After blowouts in the first week, things got a little closer for the varsity football teams from Sandy Creek, Starr’s Mill and Whitewater.
The Whitewater Wildcats (1-1) hosted the Sandy Creek Patriots (2-0) on Friday night and lost 13-10. It was a defensive battle for much of the game and the teams traded turnovers in the first quarter with Whitewater’s Chris Asbury intercepting a pass from Jake Turing and Sandy Creek’s Josh Holt recovering a Wildcat fumble on the next drive. With just over three minutes remaining in the quarter, Sandy Creek’s Matthew Solomon recovered another Whitewater fumble, this time on the Patriots ‘14 yard line.

The Wildcats put the first points on the scoreboard in the second quarter when Jordan Cooper kicked a 35 yard field goal. Sandy Creek answered nearly a minute later as Joseph Snowden caught a pass from Turing and ran 90 yards for a touchdown. The Patriots’ Jeremy Holt intercepted a pass from Jay Bright half way through the second quarter but Bright connected with Jerrod Richardson with a 30 yard touchdown pass on their next drive to take the lead at the half.

The score remained the same through the third quarter but the Patriots began to control the ball and the clock, going for some key first downs on fourth down and getting them thanks to big runs from Rashad Hollis and catches from Tim Russell. Hollis rushed three yards for the go ahead touchdown and the Patriots hung on for the win as Robert Jaracz made a huge interception late in the fourth quarter.

Patriot fans stormed the field and celebrated with Sandy Creek in an endzone marking the beginning of a terrific rivalry between the schools. Among the Whitewater players who played well on Friday night, and there were many, were receivers Cody Haralson and Jonah Jaurigue and defensive players Blake Underwood and Ryan Hidalgo, while Sandy Creek got big games from Braxton Lane and Brad Bush on offense and Rickey Nicholson and Fred Jones on defense.

Sandy Creek takes to the road this week with a game at Franklin County (0-2), while Whitewater hosts Fayette County (1-1), another local team hoping to establish a fun and competitive rivalry.

The Tigers defeated Jonesboro 35-21 last Friday and got great efforts on the ground from quarterback Brandon Boykin and running back Matt Daniels. The team produced 382 yards rushing. Daniels scored four touchdowns on the night and Boykin rushed for the other. Johnnie Cannon had five tackles and five assists, while Audy Whittington added three tackles and eight assists. Boykin had eight tackles, one assist, and one fumble caused and recovered, while Sean Finn chipped in five tackles and four assists. Coach Tommy Webb also mentioned good play from Ryan Edwards, who was five for five on extra points and had a 42 yard punt average.

Starr’s Mill (2-0) defeated Rockdale County 21-14 in overtime, thanks to an interception from Santrez Collier, his second in two games. Robby Davis threw two touchdown passes to Brandon Witta and ran for a touchdown in the win. The defense held Rockdale to 59 yards passing and 133 yards rushing on the night. Starr’s Mill opens their region schedule this Friday with a huge home game against Creekside (2-0). The game will be televised by Comcast Sports Southeast, Channel 45 on Comcast Cable, at 7:30 p.m.

Defense was the name of the game as the Landmark Christian War Eagles (2-0) surrendered only one offensive score to the Ola Mustangs in a 42-15 win. Landmark got interceptions from Jimmy Eden and Blake Wyatt and fumble recoveries by Andrew Glaize, Scott Berger and Trey Strickland. The War Eagle offense spread the wealth as five different players scored touchdowns. Eden, Walter Lenard and Tanner Bryant caught touchdown passes from Matt Moody, while Moody himself added 54 yards rushing and a touchdown. Senior Brian Lee led the War Eagle attack with 178 yards rushing and two touchdowns behind the holes created by the offensive line and receivers blocking. Landmark will host the Pacelli Vikings (0-2) this Friday night at 7:30 p.m. for their 2006 home opener.

The McIntosh Chiefs (0-2) had their hands full hosting the East Coweta Indians (1-1) and lost 45-0. The Chiefs held the Indians on their first drive but fumbled on the ensuing drive leading to an East Coweta touchdown and when the Chiefs couldn’t convert a fourth and one after a drive to the Indian’s 25 yard line, East Coweta scored again. Coach Dwight Jones wasn’t pleased with his team’s intensity but did state that Jonathan Smith, an offensive tackle known to some as “Tank,” played decent. Bradley Larson also had an interception for the Chiefs in the loss.

McIntosh will host Westlake (2-0) this Friday.
Our Lady of Mercy (0-1), which had a bye last week, will travel to take on Athens Christian (1-1) Academy on Friday.

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