No. 7 ranked Thomasville (6-2, 3-1) bounced back from last week’s tough loss to Worth County and regained control of Region 1 with its 23-8 win over No. 3 ranked Fitzgerald (4-2, 2-1). Ant Anderson rushed for a 6-yard touchdown and Cam Hill hit Nigel Pittman for a 27-yard touchdown to give Thomasville a 14-0 lead at the half. Anderson added a 30-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and Camden Christy made a 32-yard field goal to extend the lead to 23-0 before Fitzgerald got on the board with a 63-yard touchdown in the fourth.
Ethan Tisdale rushed for five touchdowns as visiting Heard County knocked off Darlington 48-27 in Region 6 action. Tisdale opened the scoring with an 11-yard run and also found the endzone on scampers of three, seven, 10 and two yards. The Braves led by a narrow 21-19 margin at the half before breaking the game open when Tisdale delivered three of his scores in the third quarter alone. Heard County also benefited from a 24-yard touchdown run by Dereon Pearson in the second quarter. For Darlington, Sammy Kunczewski tossed a pair of scoring strikes to Jayce Donaldson and Kunczewski scored on a quarterback keeper, as well. The Tigers also got a 77-yard touchdown run from Myles Twyman.
Pepperell (1-7, 1-3) earned its first win of the season 7-6 after Model (3-4, 1-2) fumbled its potential game-tying PAT attempt with just one minute left. The game was scoreless until Pepperell got on the board with an interception returned for a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. Model threw a 5-yard touchdown with just a minute left before the botched point after.
Elbert County upended Banks County 33-0 to stay in the hunt for a home playoff game in Region 8-Division I. Elbert started the game scoring twice in the first quarter, both by running back Jacari Barnett. The second quarter started with a rushing touchdown with six minutes left in the half, followed by a passing touchdown with less than a minute to go in the half. Elbert County continued to play suffocating defense in the second half and added one more touchdown halfway through the third quarter to win 33-0.
Host Athens Academy scored seven first half touchdowns and converted all four two-point conversion attempts to take a 52-0 lead and Providence scored the only points of the second half with 3:50 left in the final frame in the 52-7 win. Jeremiah Wingfield ran in a 6-yard touchdown to give the Spartans a 6-0 lead and back-to-back touchdown runs by Bryan McClendon pushed the lead to 22-0 after successful two-point conversions by Jamari Welch and Wingfield. Quarterback Hampton Johnson connected with Jamari Welch for a passing touchdown and Welch converted the two-point attempt to make it 30-0. Athens Academy’s lead grew to 38-0 with 10:32 still left in the first half with a 3-yard touchdown run by Johnson and a Welch two-point conversion. After reaching the endzone on three of the four two-point conversions, Welch broke free for a 98-yard touchdown run to grow the lead to 45-0 following the Grayson Stafford PAT. Cash Cowert ran in the final Spartans score to make it 52-0.
Visiting Wesleyan took a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard Rex Ramsey touchdown run and never trailed in its 35-17 win over King’s Ridge. Quarterback Ben Brown found Grayson McCullum for a 93-yard touchdown to grow the lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter. Wesleyan’s Connor Roush recorded consecutive sacks and the Wolves intercepted King’s Ridge before the Tigers were able to score and make it 14-7 with just 47 seconds left in the half. Brown answered and connected with Wes Vail for the touchdown with 15 seconds left to push Wesleyan’s lead back to 21-7. King’s Ridge opened the second half with a field goal and then Brown found Vail again on a 6-yard score to make it 28-10. William Wright ran in a 1-yard touchdown that grew the lead to 35-10 before the Tigers added their final score.
Jeff Davis beat Bacon County 24-14 to win its first Region 1-A Division I game of the season. … Worth County defeated Berrien 47-0 after leading 41-0 at halftime. … Academy for Classical Education led East Laurens 17-0 at halftime and went on to win 27-21 in a Region 2 contest. … Savannah Christian scored 27 points in the third quarter against Vidalia and finished with a 48-6 victory. … Swainsboro led Savanah Country Day 14-7 at the half and won 28-21 to earn its second victory of the year. Landmark Christian jumped to a 34-0 in the second quarter to defeat Walker 48-7.
WEEK 9 RESULTS & STANDINGS
REGION 1
Thomasville 3-1, 6-2
Fitzgerald 2-1, 4-2
Worth County 2-1, 4-3
Brantley County 1-1, 1-5
Jeff Davis 1-2, 5-2
Bacon County 1-2, 4-3
Berrien 0-2, 0-6
Friday, Oct. 11
Thomasville 23, Fitzgerald 8
Jeff Davis 24, Bacon County 14
Worth County 47, Berrien 0
REGION 2
Dodge County 6-0, 7-0
Dublin 6-0, 7-0
Northeast 5-1, 5-2
ACE Charter 3-3, 4-3
Washington County 3-3, 3-4
Southwest 2-3, 2-4
Bleckley County 1-4, 2-4
East Laurens 1-4, 2-4
Central-Macon 0-5, 0-6
Jefferson County 0-4, 0-5
Thursday, Oct. 10
Bleckley County vs. Jefferson County
Friday, Oct. 11
ACE Charter 27, East Laurens 21
Dublin 17, Northeast 7
REGION 3
Savannah Christian 2-0, 7-0
Swainsboro 1-0, 2-5
Toombs County 0-0, 5-0
Vidalia 0-1, 3-3
Sav. Country Day 0-2, 2-5
Friday, Oct. 11
Savannah Christian 48, Vidalia 6
Swainsboro 28, Savannah Country Day 21
REGION 4
Lamar County 3-0, 6-1
Social Circle 3-0, 5-2
Jasper County 2-0, 5-1
Putnam County 3-1, 4-4
Towers 0-3, 2-4
McNair 0-4, 2-6
Utopian Academy 0-3, 0-7
Friday, Oct. 11
Lamar County 64, Utopian Academy 6
Social Circle 38, McNair 19
Putnam County 48, Towers 14
REGION 5
Sub Region A
Wesleyan 4-0, 7-1
Fellowship Christian 4-0, 6-2
King’s Ridge 2-2, 6-2
Mount Vernon 2-2, 4-3
Mt. Pisgah 0-4, 0-8
St. Francis 0-4, 0-8
Mount Bethel 0-0, 3-1 ++
Sub Region B
Landmark Christian 2-0, 6-1
Whitefield Academy 2-0, 5-2
Mount Paran 1-1, 5-2
B.E.S.T. Academy 1-2, 4-4
Walker 0-3, 2-6
Thursday, Oct. 10
Whitefield Academy 42, B.E.S.T. Academy 6
Friday, Oct. 11
Fellowship Christian 41, Mount Pisgah 13
Wesleyan 35, King’s Ridge 17
Mount Vernon 1, St. Francis 0 (Win by forfeit)
Landmark Christian 48, Walker 7
REGION 6
Heard County 3-0, 5-2
Temple 3-1, 6-2
Bremen 2-1, 4-3
Darlington 2-1, 4-3
Model 1-2, 3-4
Pepperell 1-3, 1-7
Haralson County 0-4, 1-7
Friday, Oct. 11
Heard County 48, Darlington 27
Pepperell 7, Model 6
Temple 40, Haralson County 10
REGION 7
Christian Heritage 5-0, 7-1
Fannin County 4-0, 7-0
Gordon Lee 4-1, 6-2
Chattooga 2-3, 5-3
Coosa 1-3, 3-4
Dade County 1-3, 2-5
Gordon Central 1-4, 3-5
Armuchee 0-4, 3-4
Friday, Oct. 11
Christian Heritage 49, Chattooga 14
Gordon Lee 56, Gordon Central 7
REGION 8
Athens Academy 4-0, 8-0
Rabun County 3-1, 6-2
Elbert County 3-1, 4-4
Commerce 2-1, 4-3
Providence Christian 0-3, 1-6
Banks County 0-3, 0-7
Oglethorpe County 0-3, 0-7
Friday, Oct. 11
Athens Academy 52, Providence Christian 7
Elbert County 33, Banks County 0
Rabun County 48, Oglethorpe County 14
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