Calvary Day football wins with two stars out, South Effingham offense takes off and more

Week 4 of the high school football season in the Greater Savannah had some interesting storylines, and the games lived up to the hype Friday night.

Benedictine prevailed over Ware County in a battle of two defending state champions, while Calvary Day blew out a North Carolina power.

South Effingham, Bethesda and Memorial Day all remained undefeated on the year, and Johnson won its first game of the year at Brantley County.

Here's what we learned in Week 4.

Calvary Day dominates despite missing two big-time stars

Calvary Day was missing two blue-chip recruits as junior receivers Thomas Blackshear and Doopah Coleman were out with injuries against a talented Charlotte Christian squad that came to town for a big-time matchup.

But it didn't matter as four-star quarterback Jake Merklinger led the Cavs to an impressive 41-10 win over a team that has won nine North Carolina state titles.

Merklinger had touchdown passes to Michael Smith and Caden Arnold and rushed for two more scores as Calvary improved to 3-0 on the season.

Jeff Moeller of the Prep Sports Report had Merklinger throwing for 278 yards with 62 yards rushing and reported that Smith had 118 yards receiving.

Trevor Strowbridge added a pair of scoring runs for the Cavs.

"This one means a lot," said Merklinger, who has committed to Tennessee. "We try not to look to far ahead, but when we saw this game on the schedule we knew it was going to be a big one. And we came out and executed well, even without Doopah and Thomas -- so this one was big for us."

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South Effingham uses dominant ground game to win high-scoring affair

South Effingham countered the strong passing game of host Bradwell with an excellent ground attack as the Mustangs improved to 3-0 on the season under first-year coach Loren Purvis with a 52-36 victory.

Purvis said senior Gannon White rushed for a pair of touchdowns and caught a scoring pass while rushing for an estimated 150 yards rushing, while Jakeim Leeks had more than 100 yards on the ground and a pair of rushing scores.

Senior quarterback Kaden DeGenero had a touchdown pass.

"We ran the ball really well tonight and it feels great to be 3-0," Purvis said in a phone interview on the bus ride home from Hinesville. "Bradwell has a great passing game, and they put up some points, but our defense was able to get some big stops when we needed them."

The Mustangs have a bye before hosting cross-county rival Effingham County on Sept. 22.

Memorial Day remains undefeated on the season a year after finishing 1-9.

Memorial Day continued to impress as the Matadors improved to 3-0 on the season under second-year coach Jaha Taylor with a 28-14 win over John Paul II in South Carolina.

Senior Tyler Kindle has emerged as one of the hottest quarterbacks in the Georgia Independent Athletic Association. He entered the game with 535 yards passing and four scoring passes and added to his numbers by completing 16 of 20 throws for 300 yards and three scores.

Assir Best rushed for 54 yards and a score on 10 attempts, and Craig Harris caught a 46-yard scoring pass.

Julien Zamora, a standout receiver and defensive back, had six catches for 95 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Memorial Day is at Colleton Prep Academy next week.

How Johnson came through late to win first game under Steven Smith

Brayden Hurst threw a game-winning touchdown pass to Derreon Johnson with 52 seconds left as Johnson rallied to beat host Brantley County 18-12 Friday and give first-year coach Steven Smith his first career win.

Brian Robinson made the game-ending tackle on a fourth down to seal the win for the Atom Smashers.

Isaiah Scott had a huge game for the Atom Smashers as the junior ran for 199 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 23 carries, while making nine tackles at linebacker.

Two senior stars continue to excel for Bethesda

A week after having to miss a game when an opponent forfeited, Bethesda got back to its winning ways as the Blazers improved to 4-0 with a 34-0 win over visiting Carolina Academy.

Seniors Noah Jenkins and Triston Randall led the way once again for Bethesda. Jenkins had rushing touchdowns of 48, 67 and 26 yards and now has 10 rushing touchdowns through three games.

Randall, the senior quarterback and linebacker, threw a 20-yard scoring pass to Thomas Peters and rushed for a four yard score.

Bethesda is set to host Cross Episcopal (0-4) on Friday at Daffin Park.

St. Andrew's rolls to win over Hilton Head Prep

Sophomore Amari Cook was selected by readers as the Savannah Morning News Player of the Week after a win over John Paul II last week, and he showed it was no fluke with another big-time performance as St. Andrew's dominated in a 44-0 win over visiting Hilton Head Prep.

Cook rushed for 111 yards and three touchdowns and caught two passes from Zayden Edwards for 84 yards and another score.

Rashaad Williams had a rushing touchdown and also returned an interception for a score for the Lions, who improved to 3-1 on the season. Defensive lineman Tripp Jackson had a safety and kicker Charles Strain converted all six of his extra points for the Lions.

Dynamic duo led Windsor Forest over Islands

Coming off a 1-9 year, Windsor Forest entered the football season looking for improvement.

Things quickly went downhill, though, as the Knights were blown out by Savannah Country Day and New Hampstead, while losing starting quarterback Anthony Williams and running back Victor Walker to injuries.

But Marquis Lonnon and Izaiyah Cooper have stepped into the void for the Knights. Both played major roles Thursday night as Windsor Forest won its second game in a row, beating Islands 21-7 at Savannah High Stadium.

The duo starred on both sides of the ball. After Kendall Carter recovered a fumble on Islands first possession, Cooper dropped back and threw one up to Lonnon, who grabbed it for a 39-yard touchdown.

Lonnon has football in his blood, as his brother, Malachi Lonnon, is a star receiver at New Hampstead.

He showed versatility midway through the second quarter when he stepped in front of a Chet Bachman pass to make the pick and then raced untouched 35 yards for the score to put the Knights up 12-0.

The durable senior also plays special teams. He blocked a punt out of the back of the end zone midway through the third quarter for a safety that put the Knights up 14-0.

Cooper had a memorable 28-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter when he slipped out of a sack and broke three more tackles to put the game away. He rushed for 73 yards on 14 carries (including a 21-yard loss on his stat line because of a bad snap), and was 2 of 4 passing for 38 yards and the score. He also excelled at inside linebacker.

Islands showed life late, when Jay'Den Sutton made a spectacular one-handed grab for a 39-yard touchdown catch from Amaree Bedgood with 2:24 left, but it was too late for the Sharks, who lost their 18th straight game.

"When our starting quarterback went down with a concussion, (Izaiyah) Cooper came over from linebacker to play on offense. He's just a natural football player and he never misses a snap," Knight Coach Jeb Stewart said. "He's just a gamer who was chasing down receivers tonight. And Marquis (Lonnon) has always had so much potential, and he's just blowing up this year. He's a great player and a great leader. But we had a lot of kids who stepped up -- guys like Arik Brown who made the interception to seal the deal -- that was the best game he has ever played."

OTHER SCORES

Johnson 18, Brantley County 12

Southeast Bulloch 20, Effingham County 13

Camden County 51, New Hampstead 7

Claxton 35, Groves 6

Pierce County 49, Liberty County 6

Butler 20, Savannah High 0

Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: What we learned about Savannah area football teams in Week 4