Article and photos courtesy of the High School Sports
High school football in Middle Georgia has already seen its share of blowouts, big wins and upsets in the first couple of weeks. Friday night offered more of the same with a pair of Middle Georgia teams battling into overtime.
Here is a look at some of the best games, highlights and scores from around Middle Georgia in Week 3 of the season.
BEST GAME
Veterans 43, Jones County 42
Neither team could create much separation all night as the two teams traded touchdowns throughout the game. The largest lead of the night for either team was seven points.
A big play in the first half occurred when Jones County punter Evan West took off on fourth down and picked up the first down on a fake punt.
The drive ended with Jones County quarterback John Alan Richter finding wide receiver Eddren Chester for the score to put Jones County up 21-14 heading into halftime.
Veterans came out of the half and put together an 11-play touchdown drive to tie the score at 21. Jones County answered with a third passing touchdown for John Alan Richter in the first minute of the fourth quarter.
Veterans quarterback Matthew Bruce responded with a rushing touchdown to pull Veterans back even midway through the fourth quarter.
After the teams traded scores again, the score remained tied at 35 at the end of regulation.
On the first drive of overtime, Jones County running back Drew Jones found the end zone on the ground for the third time in the game to put the Greyhounds up 42-35.
Veterans took over on offense and scored in three plays with Bruce’s second rushing touchdown of the game. The Warhawks elected to go for two points and the win, and once again Bruce found the end zone, this time to end the game.
Three stars
Veterans QB Matthew Bruce: The junior quarterback put together on of the best individual performances through the first few weeks of the 2021 season. He completed 17-of-20 passes for 318 yards and a pair of scores. On the ground, he rushed 18 times for 47 yards and a pair of scores, including the game-winner. Damare Franklin was Bruce’s top target with nine catches for 187 yards and a touchdown.
Veterans has gotten off to a slow start this season with a blowout loss to Northside in Week 1 and COVID-19 cancellation in Week 2. This win spurred by their quarterback should give them some confidence heading into their showdown with Perry next week.
Jones County offensive weapons: Sophomore Zion Ragins gets a lot of the hype when it comes to this team and rightfully so after putting up over 200 yards last week against North Gwinnett.
But the Greyhounds proved on Friday night there are other guys who can step up. Drew Jones rushed for three touchdowns, Eddren Chester caught a pair of TD passes and Tucker Mix caught one TD pass and had eight catches on the night. Ragins had a couple of big catches down the stretch, but it was the other weapons who carried the offense much of the night.
Jones County QB John Alan Richter: A season ago, Richter looked lost in the game against this same Warhawks defense that ended in a 30-6 loss.
Richter has grown a lot over the past year, including leading this Greyhounds team to a 5A state semifinal game. He finished the game 20-of-28 passing for 248 yards and three touchdowns.
He put his team in a position to win the game down the stretch but a gutsy call in overtime by Veterans proved to be the difference in this evenly matched game.
SCORES
- Stratford 49, Westfield 14
- FPD 28, Brookstone 7
- Coffee 34, Houston County 10
- Mount de Sales 38, Southwest 16
- Bleckley County 35, Toombs County 18
- Ware County 41, Baldwin County 20
- John Milledge 41, Pinewood Christian 6
- Luella 40, Rutland 13
- Pacelli 17. Central 7
What’s Next:
Warner Robins vs Northside
It is the biggest rivalry in Middle Georgia. The two teams will come into the showdown with identical 2-0 records.
Warner Robins will head into the game as the favorite after back-to-back shutout wins in this series. Northside, under second-year head coach Chad Alligood, will be looking for some revenge for last season’s 47-0 loss to the Demons.
If Warner Robins is able to win over Northside, it will make it five straight in the series. The longest win streak in recent memory belongs to Northside, when it won four straight from 2005-2008.
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