BHS gets much-needed region win; Trojans, Dawgs both light up the scoreboard

Baldwin – 42
West Laurens – 21

The Braves traveled down US 441 on Friday night and picked up a region win, in the process keeping their state playoff hopes alive.

Perhaps Baldwin should petition the GHSA to play every game on the road. Not really, obviously, but the Braves are now 3-1 away from Braves Stadium and averaging 33 points per game. In home games, meanwhile, the Braves are 0-4 and the offense has only scored three touchdowns all season.

Baldwin, which hasn't missed the state playoffs since 2015 and has only been left out of the state playoffs twice in the last 20 years, definitely improved its chances on Friday night. The Braves are now 2-2 in the region, while Howard and Westside both lost Friday night and remain with one region victory this season. Griffin, meanwhile, currently is 3-2 in the region and holding the No. 3 seed, while Perry and Spalding appear locked in at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively

Junior running back Micah Welch, a 4-star recruit by Rivals, put on a show, scoring four touchdowns and toying with the Raiders' defense. Welch was on hand in Knoxville last Saturday for Tennessee's wild 52-49 in over Alabama. Welch currently hold scholarship offers from Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Tennessee, among others.

The game got a little loopy to begin the second half, as the two teams combined for three touchdowns in the first 118 seconds of the third quarter. Junior defensive end Omarion Fraley got to live every defensive lineman's dream, intercepting a West Laurens screen pass and rumbling 62 yards into the end zone. Dyson Sallad's PAT was true, tying the game at 14-all.

West Laurens' Johnny Williams then returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown. There were more kickoff antics following that, as Baldwin star wide receiver Armontae Palmer took the kickoff deep into Raiders' territory. Welch capped off the drive three plays later with a 4-yard scoring run.

Welch then took over, with West Laurens' defense tiring, and that was all she wrote.

FPD – 7
John Milledge – 55

The Trojans have now outscored their eight opponents this season by a combined 387-60, an average of score of 48-8.

Friday marked win No. 45 in a row for John Milledge, which hasn't lost a football game in going on 47 months now.

Quarterback Briggs Eady rushed for two early touchdowns, the first from 1 yard out and the second from 37 away. Javion Butts cruised into the end zone for JMA's third TD of the first quarter, while Baylen Zielenski got into the act with two scoring runs in the second quarter.

The Trojans (8-0, 2-0) outgained the Vikings (2-6, 1-1) 334-94 in total yards in the first half. 

Looking forward, JMA next Friday will host Mt. de Sales, which should be another auto-pilot game for the Trojans. For perspective, Mt. de Sales recently defeated FPD 36-10, the same FPD team that got drug by JMA on Friday night.

After that is a road game at Tattnall to close out the regular season, which most likely will determine the GISA District 6AAAA–AAA region title.

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Glascock Co. – 28
GMC Prep – 49

The Dawgs gave the home folks plenty to cheer about on Friday night, scoring early and often.

GMC has now won 13 straight games against the Panthers from Gibson and owns a 17-3-1 lead in the all-time series, which dates back to 1978.

The Dawgs are a shoo-in to make the state playoffs for a third straight season. Based on the relatively complicated tiebreaker scenario, however, it appears unlikely that GMC will finish second in the region, while Johnson County currently is running away with first. Only the top two region finishers earn the right to play home games in the first round of the state playoffs, while seeds No. 3 and No. 4 have to hit the road. 

Next Friday is a bye for GMC, while the regular-season finale is all set for Nov. 3 at lowly Twiggs County, a program that has fallen way off in recent years.