STATE RECAP: Trojans set up showdown

Peach County is back. Two weeks after an upset loss to West Laurens, the No. 9 Trojans have now won two tough Region 2-AAA games in a row. In beating Perry 24-6 Friday night a week after taking down Mary Persons, Peach County has essentially set up a winner-take-all defacto region title game with No. 10 Baldwinin the regular season finale. The Trojans have given up just nine points in their past two games. … First Presbyterian Day beat Landmark Christian 31-21 as QB Brooks Stroud ran for four TDs. The win assures FPD of a home playoff game.… The magical run of Coffee came to an end as Lowndes earned a dominating 36-10 victory at the Concrete Palace. Coffee lost its first Region 1-AAAAA game while the Vikings won their first. … Valdosta handed Tift County its third region loss of the season, while gaining their second. The Blue Devils are now in sole possession of last place in the region and will need to beat both Valdosta and Lowndes to earn a playoff spot. … Calvary Day fell to No. 1 Savannah Christian 49-7 in Savannah’s most important game of the year. A year after losing the rivalry game to the Cavaliers inspired the Raiders. “It really felt good to beat them tonight,” said SCPS RB Will Austin, who had 184 yards and four TDs on seven carries. “We had a great game plan to try to get out on the perimeter, and my offensive line did a great job. I felt like I could take it all the way every time I touched the ball.” … Despite having three wins forfeited during the week, Athens Christian rose up and defeated rival Athens Academy for the first time in eight meetings. The Eagles had never come within 10 points of their cross-town neighbors, but pulled off a mild upset Friday night. Athens Christian also played without RB Travis Wildgoose, a foreign exchange student from the Bahamas. Wildgoose was ruled ineligible during the week, forcing the Eagles to forfeit three games they won. “All of that just fired us up,” Athens Christian Zack Resop told the Athens Banner-Herald. “All of our team was just motivated, and all of our seniors were just talking the whole week about who it was time to show we don’t need (Wildgoose) to win and that we are a good team.”