It has been a long time coming for Douglass-Atlanta to be competitive in its region battle with perennial power Cedar Grove.
But the Astros defeated the Saints 28-0 Friday in its Region 5-3A opener to give the program momentum heading into its region stretch. Since taking over the Douglass program in 2021, coach Stanley Pritchett’s team had not scored against the Saints, much less win a game, in three tries.
And that made Friday’s victory special.
Casey Barner scored on runs of 8 and 11 yards, and quarterback John Wilson added a 36-yard touchdown to lead Douglass to its first victory against Cedar Grove since 2003.
Marquavious Grimes capped scoring with a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown.
Douglass lost to Cedar Grove 56-0 in 2021, 42-0 in 2022 and 41-0 last season. The shutout marked the first time Cedar Grove has been held scoreless since 2014, when the Saints lost 22-0 to Columbia. That’s a streak of 138 games.
“It’s not really the same team that (Cedar Grove) was in the past,” Pritchett said. “But they still have a lot of talent, and I won’t be surprised if they get back on track. It was a good win and was close until the third quarter, when it was 7-0. We kind of opened it up and ran away with it.”
Douglass held Columbia scoreless in the second half of its come-from-behind 46-21 victory Sept. 6, so that tallies to six quarters where the Astros have not allowed a point.
There’s still one goal for Douglass that has remained unchanged since the last game of the season last year – a first-round 28-14 loss to Oconee County in the playoffs.
“Win a region title,” said Pritchett. “That is the goal, a region title.”
Friday’s victory provided a good start. If the Astros finish in the top four in the region and advance to the playoffs, they will have a chance for their first playoff victory since 2019. Douglass lost in the first round the last two seasons.
“Moving forward, we have Riverdale in two weeks, and we want to be prepared for them and not look too far ahead,” Pritchett said.
There was one surprising result Friday: No. 3 Monroe Area lost to unranked Class 2A Hart County (3-2) 28-21, sending the Purple Hurricanes out of the rankings. Five of the top-10 teams did not play — No. 4 Jefferson, No. 5 Cherokee Bluff, No. 8 Cairo, No. 9 Calhoun and No. 10 Oconee County.
Oconee is a new addition to the poll. After an 0-3 start, the No. 10-ranked Warriors have beaten Class 5A Loganville 45-7 and Class 2A No. 3 Stephens County 35-10 on Sept. 13. They will enter Region 8 play against No. 5 Cherokee Bluff on Friday.
Class 3A results
1. (1) Sandy Creek (5-0) beat Trinity Christian 45-0.
2. (2) Peach County (4-1) beat Northside-Warner Robins 50-7.
3. (4) Jefferson (3-2) did not play.
4. (5) Northwest Whitfield (5-0) beat Gilmer 38-10.
5. (6) Cherokee Bluff (5-0) did not play.
6. (7) Douglass (3-2) beat Cedar Grove 28-0.
7. (8) LaGrange (4-2) beat Spalding 42-22.
8. (9) Cairo (2-2) did not play.
9. (10) Calhoun (1-3) did not play.
10. (NR) Oconee County (2-3) did not play.
Out – No. 3 Monroe Area after a 28-21 loss to Hart County
