Middle Georgia football scores: Warner Robins advances, Northeast falls in OT

The high school football playoffs in Middle Georgia are nearing an end, with just two rounds remaining. Teams took the field on Friday night with the goal of surviving and advancing to the semifinals.

There were plenty of upsets, close calls and blowout wins to go around on Friday night including defending 5A champion, Warner Robins in a rematch with Jones County from last season’s semifinal game.

Here is a look at some of the best games, highlights and scores from around Middle Georgia in second round of the playoffs.

Best game

Warner Robins 49, Jones County 21

For much of the first half, it looked as though Jones County had the firepower to hang with Warner Robins.

The Greyhounds took the ball first on offense and scored on the opening drive as sophomore phenom Zion Ragins sprinted into the end zone from 15 yards out.

After a failed onside kick attempt, Warner Robins took advantage of the short field as Jafredrick Perry broke off a long touchdown run to tie the game up at 7.

The two offenses remained in sync on the following pair of drives as John Alan Richter found Tucker Mix for a touchdown and Perry got his second touchdown of the night for the Demons.

Last week, Warner Robins’ defense proved tough inside the 5-yard line, coming up with five straight stops against Cartersville.

Against Jones County, the defense came up with another stop near the goal line, but the offense could not capitalize on the first stop by either defense.

Jones County looked as though it would take 17-14 lead but Antwon Jackson blocked a 44-yard field goal attempt by Evan West and returned it for the score. Jones County bounced back quickly as Richter hit Ed Chester for a touchdown to tie the game at 21. Just before the half, Warner Robins scored again to go up 28-21.

Coming out of the half Jafredrick Perry would light up the Jones County defense for three scores in the third quarter alone as Warner Robins would pull away including a 71-yard run to open the second half.

Jones County offense never got going after the half. In part because Richter left the game with an injury. The Greyhounds were held scoreless in the second half as Warner Robins moves on to the semifinals.

Three stars

Jafredrick Perry, running back Warner Robins: Perry outscored Jones County by himself with two scores in the opening quarter and three after halftime. Perry has picked up the slack after running back Malcolm Brown went down for the season with an injury.

If the Demons are going to repeat as 5A champions it will likely be due to Perry’s ability to break open a game with his violent running style.

Northeast: The Raiders ended up losing 12-9 in double overtime against Swainsboro but this was an impressive season.

Northeast isn’t typically mentioned with the perennial powers in Middle Georgia but there is a lot to like about this team moving forward.

Head coach Jeremy Wiggins has the chance to do something special with this program as he has already turned it around faster than expected.

Don’t expect this to be the last time this Northeast team makes a deep run in the playoffs.

FPD: After losing star running back Griffin Green to injury early in the game against Prince Avenue, this team showed a ton of heart and grit.

The Vikings battled all night long against one of the best teams in the state. The final score isn’t a true indication of how well FPD matched up in this one.

This is another team with a bright future.

Scoreboard

• Swainsboro 12, Northeast 9

• Pierce County 35, Peach County 30

• Prince Avenue 41, FPD 22

• Langston Hughes 48, Northside 7

• Cedartown 39, Perry 25

What’s next?

Then there was one:

In the GHSA playoffs, Warner Robins is the last hope for Middle Georgia in the race for a state title. Since the start of the season, the Demons have looked like the team with the best chance to win a title but Friday night proved it.

The five other Middle Georgia teams went out in a variety of ways from blowouts to heartbreaking losses. Jones County wound up on the wrong side of a game against Warner Robins.

The Demons still have a chance to defend their 5A title from a season ago. Next week the Demons will take on Creekside with the winner moving on to the title game.