The Gordon Lee Trojans handed Chattooga its first loss of the season Friday night, pulling away from a back-and-forth battle with a pair of fourth-quarter scores from Dalton Russell for a 42-28 home victory.
Junior running back Peyton Groce had a trio of touchdowns in the contest, including a 49-yard trip to the end zone on the third play of the second half that put the Trojans ahead by a margin of 28-14. Indians quarterback Quarry Gibson found Matthew Bryant for their second touchdown connection of the night shortly after, and Zayden Cook’s second score knotted the game late in the third.
Chattooga then had a chance to take the lead after forcing a Trojans turnover on downs, but instead went three-and-out. Russell broke the tie with his first score and — after a recovery of an Indians fumble —iced the game from 33 yards out.
Both teams will continue Region 7-A Div. I play next week, with Gordon Lee (4-2, 2-1) traveling to Dade County and Chattooga (5-1, 2-1) visiting fourth-ranked Fannin County.
On Wednesday, Thomasville improved to 5-1 and 2-0 in region play with a big win over region rival Jeff Davis, 31-7. Thomasville started the scoring early with a 33-yard rushing touchdown from Cam Hill with 10:15 left in the first quarter to go up 7-0. The Yellow Jackets then tied the game with 9:30 left in the second quarter. The Bulldogs regained the lead with 1:38 left in the half on a 42-yard field goal by Camden Christian, going into the break up 10-7. Thomasville scored first in the second half with a 30-yard touchdown run from Lavonte Cole with 7:19 left in the third quarter. The game turned defensive for much of the second half until, with 3:33 remaining, Hill scored his second touchdown of the day, extending the Bulldogs’ lead to 24-7. Thomasville added one final score on a 25-yard touchdown by Ant Anderson with 1:22 remaining, defeating the Yellow Jackets 31-7.
Bacon County won its first region game of the season on Wednesday night as the Red Raiders defeated Berrien 51-12 for their fourth win on the season. Keyundric Dixon began the night’s scoring with a 78-yard rushing touchdown, giving the Red Raiders the early advantage. Aiden Cothern followed Dixon’s long run with a highlight of his own, returning a punt for a touchdown to take a 14-0 lead in the second quarter. After a Berrien fumble, the Red Raiders offense was able to capitalize with a 40-yard touchdown throw from Knox Ledbetter to Cothern for his second score of the night to take a 21-0 first half lead. Dixon scored his second touchdown right before the half followed by another Berrien fumble as Aki Brown’s scoop-and-score gave the Red Raiders a 35-0 advantage. Travion Richardson continued the night’s scoring with another Bacon County rushing touchdown to extend the lead to 42-0 in the third before a Berrien score got the Rebels on the board. Following a 23-yard field goal, Bacon County got the ball back and scored on a 55-yard touchdown from Jamin Ellis to put the nail in the coffin as the Red Raiders handled the Rebels on Wednesday night.
On Friday, Fellowship Christian, ranked No. 6 in Class A-3A Private, led 35-14 at halftime on its way to a 56-28 road win over Mt. Vernon in the teams’ first-ever meeting. CJ Givers rushed for four touchdowns for the Paladins, and quarterback Jonathan Granby had a rushing touchdown and a touchdown pass to Evan Haynes. Bryce Sewell also had a rushing score for Fellowship (4-2, 2-0 Region 5-A Division I) and Al Thompson returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Mt. Vernon fell to 3-2, 1-1 in Region 5-A Division I.
No. 4 ranked Fannin County grew a 10-0 lead with a 72-yard touchdown pass from Lawson Sullivan to Elijah Weaver midway through the first quarter of its 38-6 win over Gordon Central. Sullivan called his own number and scored on a 30-yard quarterback keeper to make it 17-0 and Carson Callihan ran in Fannin County’s next three scores from six, nine and 42 yards, respectively.
Senior Preston Guy connected on three field goals in the first half and Luke Cross connected with Jude Nelson for a touchdown to give the Redskins a 15-7 lead and Social Circle held off Putnam County 29-22. Rashod Daniel scored on a 3-yard run for Putnam County in the first half that cut it to 12-7 before Guy’s late field goal. Deven Usand increased Social Circle’s lead to 22-7 with a 3-yard touchdown run. Daniel answered with a 3-yard rushing score and Branan Griffin’s successful two-point conversion cut the deficit to 22-15 heading into the fourth quarter. Nelson hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass to put Social Circle back up by two scores and Griffin’s 4-yard touchdown made it 29-22 before the Redskins sealed the victory.
No. 9 ranked Lamar County defeated McNair 19-16 and took a 6-0 lead with a 3-yard Gary Morton touchdown run and failed two-point conversion. McNair connected on a 27-yard field goal early in the second quarter, but Kenyae Barnes answered with a 55-yard Trojans touchdown to put Lamar County up 13-3. McNair was forced to punt and Barnes returned to the endzone on a 20-yard carry before the half to push the lead to 19-3 at the break. McNair’s Keyuntae Phillips cut the deficit to 19-10 with a 13-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and Jeremy Victor connected with Milek Adams early in the fourth quarter for another Mustangs touchdown, but Lamar County’s defense closed out the victory.
No. 10 ranked Commerce topped Elbert County 42-20 and was led by senior Jacari Huff—who finished with a game-high 153 yards and three touchdowns off of 17 carries. Huff ran in two of his touchdowns in the first half. Quarterback Jaiden Daniels added 52 rushing yards and a touchdown—all in the first half and Tysean Wiggins finished the game with 103 yards off of 11 carries with a first half-touchdown run. Sophomore Ty Sorrells had one of Commerce’s three interceptions in the game. Senior Mac Mullis had an interception to go with his 10 total tackles and Jace Lyle had an interception in the second half and also contributed 27 rushing yards off a pair of carries.
The Athens Academy Spartans remain undefeated on the season after picking up their second Region 8 victory with a 47-27 win over Oglethorpe County. The Spartans were first on the board with a 7-yard touchdown rush by Jeremiah Wingfield to go up 7-0. The Patriots responded with a touchdown rush of their own, but a blocked PAT kept Athens Academy in the lead. The Spartans struck again on a 1-yard touchdown rush by Wingfield, set up by an 80-yard kickoff return by Keyon Standifer. Quarterback Hampton Johnson found Standifer late in the second on an 18-yard touchdown pass to give Athens Academy a 20-6 lead following a failed PAT. Oglethorpe County would keep the game within reach with a 13-yard touchdown rush to cut the deficit to 20-13 at the half. Johnson would find Standifer late in the third on a 74-yard touchdown strike, followed by a 59-yard touchdown rush by Jamari Welch to give the Spartans a 33-13 lead. Athens Academy would keep the game out of reach with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns, one a 19-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to KJ Whitehead and the other an interception returned for a touchdown by Standifer, his third score of the game.
Week 7 Results and Standings
REGION 1
Thomasville 2-0, 5-1
Fitzgerald 1-0, 3-1
Brantley County 1-0, 1-4
Bacon County 1-1, 4-2
Jeff Davis 0-2, 4-2
Worth County 0-1, 2-3
Berrien 0-1, 0-5
WEEK 7 RESULTS
Bacon County 51, Berrien 12
Jeff Davis vs. Thomasville 31, Jeff Davis 7
Monday, Sept. 30
Worth County vs. Brantley County (TBD)
Fitzgerald vs. Class 2A Appling County (TBD)
REGION 2
Dodge County 5-0, 6-0
Dublin 4-0, 5-0
Northeast 4-0, 4-1
Washington County 3-2, 3-3
ACE Charter 2-2, 3-2
Southwest 2-3, 2-4
Bleckley County 1-3, 2-3
East Laurens 1-3, 2-2
Central-Macon 0-5, 0-6
Jefferson County 0-4, 0-5
WEEK 7
Washington County 40, Central-Macon 0
Dodge County 49, Southwest 0
Thursday, Oct. 3
Northeast vs. Bleckley County
REGION 3
Savannah Christian 0-0, 5-0
Toombs County 0-0, 5-0
Vidalia 0-0, 3-2
Sav. Country Day 0-0, 2-3
Swainsboro 0-0, 1-5
WEEK 7
Savannah Christian at Class 4A Blessed Trinity (Cancelled)
Toombs County at Class 2A Tattnall County (Postponed
Vidalia vs. Class 2A Pierce County (Postponed)
REGION 4
Jasper County 1-0, 4-1
Social Circle 1-0, 3-2
Putnam County 1-0, 2-3
Lamar County 0-0, 3-1
McNair 0-1, 2-3
Towers 0-1, 2-2
Utopian Academy 0-1, 0-5
WEEK 7
Lamar County 19, McNair 16
Social Circle 29, Putnam County 22
Monday, Sept. 30
Towers vs. Southeast Whitfield (TBD)
REGION 5
Sub Region A
Wesleyan 2-0, 5-1
Mount Vernon 1-0, 3-1
Fellowship Christian 1-0, 3-2
King’s Ridge 0-1, 4-1
Mt. Pisgah 0-2, 0-6
St. Francis 0-1, 0-5
Mount Bethel 0-0, 3-0 ++
Sub Region B
Landmark Christian 0-0, 4-1
Mount Paran 0-1, 4-2
B.E.S.T. Academy 0-0, 3-2
Whitefield Academy 1-0, 4-2
Walker 0-0, 2-3
WEEK 7
Fellowship Christian 56, Mount Vernon 28
Wesleyan 52, Mount Pisgah 7
Whitefield Academy 35, Mount Paran 8
Walker vs. B.E.S.T. Academy (TBD)
King’s Ridge vs. St. Francis (TBD)
REGION 6
Temple 2-0, 5-1
Darlington 2-0, 4-2
Heard County 1-0, 3-2
Bremen 1-1, 3-3
Model 0-1, 2-3
Haralson County 0-2, 1-5
Pepperell 0-2, 0-6
WEEK 7
Darlington 21, Pepperell 20
Heard County 49, Haralson County 15
Temple 34, Bremen 18
REGION 7
Fannin County 3-0, 6-0
Christian Heritage 3-0, 5-1
Chattooga 2-1, 5-1
Gordon Lee 2-1, 4-2
Gordon Central 1-2, 3-3
Dade County 1-2, 2-4
Armuchee 0-3, 3-3
Coosa 0-3, 2-4
WEEK 7
Dade County 21, Armuchee 7
Christian Heritage 41, Coosa 7
Fannin County 38, Gordon Central 6
Gordon Lee 42, Chattooga 28
REGION 8
Athens Academy 1-0, 5-0
Rabun County 1-0, 4-1
Elbert County 1-0, 2-3
Providence Christian 0-0, 1-3
Commerce 0-2, 2-3
Banks County 0-1, 0-5
Oglethorpe County 0-1, 0-5
WEEK 7
Athens Academy 47, Oglethorpe County 27
Commerce 42, Elbert County 27
Rabun County 50, Providence Christian 14
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