Week 8 Friday Night Roundups

No. 7-ranked Calhoun traveled to No. 9-ranked Blessed Trinity for a Class 5A Region 7 showdown that was packed with stellar individual performances, ultimately coming away with a crucial 32-27 victory after withstanding the heroics of Titans running back Justice Haynes. The Yellow Jackets set an aggressive tone early with an onside kick following quarterback Christian Lewis’ early touchdown run, which was recovered by the Titans. Haynes found the end zone for the first time after a pick-up of 62 yards by Ashton Abrew, but Calhoun quickly reclaimed the lead when Cole Speer’s return to the Blessed Trinity 21-yard line set up a rushing score by Gage Leonard. Leonard then came down with a stunning one-handed interception off Titans quarterback JC French and capped the ensuing Calhoun drive with a second touchdown run. Haynes managed to score again as the half came to a close to cut the Yellow Jacket lead to 20-14 heading into the break.

Again, Calhoun attempted an onside kick to start the half, and this time, Camran Dodd recovered it for the Yellow Jackets. Speer, who entered the game with only 10 receptions but five touchdowns on the season, added a sixth on a 27-yarder from Lewis before Haynes made it a one-score (26-21) game again later in the quarter with an 85-yard run on the first snap of the Titans’ drive.

Speer appeared to have another touchdown early in the fourth quarter, but Blessed Trinity’s Evan Dickens dragged the ball out of his arms just before it crossed the plane. Calhoun had better luck on its next drive, however, and Quin Smith’s diving score off Lewis’ pass put the Yellow Jackets ahead by two possessions once again. Despite impressive defensive plays by Speer and Smith, Haynes added his fourth touchdown of the night with 1:50 remaining. Two points would have brought Blessed Trinity within three, but the attempt was unsuccessful, and Christopher Lewis recovered the ensuing onside kick for Calhoun.

The Titans’ defense held strong, and the Yellow Jackets were forced to punt after Mavrick Torrico stopped Speer at the line of scrimmage on 3rd-and-5. Smith quashed any hope of a Titans comeback moments later with his game-sealing interception, and Calhoun improves to 6-1 on the year and 2-0 in region play.

The AJC has writers at the following games: Walton 52, Hillgrove 35, Miller Grove 34, Stephenson 27, Cambridge 28, Sequoyah 0, Lovejoy 32, Tucker 0

Follow the links to the FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD or check out Todd Holcomb’s Friday Night Wrap.

See the rest of the Friday Night Roundups below.

Class 7A

North Cobb 42, Harrison 14

Malachi Singleton threw three touchdown passes and rushed for a score to lead the Warriors to a home win. Singleton rushed for a touchdown on the game’s opening drive and threw touchdown passes of 31 yards to David Eziomume and 14 yards to Ben Hall before his final touchdown of the night, a 42-yard pass to De’Nylon Morrissette, gave North Cobb a 35-14 lead in the fourth quarter. North Cobb’s T.J. Smith capped the scoring with a touchdown pass to Sam Mbake, and Marquis Groves-Killebrew had an interception return for a touchdown for North Cobb.

Milton 54, Etowah 14

Milton quarterback Devin Farrell threw four touchdown passes and rushed for a touchdown in the Eagles’ road win. Farrell threw touchdown passes to Debron Gatling (73 yards), Brooks Bortle (39 yards), Jack Nickel (20 yards) and Elliott Meyer (4 yards). Farrell finished 17-of-22 passing for 257 yards and no interceptions. He also rushed for a 53-yard touchdown and found Adam Freas for a two-point conversion. Milton’s Scott Moskowitz rushed 12 times for 136 yards and a 71-yard touchdown, and Felipe Mota hit field goals of 34 and 32 yards for the Eagles. Milton backup quarterback Dylan Warren found Wyatt Nave for a 56-yard touchdown for the game’s final points. Elijah Washington scored both of Woodstock’s touchdowns on rushes of 24 yards and 1 yard. Milton led 41-7 at halftime.

Alpharetta 51, Woodstock 7

Ben Guthrie threw five touchdowns for Alpharetta in its win over visiting Woodstock. Matteo Carriere caught three touchdowns from Guthrie for the Raiders, who led 37-0 at halftime and snapped a five-game losing streak with the win. Alpharetta now enters its bye week and will face Cherokee in Week 10.

South Forsyth 30, West Forsyth 24 (OT)

Back-to-back fourth-quarter scores gave West Forsyth a 24-16 lead over host South Forsyth before the War Eagles sent the game to overtime, where Gavin Morris’ 12-yard run secured the win for the home team. Ty Watkins had a pair of first-half touchdown passes to Chris Nelson (14 yards) and Josh Nelson (14 yards) and Tyler Simpson completed a 26-yard field goal for South Forsyth, and a 28-yard field goal by Kevin Petraglia along with an 11-yard scoring strike from Keegan Stover to Dylan Baggett brought the score to 16-10 at the break with the War Eagles out in front. Oscar Delp gave the Wolverines their first lead of the night (17-16) early in the fourth on a 13-yard run, and Ryder Stewart dove over the pile for another score with 6:22 remaining. Watkins then connected with Austin Uidel on a 34-yarder before Nelson’s two-point run forced overtime. Petraglia’s 31-yard attempt was no good, and Morris sealed the sixth-straight win for the War Eagles with his 12-yard trip to the end zone.

North Forsyth 23, Forsyth Central 0 

Neither team could get much going during a rainy first half, but North Forsyth managed to get a pair of field goals on the board by the break. The Raiders had to settle for another field goal early in the second half before North quarterback Drew Aucoin found tight end Riley Smith on a 6-yard touchdown pass midway through the third quarter. The Raiders were able to get a rushing touchdown from Patrick Corrigan to make their lead 23-0 early in the final period before defensive stops and running the clock sealed the North Forsyth victory.

North Paulding 45, Marietta 42

Marietta running back Melvin Alexander rushed for a 6-yard score with 2:06 remaining to put Marietta ahead 42-38, but North Paulding quarterback Boone Anderson capped an 80-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Ray with 17.5 seconds remaining to give the Wolfpack the home win in a wild, back-and-forth game. Marietta took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on two Tyler Hughes touchdown passes to Christian Mathis for 33 and 60 yards, and Hughes threw touchdown passes of 80 and 34 yards to Kamryn Perry in the second quarter to give Marietta a 26-14 halftime lead. North Paulding running back Jaylen Poe rushed for a pair of scores in the second quarter and gave the Wolfpack a 28-26 lead with rushing scores of 24 and 7 yards in the third quarter. North Paulding stretched its lead to 38-26 after an Anderson touchdown pass to Hayden Smith and a field goal by Ethan Sanchez to cap a dominant third quarter before Marietta regained the lead in the fourth with a 5-yard Hughes touchdown rush and the go-ahead Alexander score.

Denmark 17, Lambert 14

Lambert took a 7-0 lead in the second quarter when James Tyre connected with Kojo Antwi for the touchdown before Denmark kicker Trey Glymph kicked a 41-yard field goal heading into halftime. The score stayed at 7-3 heading into the fourth, where junior Amon Williams scored off a 1-yard rush to give the Danes the lead. Junior Dee Crayton added to the lead with another rushing touchdown to secure the win for Denmark—its fifth of the season.

South Cobb 17, Kennesaw Mountain 15

South Cobb scored the game’s first points and went into halftime with a 7-0 lead. Kennesaw Mountain rebounded late in the third quarter by forcing a turnover on downs that led to a 15-yard Cayman Prangley touchdown pass and successful 2-point conversion attempt—both of which were caught by Dustin Griner. South Cobb responded with another touchdown of its own only to have Cayman Prangley connect with Earl Kyle on a 3-yard pass to make the score 15-14 in favor of the Mustangs with just over five minutes remaining in the game. On its next possession, South Cobb drove the field and hit the eventual game-winning 35-yard field goal with 1:12 left on the game clock.

Roswell 41, Cherokee 13

Quarterback Robbie Roper had one passing touchdown and one rushing for visiting Roswell after missing the previous game with an injury, and Hornets running back Nykahi Davenport rushed 28 times for 181 yards and two touchdowns. Roswell led 27-7 at the break after Davenport scored with just 34 seconds remaining in the half. Roper’s touchdown pass was a 48-yard throw to Dylan Williams in the second quarter, and Roper gave Roswell a 34-7 lead in the third quarter with a 10-yard rushing score. Chris Elko and Ethan Nation also rushed for touchdowns for the Hornets. Cherokee quarterback A.J. Swann rushed for a touchdown late in the first quarter and threw for a score on the final play of the game.

McEachern 36, Campbell 7

The McEachern Indians opened region play with a dominating 36-7 win over Campbell at Walter Cantrell Stadium. Bryce Archie and Kaleb Webb connected for three scores, while Makari Bodiford contributed two rushing touchdowns. After starting the season with three straight wins, the Campbell Spartans suffered their third-straight loss. Campbell hosts Pebblebrook next week.

Pebblebrook 38, East Coweta 21

The East Coweta Indians dropped their second straight and region opener in a 38-21 loss to the Pebblebrook Falcons. After East Coweta took an early lead, the Falcons scored 31 unanswered points to end the first half. Jamar Grant threw touchdown passes to Briyar Powers and Damion Thompson, and Dwight Phillips also scored twice—both on runs of 75-plus yards. The Falcons improved their record to 6-0-1 with the win.

Lowndes 45, Cedar Grove 38

7A No. 9 Lowndes knocked off 3A No. 1 Cedar Grove in a 45-38 back-and-forth thriller. Cedar Grove held a 14-0 lead before the Vikings got on the board, but neither defense could stop the other, and heading late into the fourth quarter the score was tied at 38-38. The Lowndes defense then forced a Saints fumble, and Lowndes was able to drive down to the 1-yard line before punching it in for the game-winning score.

Class 6A

Lassiter 38, Sprayberry 35

Lassiter began the Class 6A shootout with a 78-yard kickoff return on the opening play for a score by senior Jaylen Dillahunty. Junior quarterback Bryson Harrison extended the lead with a 35-yard touchdown strike to Danny Curran before Sprayberry scored off a 39-yard touchdown run by Isaiah Abbey. Sprayberry scored again in the second quarter when Nix connected with junior Jermaine Kenty for a 66-yard touchdown. In the third, Lassiter scored twice off a pair of rushing scores from Harrison, but Sprayberry would tie the game with a pair of scores from Abbey to make it a 28-28 game in the fourth. Lassiter then scored when Harrison tossed the ball to Curran, who hit senior Cullen English with a 48-yarder. Nix managed to tie the game again on a touchdown pass to Pedro Luciano, but a 44-yard game-winning field goal from junior Drew Campbell secured the win for the Trojans.

Creekview 38, River Ridge 17

Creekview and River Ridge traded scores throughout the first half of their Week 8 matchup, and River Ridge held a 17-13 advantage at the break. Creekview opened the second half with a touchdown to give the Grizzlies a 20-17 lead, then added another three scores in the fourth to complete the comeback.

Class 5A

Rome 48, East Paulding 7

Reece Fountain threw five touchdown passes of 73, 38, 49, 59 and 66 yards in Rome’s victory on Friday night. D.K. Daniel (38, 59 yards) and Patrick Cromer (49, 66 yards) each caught two touchdown passes, while Martel Hight (73 yards) caught the other. Darius Smith and Bryson Hill added touchdown runs of 1 and 31 yards, respectively, and Jackson Kilma connected with Nate Stenson for a 22-yard touchdown pass in the final minutes of the fourth quarter for the Wolves’ seventh touchdown of the evening.

Whitewater 55, McIntosh 7

Braxton Mueller returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and the Whitewater Wildcats never let up en route to their sixth consecutive victory. The Wildcats rushing game was on full display, with junior Logan Griffith, junior Xavier Clay-Turner, senior Adeoluwa Erinle and sophomore Corey Richardson all scoring on the ground, and senior quarterback Austin Williams also rushed for two scores and tossed a touchdown to junior Popo Aguirre

St. Pius X 43, Lithonia 6

St. Pius X dominated in all three phases of the game to overwhelm visiting Lithonia. Already leading 29-0, Austin Taylor returned the second-half kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown. That was Taylor’s second touchdown of the game, having previously scored on an 18-yard run on a 4th-and-5 play early in the second quarter. Luke Jacobellis also scored twice for the Golden Lions, including a 48-yard scamper that resulted in a 22-0 advantage. St. Pius X also got a 29-yard scoring strike from Alex Possert to Charles Weick and a 41 interception for a touchdown by Shug Bentley. The Golden Lions led 43-0 before Lithonia finally got on the scoreboard with 2:52 remaining.

Jackson County 63, Johnson-Gainesville 0

Jaden Cofer capped Jackson County’s opening drive with a 19-yard touchdown run and scored on a 54-yard screen to push the lead to 13-0 at the end of the first quarter. Isaiah Macy added two touchdown passes to Bailey Hamm and one to Trey Ransom and the Panthers cruised into the half with a 48-0 lead.

Class 4A

Benedictine 49, Jenkins 6

Holden Geriner threw for three touchdowns, one to La’Don Bryant for 15 yards and two to Justin Thomas for 63 and 25 yards, in Benedictine’s win at Savannah Memorial Stadium. Thomas also rushed for scores of 3 yards and 1 yard to give him five total touchdowns. RaSean Matthews contributed a 1-yard touchdown as well for the Cadets, who led 35-0 at halftime. Benedictine center Nyle Rehman recovered a fumble in the end zone for a Cadets touchdown.

North Oconee 14, Flowery Branch 7

North Oconee scored all of its points in the first quarter of their Week 8 matchup with Flowery Branch. The Titans got on the board with a 65-yard touchdown completion from Max Wilson to Khalil Barnes, and Wilson scored again off an 18-yard rush. The North Oconee defense held Flowery Branch to just one touchdown throughout the game to secure the win.

Jefferson 34, Cedar Shoals 9

Jefferson rolled to a 34-9 win on Friday night over Cedar Shoals. Star running back Tre Reece had two rushing scores while Sammy Brown and Isaiah Copeland each added another on the ground. Max Aldridge connected with his first cousin Jack Eubanks for a Dragons touchdown as well.

Cairo 37, Monroe 0

Amarion Byrden rushed for two touchdowns in the first quarter to give visiting Cairo a 14-0 lead. Quarterback Braylon Robinson added an 8-yard touchdown pass to Tyree Kelly and Gary Davis rushed for a touchdown to put the Syrupmakers up 28-0. Monroe had a bad snap on its first play following the Davis touchdown and that pushed the lead to 30-0 at the half. After a scoreless third quarter, Austin Perry iced the game with a touchdown run during a fourth quarter that featured a running clock.

Class 3A

Oconee County 35, Hart County 13

CJ Jones rushed for four touchdowns and Jacob Wright passed to Jake Johnson on a 19-yard touchdown to lift Oconee past Hart County. After Wright’s pass to Johnson, Hart County responded with a rushing touchdown early in the second quarter to tie the game but the Warriors came back with a Jones touchdown run to lead 14-7. A 24-yard run from Jones put Oconee County ahead 21-7 after Gabe Valdez’ extra point. Another Jones run with eight minutes left put the Warriors up 28-7 and the game out of reach. Hart County scored on a 3-yard pass with minutes left but could do no more and Jones’ fourth touchdown run sealed the win.

Adairsville 20, Coahulla Creek 10

Chris Roper did it all for Adairsville. He scored on two rushing touchdowns of 18 and 17 yards and ran a kickoff back 85-yards for a touchdown. Coahulla Creek got a field goal from Logan Fowler and a fourth-and-goal touchdown from Payton Gordon with 10:35 left in the game but managed no more offensive production.

Crisp County 27, Peach County 14

Windsor Forest 12, Liberty County 6

Liberty County went up 6-0 on a 5-yard touchdown run by Marques Johnson in the first quarter. Windsor Forest quarterback Chris Glover tied it up 6-6 with a 1-yard touchdown run, but had to leave the game in the second quarter with an injury. Windsor Forest’s Mike Cabellero found the end zone late in the third quarter on a 29-yard touchdown run and the Knights’ defense closed out the victory in the final frame.

North Murray 49, Southeast Whitfield 14

North Murray led 21-14 before outscoring Southeast Whitfield 28-0 in the second half. Seth Griffin rushed for a touchdown and threw three touchdown passes—two to Jadyn Rice (60, 75) and one to Ethan Dempsey (50). Rice also rushed for a touchdown and Dempsey accounted for two rushing scores.

Class 2A

Rabun County 45, Grovetown 14

UGA-commit Gunner Stockton broke the state’s all-time career touchdown record in the second quarter before closing out a six touchdown performance that included five passing scores and one rushing touchdown. Stockton needed four touchdowns to surpass Deshaun Watson’s 218 mark heading into the game and he achieved it with a touchdown pass to Jaden Gibson in the first half—the duo also connected for the record-tying score. Stockton now has 221 career touchdowns with 152 passing and 69 rushing touchdowns. The Wildcats have three games left on their regular season schedule and Stockton’s 152 leaves him just nine touchdown passes shy of matching Trevor Lawrence (161) for the state’s all-time career touchdown passes record.

Dade 20, Model 17 OT

A 3-yard touchdown run from Cayden Cooper lifted Dade over Model in overtime.. Dade opened scoring on a 5-yard touchdown run and Caroline Tremmier — with her twin sister Abigail as her holder — made the point after try. Model responded on a 88-yard touchdown return from Jeremiah Gamble on the ensueing kickoff. Cooper gave Dade the lead on a 3-yard run. Model replied on a touchdown pass from Landon Cantrell to Cole Mathis to tie the game at 14 at the end of regulation.

Pepperell 39, Gordon Central 14

Pepperell scored in all three phases to overwhelm visiting Gordon Central. The Dragons opened up a 2-0 lead with a safety and later got an 83-yard punt return touchdown by Jon Shields and a fourth-quarter 40-yard interception return for a touchdown by Demarcus Ragland—who previously scored on an 8-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Quarterback Matthew Waddell rushed for a touchdown and also threw a touchdown pass to Alex Rhodes and Steven Villatoro kicked a field goal that put Pepperell up 39-6 with four minutes left.

Chattooga 40, Coosa 7

Chattooga blocked a Coosa punt on the Eagles’ first possession and Nick Hester took the next play in for a 14-yard rushing score. Jose Valero made an 18-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 7-3 before Chattooga closed out the game with 33 unanswered points. Lashaun Lester rushed for three touchdowns (14, 5, 62) and Brody Mobbs threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to Jaylon Johnson to increase the Indians’ lead to 35-3. Chattooga’s final points came on a 27-yard field goal by Caroline Hodges and a late safety.

Haralson County 42, Callaway 14

The Rebels jumped out to a 28-0 halftime lead and celebrated a massive win over No. 5 Callaway in both teams’ Region 5 opener. Clay Hyatt accounted for all four of the Rebels’ touchdown runs in the first half and finished the game with 202 yards off of 30 carries and five touchdowns; Hyatt also racked up 12 tackles to bolster his incredible performance. Jojo Chandler rushed for a touchdown to make it 35-14 midway through the fourth quarter before Hyatt iced the game with his fifth trip to the end zone.

Class A Private

Trinity Christian 63, Whitefield Academy 14

Trinity Christian remained undefeated by cruising past visiting Whitefield Academy. The game was tied 7-7 in the second quarter before the Lions reeled off 56 unanswered points. They led 28-7 by halftime and 56-7 going into the fourth quarter. David Dallas tossed four touchdown passes, including two into the arms of Bryce Wilcox. Wilcox had previously opened the scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Joshua Dallas—David’s brother—had one touchdown catch and Aaron Gates hauled in the other scoring strike. The Lions also got two touchdown runs by Lane Werling and one apiece from Dominick Cosper and Tyson Wall. For the WolfPack, Ayden Duncanson threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Craig and caught a 75-yard touchdown strike from Cole Peterson on the last play of the game.

Prince Avenue Christian 49, Athens Academy 13

Prince Avenue Christian quarterback Aaron Philo threw four touchdown passes and also rushed for a score to lift the 6-1 Wolverines to their sixth-straight victory. Mac Bradley was the recipient of a 67-yard Philo touchdown and also rushed for a touchdown. The Wolverines also scored on an interception return in the second half.

Stratford Academy 14, Mount de Sales 7

Stratford Academy overcame an early 7-0 deficit and took the lead with a fourth-quarter touchdown to pick up a road win against Mount de Sales. Keondre Glover scored on a 12-yard touchdown run with a little more than nine minutes remaining in the game. As the Eagles trailed 7-6 at the time, they went for a two-point conversion and Glover tacked that on as well for the final 14-7 margin. Stratford Academy’s first touchdown came on a quarterback sneak by Lawson Cole early in the second quarter. That score was set up by a 52-yard pass from Cole to Garrett Lang. The Cavaliers had taken a 7-0 advantage on a 15-yard touchdown pass from A’khori Jones to Drew Senn.

Fellowship Christian 37, Clarkston 0

Josh Milhollin put the Paladins up 6-0 with a 21-yard touchdown run and Nick Persiano added a 2-yard score to give Fellowship Christian a 13-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Garrett Wagner added another rushing touchdown on the first play of the second quarter, Nathan Chapman connected on a 36-yard field goal and Milhollin hauled in a 57-yard touchdown pass to make it 30-0 at the half. A Ryan Marsh interception set up Billy Jackson’s 1-yard touchdown run for the final score.

Class A Public

Bowdon 21, North Cobb Christian 7

The No. 6-ranked Bowdon Red Devils downed the North Cobb Christian Eagles out of Class A-Private by a margin of 21-7. All three Red Devils scores came on the ground, as Tanner Langley found the end zone twice and Luke Windom once. Bowdon will host Mt. Zion- Carroll next—the only remaining unbeaten team in A-Public Region 6. The Eagles drop to 2-4 and begin region play next week.

Washington-Wilkes 34, Greene County 6

Washington-Wilkes (6-1) jumped out to a 22-6 lead at the half and celebrated its sixth-straight victory. Quarterback Dalen Cobb rushed for two touchdowns in the opening quarter—including a 77-yard scramble that put the Tigers up 14-0. Jamarquez Tyson found the end zone in the second quarter on a short run to make it 22-6 at the half. Cobb connected with De’amonte Grant for a 41-yard touchdown that grew the lead to 28-6 and Jamarquez Tyson iced the game with a 47-yard touchdown run.

Dublin 49, Wilcox County 0

Host Dublin led 35-0 at the half and scored all seven touchdowns on the ground. JT Wright, Qua Ashley and Jeremiah Green each rushed for two touchdowns and Jaquarius Evans provided the final touchdown run in the fourth quarter to make it 49-0.

Commerce 28, Towns County 20

Commerce went into the half tied 14-14, but was able to escape with a win and improve its all-time series record to 26-0 against Towns County. Dreylan Martin finished with 18 carries for 144 yards and two touchdowns. Commerce also got touchdown runs by Trey Garnto and Malachi Shockey and freshman running back Jaiden Daniels finished with a team-high 201 yards off 23 carries.

Armuchee 35, B.E.S.T Academy 14

Armuchee trailed 8-0 at the end of the first quarter and Alex Wright got the Indians going with a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal to make it 8-6. Quarterback Chandler Desanto found Will Daniel for a touchdown pass to give the Indians a 12-8 lead at the half. Desanto ran in a 2-yard touchdown to open the third quarter and Armuchee would outscore B.E.S.T. Academy 20-0 in the frame. Ryland Steen’s touchdown run increased the lead to 26-8 and then Jackson Hightower forced a fumble that was returned by Austin Stacy for a touchdown to push the lead to 32-8. B.E.S.T. cut the deficit to 32-14 in the fourth quarter before Grayson Perry iced the game with a field goal with just 18 seconds left.

See the recaps from Wednesday and Thursday below.

Marist 28, Hapeville Charter 20 (Wednesday)

Marist outlasted a fourth-quarter rally by Region 6 rival Hapeville Charter to improve to 4-1 on the season. The host Hornets got on the board first in the opening frame before the War Eagles scored a touchdown in each of the game’s four quarters to lead 28-6. Hapeville Charter added two more scores late in the game but ran out of time to complete the comeback.

7A

Duluth 42, North Clayton 12

Duluth improved to .500 on the season (3-3, 2-1) with an emphatic win over visiting North Clayton. The 42-12 victory was the third straight for the Wildcats, who will host Lakeside next week before closing out the season with matchups against three Region 7 foes. The Eagles (0-7, 0-3) will look to earn their first win of the year next week at home against Luella.

6A

Shiloh 9, Winder-Barrow 0

Shiloh got its second-straight win against a Region 8 opponent with a 9-0 victory over visiting Winder-Barrow. The matchup featured a slew of miscues and turnovers, including an especially hard-fought third quarter that featured three punts, two turnovers on downs, two fumbles, an interception and the safety by the Shiloh defense that provided the final points of the game. Both teams will continue region play next week, with the 3-4 Bulldogs hosting Central Gwinnett and Shiloh traveling to Buford.

Lanier 48, Central Gwinnett 14

Host Central Gwinnett made it a one-score game early in the third quarter, but visiting Lanier reclaimed control with crucial takeaways to cruise to a decisive 48-14 victory—its first region win of the season. Longhorns quarterback Carson Thomas had a pair of rushing scores and a touchdown pass to Tywan Royal in the first half before the Black Knights got on the board with Carmello Jefferey’s 5-yard TD run. Jason Jackson cut Central Gwinnett’s deficit to 21-14 with a 43-yard trip to the end zone, but Royal’s 65-yard pick-six bookended by a pair of interceptions from Chase Jameson that each led to Longhorn scores—including a 47-yard run from Thomas—extended Lanier’s lead to 41-14 heading into the final frame.

Westlake 62, Morrow 0

Westlake bounced back from last week’s loss to Langston Hughes with a 62-0 rout of Region 4 foe Morrow. The visiting Lions scored on the opening kickoff, and junior quarterback RJ Johnson threw a pair of touchdown passes to Cayden Lee and another to Travis Booker for a 28-0 lead before the end of the first quarter. Senior Zina Mulbah added a 14-yard rushing score early in the second before Johnson’s fourth and fifth passing TDs of the game extended Westlake’s advantage to 49-0 at the break.

4A

Troup County 37, Shaw 0

Tanner Glisson became the winningest coach in Troup County history with the Tigers’ 37-0 shutout of Shaw, improving to 6-1—and a perfect 5-0 in Region 2 play—with the win. Quarterback Taeo Todd connected with Dwartney Wortham on a 36-yarder to put Troup on the board in the first quarter. The pair connected twice more for a 21-0 lead midway through the second, and Todd found Iyvon Hargrow for his fourth touchdown pass of the first half. A 44-yard field goal by Cody Bray in the third and Javari Fannin’s rushing score in the fourth brought the score to its final tally.

3A

Tattnall County 21, Bradwell Institute 6

The tightly-contested opening half of Thursday’s matchup between Class 3A’s Tattnall County and visiting Bradwell Institute out of Class 6A closed with a narrow 7-6 advantage for the home team, but multiple missed opportunities by the Tigers and a pair of second-half touchdown runs from David Hill kept the host Warriors on top through the remainder of the game. Tattnall County has now won four games in a row and will look to continue the streak next week against Appling County.

2A

Columbia 57, McNair 0

The Columbia Eagles (6-1, 5-0) held a 14-0 lead at the break before pouring on four third-quarter scores in an emphatic 57-0 Region 6 win over visiting McNair (0-6, 0-5). Quarterback Elijah Morgan put the Eagles on the board with a 22-yard pass to Jaden Baugh in the first, and Royce Tolbert added a rushing touchdown in the second. Tolbert scored again early in the third before Eric Stinson recovered a blocked punt in the end zone and Lamaze Williams (5 yards) and Roland Edwin (47 yards) each contributed touchdown runs for a 43-0 advantage heading into the final frame.