Prince Avenue Christian football keeps rolling, Athens Academy bounces back and more
Jefferson football cruised to a 44-7 victory against Oconee County thanks to Sammy Brown's four touchdowns. In other action for Athens-area high school teams, Prince Avenue Christian kept rolling, Athens Academy bounced back with a blowout win and Madison County won a thriller in overtime.
Sammy Brown does it again for Jefferson: See what the Clemson football commit did this time
Here's what we learned in Week 4
PRINCE AVENUE CHRISTIAN 45, MONROE AREA 17: At Hurricane Stadium in Monroe, the Wolverines – ranked No. 1 in Class A Division 1 – won their 18th consecutive game and did so with a running clock in the second half with a beatdown of Monroe Area, ranked No. 7 in Class 3A.
Quarterback Aaron Philo, who surpassed Jake Fromm for sixth place in career touchdown passes in Georgia high school history, ran for two touchdowns and threw two scoring passes to C.J. Dockery to lead Prince Avenue Christian, which improved to 4-0 and handed the Hurricanes – who had outscored their opponents 102-12 in their first three games – their first loss of the season.
Tyler Denny put the Wolverines on the board with 5:07 left in the first quarter with a 26-yard field goal and after a 57-yard pass to Connor Causby, Philo scored his team’s first touchdown with four minutes left in the first on a 3-yard run.
With 10:40 left in the second quarter, Mac Bradley scored on a 1-yard run. Philo added a 4-yard run with 2:40 remaining, and a minute later hit Dockery on a 28-yard scoring strike to put Prince Avenue up 31-3 at the half.
Starting center Austin Head was inserted into the backfield and scored on a 3-yard run with 7:01 left in the third quarter to make it 38-3, and Philo connected with Dockery on a 52-yard pass with 8:50 remaining in the game to complete the scoring.
The Wolverines will host Eagle’s Landing Christian at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
ATHENS ACADEMY 59, MT. PISGSAH CHRISTIAN 13: At Slaughter Field, the Spartans bounced back from a lopsided loss last Friday to Prince Avenue Christian with a dominating performance, squaring their record at 2-2.
Athens Academy took a 24-0 lead in the first quarter as Jamari Welch scored on a 4-yard run with nine minutes left, Bryan McClendon returned an interception 32 yards with 7:45 remaining, Zachary Chapeau nailed a 28-yard field goal with 2:32 left and Hampton Johnson threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to Preston Darden as time ran out.
The second quarter saw the Spartans score 28 more points as Johnson threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Austin McGee at the 9:22 mark, Keyon Standifer returned a punt 62 yards for a score with 7:34 remaining, Welch reached the end zone on a 45-yard run with 4:15 left and Johnson connected with Noah Prior on a 5-yard scoring strike with 15 seconds left before halftime.
Standifer closed out the night with a 3-yard touchdown run with 7:30 left in the third quarter.
The Spartans – who are now 6-0 all-time against the Patriots – will host Mount Vernon at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
MADISON COUNTY 27, CHEROKEE BLUFF 26 (OT): At Gainesville, the Red Raiders defeated the Bears in overtime to go to 3-0 for the first time since 2016 and win their Region 8-4A opener. Jaiden Hanson extra point in overtime proved to be the difference
Madison County will host North Oconee – ranked No. 2 in Class 4A – at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
BETHLEHEM CHRISTIAN 42, AUGUSTA CHRISTIAN 9: At Augusta, the Knights improved to 4-0 with a decisive road win.
Josh Adams led Bethlehem Christian with four rushing touchdowns and 153 yards on 14 carries. Zeke Clanton and Lance Burkhalter scored a touchdown apiece and place-kicker Bennett Logan was a perfect 6-for-6 on extra points.
The Knights will host Georgia Christian at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
OGLETHORPE COUNTY 20, LAKE OCONEE ACADEMY 7: At Greensboro, the Patriots posted their first victory of the season with a convincing win over the Titans, scoring 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.
Jake Turner scored Oglethorpe County’s first touchdown on a run with five minutes left in the first quarter. After Lake Oconee Academy tied it late in the third quarter, the Patriots went up 14-7 with 7:37 left in the game when Jayden Wallace threw a touchdown pass to Darius Heard.
Turner recorded his second touchdown run of the night late in the fourth quarter.
The Patriots (1-2) will host Greene County at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
GAINESVILLE 24, CLARKE CENTRAL 7: At Billy Henderson Stadium, the Gladiators – ranked No. 9 in Class 5A – got on the scoreboard first but couldn’t hang on against the powerful Red Elephants, the No. 1 team in Class 6A.
Clarke Central’s only touchdown came with five minutes remaining in the first quarter when Chase Berrong threw a scoring pass to Jamarion Davis.
Clarke Central honored former Gladiator Horace King at Friday’s game. King, who threw two touchdown passes to Richard Appleby in Clarke Central’s first game against Gainesville (a 17-15 loss in 1970), was one of the first five African Americans (along with Appleby) recruited to play at Georgia and spent nine seasons in the NFL with the Detroit Lions.
The Gladiators (2-1) will play at 7:30 p.m. Friday at South Forsyth.
LOGANVILLE 49, APALACHEE 31: At Loganville, the Wildcats fell to 0-4, despite scoring more points Friday than they had in their first three games (24).
Favian Williford scored on runs of 65 and 19 yards in the first half and Jacob Galomo added a 30-yard field goal in the third quarter.
Howard Holloway threw a 62-yard touchdown pass to Undre Burton in the third quarter and ran 17 yards for a touchdown with nine minutes left in the game.
Apalachee will play their Region 8-6A opener at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Gainesville, the No. 1 team in Class 6A.
MOUNTAIN VIEW 56, JACKSON COUNTY 14: At Lawrenceville, the Panthers fell to 2-2 as Mountain View scored 35 unanswered points in the second half.
M.J. Spurlin scored both of Jackson County’s touchdowns with runs of 66 yards and 1 yard. He rushed 23 times for 139 yards and had three receptions for 25 yards.
The Panthers will open Region 8-6A play at 7:30 p.m. Friday at North Forsyth.
PEACHTREE RIDGE 46, WINDER-BARROW 0: At W. Clair Harris Stadium in Winder, the Bulldoggs were blanked just a week after scoring 56 points against Salem and dropped their first game of the season.
Winder-Barrow (3-1) will open Region 8-5A play at 7:30 p.m. Friday, hosting Loganville.
STRONG ROCK CHRISTIAN 62, ATHENS CHRISTIAN 0: At Eagle Stadium, Athens Christian’s home opener turned out to be a long night as the Eagles fell to 0-3.
Layden Bryson had 200 passing yards and Bryson Campbell recorded 148 receiving yards for Athens Christian, which hosts Providence Christian at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
YOUNG AMERICANS CHRISTIAN 60, WESTMINSTER CHRISTIAN 29: At Watkinsville, the Lions dropped to 1-3 as Young Americans Christian remained unbeaten at 4-0.
Henry Sanders tallied Westminster Christian’s first touchdown on a 21-yard run in the first quarter. Ethan Townsend thew a 22-yard touchdown pass to Noah Goodwin with 10:17 in the second quarter and Dee Moore reached the end zone on a 50-yard run with 7:45 left before halftime.
The Lions will play at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Victory Baptist.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Prince Avenue Christian football rolls, Athens Academy bounces back
