It’s one of those long-standing high school football rivalries where anything can happen on anyone’s field, and on Friday it was Hawkinsville High’s Red Devils getting the better of the Perry High Panthers. Still looking for the first win under new head coach Erik Soliday, Perry dropped to 0-3 in the non-region portion of 2013 as Hawkinsville stole a 20-13 win late in the fourth quarter at Herb St. John Stadium.
Mark Riley’s two touchdowns for Perry were not enough to counter the three interceptions turned in by the Red Devil defense. Two of those picks came from Dakota Sloan, and one set up the game-winning touchdown in the final period.
Riley’s 88-yard kickoff return to start the contest and 1-yard run later in the first quarter put the Panthers ahead 13-0 (one of two PAT kicks missed).
Hawkinsville tallied the final 20 points unanswered one quarter at a time. Perry was still on top 13-6 at the half despite an intercepted pass by Sloan. But in the third quarter, the Red Devils wedged themselves into a tied score 13-13.
With 3:07 remaining, Hawkinsville followed Sloan’s second interception with a game-winning touchdown. The visitors’ third pick of the game came in the end zone as Perry was driving for the tying points in the closing minutes.
WESTFIELD
Following a three-touchdown performance for Westfield the week before, Hornet running back Chandler Duggan had his first 100-yard rushing game in Ronnie Jones’ wing-T. With 134 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns, Duggan and the Hornets handled Mt. de Sales Friday 35-14 in Macon.
This was the last regular-season meeting in football between the two schools; the Cavaliers and two other rivals in Macon are joining the Georgia High School Association after the current school year.
Westfield’s rushing offense netted 276 yards, which was basically all the Hornets needed to pick up 20 first downs.
The game, however, was a battle for one half, the score tied 14-14 at the break. Duggan had a three-yard touchdown and fullback Drew McCrory a seven-yard scoring tote in the opening quarter. Keith Farris, from 39 yards out, and Aubrey Evins, from 11 out, countered for the host Mt. de Sales club.
It was McCrory’s second touchdown, a three-yarder with 2:19 remaining in the third quarter, that put Westfield (2-1) ahead for good. The Hornets proceeded to wear down the Cavs in the fourth with Duggan’s 15-yard scoring run and a three-yarder by Josh Jenkins.
McCrory had 59 total yards on 12 carries. Mt. de Sales had 173 yards from scrimmage. Turnovers were even at two apiece, and flags flew frequently, nine for each side.
HOUSTON COUNTY
Samsun West and Kenny Gant each scored two touchdowns and Taylor Boyett threw two touchdown passes (one to West) as the Houston County finished non-region play in 2013 with a 40-17 victory against Northside High of Columbus on the road.
Friday’s win put Von Lassiter’s team at 2-1, and it came after a rough road loss the week before to Tift County High.
West caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from his quarterback Boyett, and the ensuing PAT kick accounted for all the points for this game in the first 12 minutes.
All the home Patriots had in the first half was a field goal; the Bears took a 19-3 advantage into the break. When Northside-Columbus scored, Chris Lewis returned the kickoff 58 yards. In the second quarter Gant scored from one yard out while Boyett’s second touchdown pass went to Dorian Anderson.
Gant’s second touchdown was on a 37-yard run in the third period. West, back in action after an offseason of injury issues, put six on the board in the fourth with a 13-yard run. Romarcus Williams also scored on the ground for the Bears.
VETERANS
Harris County High quarterback Taquan Marshall was out of action since late in the first half of his team’s season-opening loss at Houston County High on Aug. 29. He returned to the lineup when his Tigers hosted Veterans High on Friday and accounted for three first-half touchdowns of a 30-20 win.
The Warhawks slipped to 0-3 in non-region play, but did stage a second-half comeback.
But Harris built a margin of 27-0 at one point, starting with Marshall’s 28-yard touchdown run on the game’s opening possession. That was it for the first quarter, but the second was explosive with Marshall reversing his field on a nine-yard touchdown.
He also collided with his running back and was able to recover the football when it popped loose but was still in the air. That became a 77-yard scoring streak down the right sideline.
Keith Jenkins of Harris also scored in the first half on an 11-yard run.
Veterans’ Desjuan Harris, at 3:23 until the break, put the Warhawks on the board. In the third, he was back in the end zone at 5:54, and Tim Yaclin’s PAT kicking had it a 27-14 game.
Harris County used the ensuing drive to get a 42-yard field goal, Veterans’ defense bringing that unit on the field after a QB sack.
In the fourth, Robbie Leever scored his first touchdown on a seven-yard run for 30-20. The two-point try failed, and the Warhawks never touched the football again in 6:41 of time thanks to a roughing the kicker penalty.
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