Middle Georgia football scores: Local teams lock up playoff spots in season finale
High school football in Middle Georgia has reached the end of the regular season. Teams finished out their seasons competing for playoff spots and region titles.
There were plenty of upsets, close calls and blowout wins to go around on Friday night including a nail-biter in Jones County that saw the Greyhounds capture their third straight region title.
Here is a look at some of the best games, highlights and scores from around Middle Georgia in Week 12 of the season.
Best game
Jones County 21, Dutchtown 13
The Greyhounds came into the game looking to capture the No. 1 seed for the third season in a row. The past two seasons have ended in the 5A semifinals.
The start of the game went about as poorly as it could have for Jones County. On the opening drive, star wide receiver Zion Ragins took the ball on an end-around and fumbled. Dutchtown defender Brandon Savage scooped up the ball and took it the distance to put the Bulldogs up 6-0 after a missed extra point.
The Greyhounds offense stalled on the second drive of the game, but pinned Dutchtown back inside its own 5-yard line. Quarterback Bryce Clavon engineered a 98-yard drive, capped by a quarterback keeper by Clavon to put the Bulldogs up 13-0 with under three minutes left in the first quarter.
Special teams became the story of the game for Jones County as it went along. Jones County caught a big break after a low snap by Dutchtown resulted in the punter’s knee touching the ground and giving the Greyhounds the ball deep inside Dutchtown territory.
Quarterback John Alan Richter found Ragins on screen pass, Ragins sprinted into the end zone from 30 yards out for the Greyhounds first score of the game. This sent the two teams into half with Dutchtown leading 13-7.
On the opening kickoff of the second half, the Dutchtown returner fumbled. Jones County’s Conner Bass fell on the ball and gave the Greyhounds possession near the Dutchtown 25-yard line.
Bass was rewarded on the next play as Jones County executed a hook-and-lateral with Bass catching the pitch and scampering in for the score. This gave Jones County its first lead of the night.
The Jones County defense continued to stifle the Dutchtown offense. Clavon, an Oklahoma baseball commit, finished the game 2-for-14 for 46 yards passing and the Bulldogs were held to under 200 total yards for the game.
The Greyhounds offense was stopped near the 50-yard line but head coach Mike Chastain pulled out another special teams play with a fake punt with a direct snap to running back Drew Jones to convert on fourth down. The gutsy call flipped the field and backed up the Bulldogs deep in their own territory.
Facing another fourth down with fewer than seven minutes to play, the Greyhounds converted a touchdown pass from Richter to tight end Austin May for the final score of the game. The Greyhounds defense batted the ball down in the end zone with one second left to ice the game.
Jones County will take on Griffin in the first round of the playoffs next week.
Three stars
John Alan Richter, Jones County QB: After a rocky start to the game, the veteran quarterback settled his offense down and helped lead a trio of key scoring drives to win the game for the Greyhounds.
Richter finished 17-of-20 for 190 yards and two scores. This kind of play could lead Jones County back to the semifinals and perhaps a berth in the state title game.
Perry football: This team took a surprising loss to Spalding which put them down in the region standings. The Panthers have hit their stride at the right time.
In the last four region games, they have won by a combined score of 152-8, the defense giving up its only touchdown over the final four games to Baldwin, who came into the game undefeated in region play.
Jones County defense and special teams: In a game that looked bleak early on, it was these two units that flipped the tide in the game. The fake punt, the fumble recovery and the low snap all helped put Jones County over the top.
On defense, the Bulldogs were unable to move the ball after the second drive of the game. This defense gives Jones County a chance to win any game in the playoffs. If the offense catches fire as it has in previous playoff runs, this could be a team poised to make a run.
Scoreboard
- Warner Robins 59, Veterans 3
- Peach County 37, Central 0
- West Laurens 17. Westside 14
- Mary Persons 28, Sumter County 20
- Dodge County 31, Southwest 16
- Tattnall 61, Mount De Sales 33
- Lamar County 28, Northeast 20
- Perry 40, Baldwin 8
- Dublin 34, Montgomery County 21
- ACE 47, Twiggs County 20
- Stratford 41, Deerfield-Windsor 11
- FPD 41, Strong Rock 7
What’s next?
The playoffs
The seedings and matchups aren’t all determined yet as some teams wait out tiebreakers at the top of regions. Middle Georgia has quite a few teams that will enter as No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, including Warner Robins, Jones County, FPD and Peach County.
Over the next few weeks teams will battle out in their classifications for a chance at a state title. Last season, Warner Robins was the lone Middle Georgia team to capture a state championship with its win over Cartersville.