Bad Links?
Other glitches?
Notify Webmaster

Moving on

Patriots, Panthers and War Eagles make second round of state playoffs

By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizenNews.com

Fayette County might have heard a huge sigh of relief a little after 9 p.m. last Friday. It was around then, sometime early in the second half, that both Sandy Creek and Starr’s Mill began to take over in their first round playoff games and assured their fans that they would be moving on. For Sandy Creek, it was an assurance that another 10-0 season and region title wouldn’t be in vain and for Starr’s Mill it was yet another sign that they had regained their playoff form.

Sandy Creek (11-0) got on the board first in their game against Jones County with a 39 yard touchdown pass from Josh Haney to Brent Brewer seven minutes in. Sandy Creek kicked off and Jones County fumbled the return. The Patriots recovered on the Jones County 27 but was unable to convert it to points. Jones County missed a field goal in the second quarter but had a good drive late that was thwarted by solid defensive play, especially from a huge sack from Michael Lockett.

The Patriots started the third quarter with an impressive drive that led to a one yard touchdown run from Reggie Ellington. Penalties bogged down Jones County next drive and on Sandy Creek’s next drive Haney connected with Brewer once again to create a 21-0 lead. Early in the fourth quarter Angelo Garibaldi scored on a three yard touchdown run to cap Sandy Creek’s scoring. Though the Greyhounds had slowed Sandy Creek’s rushing attack early in the game, the Patriots offensive line finally wore down the defense and created holes for their ground game.

It was a solid night on both sides of the ball for Sandy Creek and it seemed everybody had at least one good play. On defense, Lockett, Michael Anderson Ishmael Gordon and Gerren Griffin all had great plays, while Tim Russell had some drive-sustaining catches and Michael McBride had a huge punt return in the fourth quarter.

Sandy Creek will host Griffin (10-1) Friday. Griffin advanced to the second round with a 49-48 win over Thomas County Central.

Starr’s Mill (10-1) was deadlocked 0-0 with Riverdale at the half of their first round playoff game, but Antonio Scott started the second half with a bang. He had a 92 yard kickoff return for a touchdown that got things rolling for Starr’s Mill. The Panthers would get two touchdowns from Kyle McCreary and a field goal from Keegan Hanie in the game. Despite being outgained in yardage by Riverdale, Starr’s Mill was able to stop the Raiders’ drives before any damage could be done. Perhaps the key defensive moment was Brandon Lewis’s recovering of a Riverdale fumble in the red zone.

Starr’s Mill will now travel to take on Camden County (11-0). Camden County defeated Colquitt County 9-0 last Friday. It was their sixth shutout of the year.

Landmark Christian (7-4) continued their winning ways with a 20-12 win over Aquinas. Quarterback Matt Moody threw for 233 yards and connected on touchdown passes with Jimmy Edens (29 yards) and Tommy Kinney (14 yards). Tyler Tidwell also scored for Landmark with a 20 yard run.

The War Eagles will host Bremen (10-1) Friday. Bremen handed Jefferson a 28-14 loss last week.

Our Lady of Mercy (1-10) fell in the opening round of the playoffs to Lincoln County (10-1), 53-0.

For a detailed preview of Friday night’s games, pick up a copy of Friday’s Peachtree Citizen or visit www.thecitizennews.com.