Cedar Shoals football holds off Madison County's furious second-half rally
CEDAR SHOALS 40, MADISON COUNTY 36: At Waters-Wilkins Stadium, the host Jaguars built a 24-point lead in the third quarter and then had to hold on during a furious rally by the Red Raiders to win a Region 8-4A shootout.
A.J. Hubbard threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to De’Wan Foote in the first quarter to stake Cedar Shoals (3-5, 3-3) to a 7-0 lead and hit Devin Hester on a 45-yard pass in the second quarter as the Jaguars went up 13-7. After Madison County (5-2, 3-2) recorded a safety on a blocked punt, Hubbard threw his third touchdown strike of the night to Kayden Scott with nine seconds left in the second quarter, giving the home team a 20-9 lead at the half.
Cedar Shoals opened the second half with a successful onside kick attempt and Hubbard went back to work, throwing a 34-yard pass to Hester just eight seconds into the third quarter. Seven minutes later, Hubbard threw a pass that was tipped but landed in the arms of Dorian Thrasher for a 40-yard touchdown, giving the Jaguars a 33-9 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Madison County then scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns to pull within three points at 33-30 before Jordan Jones recorded a 20-yard scoop and score with 2:45 remaining to put Cedar Shoals back up 40-30. The Red Raiders scored again to make it 40-36 and got the ball back late but could not score again.
The Jaguars will play at 7:30 p.m. at Chestatee. The Red Raiders will play at 7:30 p.m. at East Forsyth.
NORTH OCONEE 44, EAST FORSYTH 19: At Gainesville, the Titans – ranked No. 2 in Class 4A – rolled over the host Broncos to win their 23rd consecutive regular-season game and their 18th consecutive region game. With the victory, North Oconee improved to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in Region 8-4A.
Max Wilson led the Titans’ ground attack with three rushing touchdowns and was followed by Tate Titshaw and Luke Waterworth, who scored one touchdown apiece.
Wilson also threw touchdown passes to Damoni Taylor and Landon Roldan.
North Oconee will play at 7:30 p.m. Friday at East Hall.
JEFFERSON 41, FLOWERY BRANCH 13: At Falcon Stadium in Flowery Branch, the Dragons – ranked No. 3 in Class 5A – scored 41 consecutive points as Clemson commit Sammy Brown rushed for more than 220 yards and a touchdown and blocked a punt.
After the Falcons scored on their first possession, Brown, who came into Friday’s game with 797 rushing yards (and ran for 116 yards in the first quarter alone), scored Jefferson’s first touchdown on a 65-yard sprint with less than a minute left in the first half to tie the game at 7-7.
The Dragons (7-0, 3-0 in Region 8-5A) added 21 second-quarter points as quarterback Gavin Markey rushed in from 4 yards out for the first touchdown. Flowery Branch (4-4, 2-2) fumbled the ensuing kickoff, which was recovered by Dallas Russell, who moments later scored on a 4-yard run with six minutes to go. After a blocked punt, Talan Childress grabbed a 22-yard scoring strike from Markey with no time left on the clock as Jefferson went up 28-7 at the half.
On the opening drive of the third quarter, Markey and Childress connected again with eight minutes left on a 24-yard pass, and after Brown’s blocked punt, Childress threw a 31-yard pass to Zay Minish with 3:10 remaining in the third to close out the Dragons’ scoring spree.
Jefferson – which is now 6-0 all-time against Flowery Branch – will play at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Loganville.
COMMERCE 39, ATHENS CHRISTIAN 0: At Tiger Field at Ray Lamb Stadium in Commerce, the Tigers – ranked No. 7 in Class A Division 1 – recorded their second shutout in as many weeks with a decisive victory over the Eagles in both teams’ Region 8-A Division 1 opener.
The Tigers (7-0, 1-0) jumped out to an early lead as Terrence Burch scored on a 62-yard run with 7:44 left in the first quarter. Ty Sorrells added a 35-yard interception return a minute later to make it 13-0 and Jacari Huff scored with four minutes remaining on a 41-yard sprint after another Commerce interception.
Burch scored a second touchdown on an 8-yard with 5:34 left in the second quarter and the Tigers held a 27-0 halftime lead.
Jace Lyle completed the scoring for Commerce in the third quarter, reaching the end zone on a 1-yard run with 4:47 remaining and scoring on a 58-yard run with 2:30 left.
The Tigers will play at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Elbert County, ranked No. 5 in Class A Division 1. Athens Christian (0-7, 0-1) will host Rabun County, ranked No. 4 in Class A Division 1.
BETHLEHEM CHRISTIAN 51, RIVERSIDE MILITARY 0: At Bethlehem, the unbeaten Knights posted their third shutout of the season and remained undefeated with a beatdown of winless Riverside Military Academy.
Josh Adams and Tristan Puckett rushed for two touchdowns apiece for Bethlehem Christian (8-0, 2-0 in GIAA Region 4-4A/3A). Christian White and Elijah Goodard added one touchdown each and the Knights also recorded a safety.
Place-kicker Bennett Logan was a perfect 6-for-6 on extra point attempts and Jax Meaders went 1-for-1.
Bethlehem Christian will play at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Loganville Christian.
FROM THURSDAY
CLARKE CENTRAL 42, HERITAGE-CONYERS 0: At Billy Henderson Stadium, the Gladiators snapped a three-game losing streak, extended Heritage-Conyers’ losing streak to four games, won their first Region 8-5A game and recorded their first shutout since September of 2022, when they blanked Cedar Shoals in their season opener.
Clarke Central (4-4, 1-3) scored 28 first-quarter points to take a commanding advantage and tallied touchdowns in the second and third quarters. Heritage-Conyers fell to 2-5 overall and 0-3 in region play.
The Gladiators will play at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Eastside.
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LANIER 42, APALACHEE 13: At R. Harold Harrison Stadium in Bethlehem, the Wildcats suffered their eighth consecutive loss as Lanier improved to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in Region 8-6A. The Longhorns have won eight in a row over Apalachee dating back to 2012.
The Wildcats’ scores came on a 25-yard run by quarterback Howard Holloway in the first quarter and on a 3-yard rush by running back Prince Tate in the fourth quarter.
Apalachee (0-4 in region play) is off Friday and will host Habersham Central at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 27.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Cedar Shoals football holds off Madison County's second-half rally
