Middle Georgia football scores: Opportunistic underdogs pull off upsets in sloppy weather
High school football in Middle Georgia has reached region play, and each game has added pressure, with potential playoff spots and seeding on the line. There were plenty of upsets, close calls and blowout wins to go around on Friday night.
Here is a look at some of the best games, highlights and scores from around Middle Georgia in Week 8 of the season.
Best game
FPD 20, Tattnall 0
Coming into this week Tattnall looked like the best of the four private schools in Macon. The Trojans were undefeated and had won in blowout fashion the past two weeks, including a 41-0 win over Brookwood in Week 7.
FPD was the underdog but took advantage of five turnovers by Tattnall to pull off the 20-0 upset.
The game was sloppy. Each team fumbled the ball multiples times, but FPD recovered each of its fumbles while Tattnall lost four. The Vikings won the turnover battle, 5-1.
The two teams went scoreless through the first quarter and half. The Vikings broke through after a long punt return by Jaylun Goodrum set up a Griffin Green touchdown run from the 3-yard line.
Goodrum made his presence felt once again with a scoop-and-score touchdown to put FPD up 14-0 with six minutes left in the third quarter.
On the next drive, the FPD defense once again forced a key turnover. Garrett Veal came up with the interception to set up a touchdown run for quarterback Jahkari Williams. It proved to be the dagger; neither team would score in the final frame.
FPD moves to 3-2 on the season but, more importantly, it picks up a win over a region rival in Tattnall, giving the Vikings the inside track for a higher playoff seed.
Three stars
Coleman Cauley, FPD linebacker: While Goodrum came up with two key plays for the defense and special teams, it was Cauley who had his name called time and time again. Cauley came into the game with 93 tackles in just five games. He is one of the best linebackers in Middle Georgia and against Tattnall, he came up big with double-digit tackles including some key stops early in the game.
Perry football: For the second straight week, Washington County has suffered a loss while leading in the fourth quarter. Last week, Northeast was down 23-6 in the fourth quarter and came back to win 27-23.
The Panthers suffered a jarring loss to Spalding last week and would not be denied against Washington County.
Down 24-23 with under four minutes left, Perry scored a pair of touchdowns including a pick-6 to seal the 37-24 win to get the Panthers back in the win column.
The weather: It rained all week in Middle Georgia, and this led to some sloppy playing conditions on Friday night. In many of this week’s biggest matchups the rain and mud played a significant role in the outcomes.
There were lots of turnovers, especially fumbles that swung a couple of games in the favor of the team who weathered the storm the best.
This also serves as a potential pitfall down the stretch in region play and in the playoffs as the weather could continue to be a factor in the outcomes of the games.
Scoreboard
- Stratford 14, Mount de Sales 7
- Upson-Lee 35, Central 0
- Dublin 49, Wilcox County 0
- Westside 19, Howard 7
- Bleckley County 31, Lamar County 12
- Northside 34, Luella 3
- Veterans 24, Wayne County 7
- Baldwin 21, West Laurens 14
Crisp County 27, Peach County 14
Northeast 48, Southwest 6
Mary Persons 49, Pike County 14
Jones County 48, Ola 42
What’s next?
Northeast at Bleckley County
These have been two of the best teams in Middle Georgia this season. Northeast has grabbed impressive wins over Washington County and Jones County with its lone loss coming in a 10-7 game against Dougherty.
Bleckley County will come into the game with a perfect 7-0 record and its best start since 1978. This could be the game that determines who hangs on to win this region and will give the winner a big advantage in the battle for a number one seed come playoff time.
Northeast quarterback Travion Solomon is the key to this one. The senior signal-caller has the ability to take over a game at any time and if Bleckley County doesn’t have an answer for him it could be a long night for the Royals.
This story was originally published October 8, 2021 at 10:57 PM.