchdowns. Garrett now has 1,037 yards rushing this season.
All wasn’t peachy, however, as a fight broke out toward the end of the game and the Vikings had two players ejected and will be out for this week’s crucial game with Northside Columbus.
Six touchdowns for Jones County QB: Junior Devin Edmonds helped lead Jones County to a crucial Region 2 victory over Ola. Edmonds completed 26 of 32 passes for 361 yards and six touchdowns in the 48-17 win over the No. 10-ranked Mustangs.
Another big night for Tucker’s McCoy: Senior Jordan McCoy ran for carried 27 times for 226 yards and three touchdowns to lead his team to a 40-14 win over Chamblee at Adams Stadium. McCoy now has rushed for 1,287 yards and 18 touchdowns this season. Jamar Graham also threw for two touchdowns and ran for another for the Tigers.
Arabia Mountain improves to 6-1
Arabia Mountain knocked off defending Region 4 champion Decatur 25-12, stretching its winning streak to six games. The Rams were led by Daniel Turpin, who ran for three touchdowns and had eight tackles, three for loss, and intercepted a pass. Julian Shanks also tossed a touchdown pass for Arabia Mountain.
Carrollton survives Cass threat
Cartersville’s Nate Russell threw a touchdown pass to A’darrian Taylor-White in overtime to outlast rival Cass 21-14. Taylor-White had caught a 71-yard touchdown over the middle in the third quarter to give the Canes a lead. Cass tied the game and had a chance to win with a field goal in the waning seconds, but it was missed. The game ended when Cartersville’s Reed Ezell intercepted a pass at the 3 yard line.
About the Author
