Woodward Academy pulled away from Region 4-5A rival Decatur in the third quarter of the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame Game, securing an 11th region title in 13 years with the 42-14 victory over the host Bulldogs. The result marked a sixth-straight win for the War Eagles (6-3, 6-0), and the first loss of the season for Decatur (8-1, 5-1).
Woodward took control early, getting on the board on the first play of the game with a 99-yard kickoff return touchdown by Josiah Abdullah, and Blake Stewart Jr. blocked Decatur’s opening-drive field goal try shortly after.
“I was nervous about this game,” shared long-time head coach John Hunt after the win. “They’re so big up front and they’re such a physical team. We’re getting the ball first and I’m like ‘Man, why can’t we just return it for a touchdown and take a little pressure off?’ And I’ll be danged if Josiah didn’t do it.”
The War Eagles punted on the following possession but forced a turnover on downs for the Bulldogs in their own territory moments later.
Decatur got revenge with a blocked field goal of its own late in the first. The Bulldogs were once again unable to move downfield, however, and War Eagles quarterback Landon Walker grew the lead to 14-0 with a rushing score early in the second.
The Bulldogs finally found some success later in the frame with Darius White’s touchdown run on fourth-and-goal, but Jerome Bettis Jr took a reception 20 yards to the end zone to start the second half, then set up a Walker-to-Stewart score on the next drive with a jaunt down to the 10-yard line.
“We preach resiliency,” said Hunt. “We’re so young. Last year we had 22 seniors. Now we have nine. So we’re playing a bunch of young guys, especially up front. And when we’re playing a really good team like that, I get nervous about that, but our young guys are just resilient and just kept fighting.”
Decatur got a bit of a spark moments into the final frame with Kaleb Lanier’s 53-yard touchdown reception before Tyree Myrick returned an interception for another War Eagle score. Joshua Isom then sealed the Woodward win with one last touchdown.
“Early on, going 0-3, that was rough,” recalled Hunt. “But we preached every week getting a little bit better, regardless of who we’re playing.”
His squad will have one last chance to improve in their regular-season finale against Lakeside. Decatur, meanwhile travels to Tri-Cities.
The AJC has writers at Gainesville at Roswell, Norcross at North Gwinnett and Hillgrove at Harrison. Follow the link to Todd Holcomb’s Friday Night Wrap or see the Friday recaps directly below. The Thursday recaps are at the bottom of the file.
Friday games
Class 6A
Lambert 48, Denmark 20
Lambert senior Cam Bland accounted for five touchdowns to lead the visiting Longhorns. Bland rushed for touchdowns of 12, 34 and 26 yards and also hauled in touchdown passes of 16 and 81 yards from quarterback Ethan Daughtery. Carter Chung returned an interception for a Lambert touchdown in the final minute to seal the 48-20 victory.
Colquitt County 51, Camden County 41
The 10th-ranked Packers trailed host Camden County 35-34 entering the fourth quarter of a back-and-forth affair before taking control with a field goal and a pair of touchdowns. The Wildcats found the end zone once more in the final minute of the game, but the two-point conversion that would have made it a one-score game to set up a last-chance onside kick was unsuccessful.
North Atlanta 28, West Forsyth 24
North Atlanta shocked visiting West Forsyth with two touchdowns in the final minute at Eddie Henderson Stadium to overtake and surpass the Wolverines. West Forsyth (6-3, 3-2 Region 6-6A) got a field goal from Asher Mote to take a 24-14 lead with 2:05 remaining, but a Henry Debardeleben touchdown rush, his second of the game, with 41 seconds remaining pulled North Atlanta (8-1, 6-0 Region 6-6A) to within three points. The Warriors then recovered the onside kick, and on the first play of the drive North Atlanta’s Ian Reynolds found Josh McCullough for a touchdown to take the lead with 28 seconds left. West Forsyth had the ball inside the North Atlanta 20-yard line on its final possession but fell short. Reynolds found Cameron Lanier for a touchdown with six minutes remaining in the game to make it a 21-14 contest.
Class 5A
Seckinger 66, Chattahoochee 27
Seckinger (6-3, 2-3 Region 7-5A) scored on every possession, rushing for nine touchdowns at Chattahoochee (4-5, 0-5 Region 7-5A). The Jaguars got three rushing touchdowns from Jaimen Williams, who rushed 17 times for 276 yards. Harrison Robinson (14 rushes, 118 yards) rushed for two touchdowns, and Sterling Carter (11 rushes, 108 yards) rushed for one score. Damarion Sims, Bryce Gindlesperger and Antonio Neal rushed for a touchdown each, and Nick Bernal made a 20-yard field goal for Seckinger. The Jaguars gained 668 yards on 56 rushes.
Clarke Central 48, Alcovy 3
Hezekiah Millender threw four touchdown passes in the first half to lead Clarke Central over Alcovy in a Region 8-5A contest. Corey Watkins Jr. scored two rushing touchdowns in the first quarter, and Clarke Central led 41-0 at halftime. The Gladiator’s final touchdown came in the third quarter when Xayvian Berry scored on an 18-yard run. Clarke Central improves to 5-0 in region play, and Alcovy falls to 1-4.
Class 4A
Cartersville 45, Hiram 43
Cartersville needed a last-second field goal to close out a perfect 10-0 season and clinch the Region 7-4A title. Hiram led 21-14 at the half after completing a hail mary as time expired. Cartersville opened the second half with three-straight touchdowns to take a 35-21 lead with 2:40 left in the third. Hiram brought the game within seven points and then capitalized on an interception to steal a possession and even the game 35-35 with 5:02 left. Cartersville regained a 42-35 lead, but Hiram answered and used a successful two-point conversion to go up 43-42 with 2:07 left. Cartersville drove within field goal range and kicked the game-winner as time expired.
North Oconee 63, Flowery Branch 7
North Oconee clinched the Region 8 championship and improved to 9-0. Senior Landon Roldan scored a 67-yard touchdown from Harrison Faulkner on the first play of the game and he had three catches for 163 yards and three touchdowns on his first three touches. Faulkner finished with five touchdown passes and also rushed for a 54-yard score. He found Patrick Elliott and Dallas Dickerson for his other two passing touchdowns. Braxton Goolsby and sophomore quarterback Will Richardson rushed for touchdowns and Dickerson also added an interception he returned for a touchdown.
Cass 32, Allatoona 17
With its playoff hopes on the line, Cass defeated Allatoona 32-17. Cass started scoring early in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead. The Colonels’ defense added to the lead with a safety two minutes before the end of the quarter. Late in the second, they scored again on a 14-yard pass to extend the lead to 16-0. Allatoona cut into the lead with a 50-yard field goal just before halftime, making it 16-3. The Cass defense added another safety, and on the ensuing kickoff, the Colonels returned it 70 yards for a touchdown, extending their lead to 25-3. Near the end of the third quarter, Allatoona narrowed the gap with a rushing touchdown, bringing the score to 25-10. Cass answered with a rushing touchdown early in the fourth quarter to go up 32-10. Allatoona added a final touchdown with less than four minutes remaining, to reach the final score of 32-17.
Perry 31, Benedictine 27
No. 8 ranked Perry clinched the Region 1 title on the road in its first-ever meeting with No. 10 Benedictine. Decorrion Daniels put the Panthers up 7-0 with a 6-yard touchdown run and the teams traded field goals to keep Perry up 10-3. Running back Ahmad Gordon grew Perry’s lead to 17-3 with a touchdown run, but Benedictine cut the deficit to 17-13 at the half with a touchdown pass from sophomore Omari Burse to Eron Mallard and Connor Ferguson’s second field goal. Burse hit tight end John Lilly for a Cadets touchdown to give Benedictine its first lead of the game at 20-17. Perry’s Ashon Ashley used a 60-yard interception touchdown return to put the Panthers back up 24-20 midway through the third quarter. Burse found Stanley Smart Jr. for a 56-yard touchdown to give Benedictine a 27-24 lead, but Daniels returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a Perry touchdown to make it 31-27 before the Panthers sealed the victory with a scoreless final frame.
Ware County 24, Warner Robins 21
Host Ware County, ranked No. 9 in Class 4A, held on against Warner Robins in a game the Gators led 21-7 at halftime. Ware County (4-4, 2-1 Region 1-4A) allowed two Warner Robins touchdowns inside of five minutes in the fourth quarter but got a 30-yard field goal from William Bates to hold off the Demons (6-3, 2-2 Region 1-4A). Ware County recovered the onside kick after Warner Robins’ final touchdown with a minute and a half remaining and ran out the clock from there. Jamir Boyd (25 yards) and Tayshaun Franklin (10 yards) rushed for first-half touchdowns, and Luke Hooks found Cole Cox for a 17-yard touchdown pass to give the Gators their 21-7 halftime lead.
Class 3A
Adairsville 28, Gilmer 0
Adairsville quarterback Ethan Long threw touchdown passes to Xavious Nails and Barrett Fuller in the first half to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead. Long’s third touchdown pass was a 27-yard strike to Tre Winters—who iced the game with an interception return for a touchdown that gave the host Tigers a 28-0 lead.
Class 2A
Stephens County 37, Hart County 34
Stephens County rode a 17-point first quarter to victory and turned down a Hart County comeback as the Indians escaped with a 37-34 victory. After going down early in the first quarter 17-0, Hart County’s Kurston Curry found Isaac Durrett for a 21-yard touchdown strike to cut the lead to 10 points by halftime. With over six minutes left in the third, Pierce Mewborn found the endzone from 20-yards out to cut the Stephens County lead to just three points. The Indians scored 13 points unanswered to make the score 30-14 by the end of the third. In the fourth quarter Hart County added six points to cut the lead to 10 points before a 74-yard touchdown pass from Curry to Trae Martin brought the Indians lead back to three points. A 10-yard Stephens County touchdown brought the lead back up to 10 points before a Curry five-yard touchdown rush with 50 seconds left in the game cut the lead back down to three.
Hebron Christian 38, Franklin County 21
The Hebron Christian Lions improved to 8-1 this season as they took down Franklin County, 38-21, knocking them to 3-6 on the season and still winless in region play. The Lions held an early 10-3 lead after the first quarter before a Devon Caldwell rushing touchdown brought the Hebron Christian lead to 17-3. The Lions led 31-9 at the break following two more scores from the Lions to close the half. After a Franklin County touchdown, the Lions led 31-15 to end the third quarter with both teams finding the endzone in the fourth as Hebron Christian earned its eighth win on the season after defeating Franklin County. The Lions were all over the stat sheet tonight in their victory including 158 yards and two touchdowns for Caldwell, 98 yards and two touchdowns on four catches or Jarvis Mathurin while also accounting for 163 return yards and a touchdown on special teams to account for three touchdowns on the night. The Lions offense totaled 327 yards of total offense while its defense did its job with Sichan John with 12 tackles including two tackles for loss and Carrington Coombs adding seven tackles with a tackle for loss and a sack on the night.
Westside-Macon 57, Rutland 18
Head coach Sheddrick ‘Spoon’ Risper has coached at Westside-Macon since 2009, spending his entire 16-year head coaching career leading the Seminoles. And after upending Rutland, Risper is tied for the most victories in Macon-Bibb County school district with 114. Westside is 2-2 in Region 2-2A play and is on the playoff bubble at the No. 4 spot in the league standings.
Class A Division I
Fellowship Christian 42, Wesleyan 17
Fellowship Christian running back CJ Givers led the Paladins to their first-ever win over Wesleyan in four tries with a brilliant four-touchdown performance. Wesleyan quarterback Ben Brown found Wes Vail for a 27-yard touchdown to give the Wolves a 7-0 lead after the first quarter. Givers tied it up 7-7 with a 33-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter. After forcing a three-and-out and getting a nice punt return by UNC-commit Evan Haynes, Givers cashed in a 7-yard touchdown to put the Paladins up 14-7 at the half. Haynes returned the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown to increase Fellowship’s lead to 21-7. Brown found Georgia Tech-commit and tight end Connor Rush for a 32-yard touchdown to bring the Wolves within 21-14 with 9:08 left in the third quarter. Wesleyan failed a surprise onside kick and Fellowship Christian quarterback Jonathan Granby finished the scoring drive with a 7-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 28-14. That margin held heading into the fourth quarter before Givers broke free for a 19-yard touchdown run—his third of the game. Fellowship Christian intercepted Brown on the next possession and Givers iced the game with a 73-yard touchdown run to make it 42-14 with 8:55 left. Wesleyan added a late field goal for the final margin.
Athens Academy 34, Rabun County 28
Quarterback Hampton Johnson threw three touchdown passes to Keyon Standifer (60, 19, 58 yards) and two to KJ Whitehead (61, 9) to lead the host Spartans past Rabun County and clinch Region 8-DI with a perfect 10-0 regular season. Standifer also had an interception to close the first half that kept Athens Academy in front 21-14 at the break.
Commerce 27, Banks County 10
Commerce kicker Adam Calderon hit a pair of field goals to put the Tigers up 6-0 and Jacari Huff ran in a 15-yard touchdown to increase the lead to 14-0. Banks County answered with a touchdown and late field goal to make it 14-10 at the half and that margin held until the fourth quarter. Jaiden Daniels rushed for a touchdown with 2:52 left in the fourth to put Commerce up 20-10 and then sophomore Ty Sorrells iced the game with a 55-yard interception returned for a touchdown.
Northeast 40, Dodge County 19
Sixth-ranked Dodge County suffered its first loss of the season at the hands of eighth-ranked Northeast to drop to 8-1 and 7-1 in region play. Senior running back Nick Woodford had four touchdowns for the host Raiders, who improved to 7-2 with the win and will close out their season at East Laurens next week.
Fitzgerald 25, Bacon County 3
The Fitzgerald Purple Hurricanes improved to 6-2 on the season after holding Bacon County to a field goal. Fitzgerald took a 17-0 lead into the half as its defense continued to stall the Bacon County offense. A Fitzgerald touchdown and a Bacon County field goal concluded the scoring for the game in the second half. The three points the Red Raiders scored tonight were the lowest in a game this season, with it being their only game this season being held under double-digit points. Fitzgerald improves to 16-1 all-time against Bacon County and 4-1 in region play.
Temple 51, Darlington 7
Temple (7-2, 4-1) made history Friday night—defeating Darlington for the first time in school history, setting a school record for wins in a season and securing home field in the playoffs for the first time. Temple jumped out to a 24-0 lead after the first quarter and took a 44-7 lead into the half before closing out the victory with a running clock. The Tigers will be the No. 2 seed behind top seed Heard County and will close out the regular season next Friday at Model.
Heard County 38, Model 26
In the first-ever matchup between the programs, Heard County defeated Model 38-26 to improve to 7-2 on the season. The Braves forced a fumble on the opening kickoff and returned it to the end zone to take a 7-0 lead only 14 seconds into the game. After leading 7-6 at the end of the first quarter, Heard County’s Ethan Tisdale scrambled into the endzone from 17-yards out to take a 14-6 lead. After the Braves blocked a punt, Tisdale capitalized with a six-yard rushing score to add to the Heard County lead, making 21-6 into the half. After a Heard County field goal and a Model score, Tisdale found the end zone for the third time, this time from two yards out to take a 31-12 lead. Following another Braves touchdown, Model was able to score two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but the comeback-bid wasn’t enough as the Braves remained undefeated in region play on the season.
Class A Division II
Wilcox County 28, Wheeler County 0
Wilcox County’s Myles Davis rushed for a 5-yard touchdown in the final minute of the half to give the visiting Patriots a 13-0 lead. Davis returned to the endzone midway through the third quarter and Melvin McAdoo added a two-point conversion to push the lead to 21-0. McAdoo iced the game with a 10-yard touchdown run to open the final frame.
Brooks County 49, Charlton County 8
After starting the season 2-3, Brooks County has won four consecutive games and against Charlton County, Brooks led 35-2 at halftime. The Trojans gave up their second-fewest points of the season in their 41-point victory. In the winning streak, the Trojans eclipsed 40 points. The Trojans have scored 40 points four times this season and have found their groove offensively. Brooks County will play for a region championship next week against Irwin County.
Thursday games
Class 5A
East Paulding 31, South Paulding 28
Senior quarterback Chantz Bouknight was 11-of-17 passing for 146 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 22 yards and a touchdown to lead East Paulding past South Paulding. Senior Javen Parker led rushers with 18 carries for 125 yards and a touchdown. Senior Brian Allen had five catches for 97 yards and a touchdown. Senior Landon Shaffer was 4-for-4 on point-after tries and 1-for-1 on field goals. Emery Giles returned a fumble for a touchdown to lead the East Paulding defense.
Shiloh 29, Lakeside-DeKalb 21
Senior Marlin Mathis had 22 carries for 303 yards and three touchdowns to pace Shiloh. Senior quarterback Ricky Simmons had one touchdown pass to senior Landon Dean.
Class 4A
Eastside 62, Cedar Shoals 10
Eastside rushed for seven touchdowns from six different players to move past Cedar Shoals. Junior Myles Sims had two touchdown runs while junior Tyler Solomon, sophomore Cameron Griffieth, freshman Josh Barr, sophomore Amond Sands and senior Jayden Barr each had one touchdown run. Junior quarterback Payton Shaw was 11-of-13 passing for 175 yards and a touchdown to senior Michael Kenon Jr.
Southwest DeKalb 55, Northview 8
Braylon Carter passed for four touchdowns and ran for another to lead the Panthers past Northview. Samuel Turner caught two touchdown receptions while Tamir Rudolph and Ramique Thomas each had one touchdown reception. Kingston Lobdell and Bryce Smith each had one touchdown run for Southwest DeKalb and Rudolph tacked on a kickoff returned for a touchdown in the romp.
Class 3A
Cedar Grove 44, Riverdale 0
Zsewaun Smith, who ran for five touchdowns last week, added 250 rushing yards and three touchdowns to lead Cedar Grove past Riverdale. Josiah Moore passed for touchdowns to Smith and Cleve Sutherland. Amon Martin scored on a touchdown run for the Saints.
Troup 37, Spalding 14
Junior Garrison Edwards had two carries for 77 yards and two touchdowns to lead Troup past Spalding. Juniors Trenton Hodo and Monty Heard each had one rushing touchdown for Troup.
Class A Division I
McNair 27, Towers 18
McNair rushed for nearly 300 yards and four touchdowns to move past Towers in a Region 4 game. Anterrion Theodore had 10 carries for 129 yards and a touchdown. Jeremy Victor added 73 rushing yards with two touchdowns.
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