Top performances: New Hampstead QB backs up record setting performance from a week ago

Week 8 of the high school football season in the Greater Savannah area featured a number of impressive performances.

Benedictine faced another tough Region 3-4A challenge, and the Cadets delivered with a 38-30 road win at Burke County.

New Hampstead, which gave BC all it had in a 39-31 loss last week, followed with another impressive offensive performance, while Calvary Day and Bethesda extended their unbeaten runs.

Here's a look a the top performances from Week 8 in the Greater Savannah area.

BC duo finds chemistry in win over Burke How Benedictine passing duo connected when it counted to lift Cadets over Burke County

BC's Albert puts name in record books How an underrated star put his name in the Benedictine football record book

Remembering Effingham coach Bob Griffith Remembering Effingham football coach Bob Griffith and his lasting legacy in Georgia

New Hampstead offense continues to roll

A week after junior quarterback RaShawn Truell threw for a school record 533 yards and four touchdowns in the loss to BC, he was slinging it around the field again at Southeast Bulloch as the Phoenix came away with a 50-34 win in a game televised by WSAV.

Truell was 22 of 28 passing for 324 yards and four touchdowns. He connected with Malachi Lonnon eight times for 121 yards and three scores and hit Jaylen Hampton seven times for 93 yards, and also had a touchdown pass to Jartavious Malone.

Junior Kamari Maxwell rushed for 132 yards and pair of scores for the Phoenix and Hampton added a rushing touchdown.

New Hampstead (3-3, 1-1) hosts Wayne County (5-2, 1-1) next week.

How Jake Merklinger put on a show for Tennessee coach Josh Heupel

Tennessee coach Josh Heupel was in Savannah on Friday night to check out his four-star recruit at Calvary Day, and Jake Merklinger put on a show in a 60-0 blowout of Groves.

Merklinger threw five touchdown passes and ran for another as Calvary improved to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in Region 3-3A play.

He hit South Carolina commit Michael Smith for a pair of touchdowns and connected with Thomas Blackshear, Caden Arnold and Cameron Slayman for scores.

Calvary Day has a bye next week before a road game with crosstown rival Savannah Country Day (5-2, 3-1)

How Savannah Christian dominated in win over Johnson

Savannah Christian came at Johnson from all offensive angles on Friday as the Raiders beat the Atom Smashers 42-6 in a Region 3-3A game at Pooler Stadium.

Junior Zo Smalls rushed for 122 yards and a pair of scores on 11 carries, including a 40-yard scoring run, and Kenry Wall added a pair of touchdown runs and 85 yards rushing on seven carries.

Speedster Jamari McIvory also had a pair of touchdowns with a 40-yard scoring reception from Blaise Thomas and a 15-yard touchdown run.

Jaden Miles led the defense with 10 tackles, and Athen Hudspeth had an interception, while Damion Guyton added three tackles for losses and sack for the Raiders, who improved to 5-2 and 3-1 in region play. SCPS has a bye before playing at Beach on Oct. 20.

How Richmond Hill lost a close battle in region opener

Host Camden County outscored Richmond Hill, 21-12, in the fourth quarter to edge the Wildcats, 35-33, in the Region 1-7A opener for both teams.

Senior Nick Bliss rushed for 103 yards and three touchdowns and had two catches for 49 yards to lead the Wildcats. He has 17 touchdowns on the season for Richmond Hill (4-3, 0-1).

Gabe Bauman led the defense with 12 tackles, Joshua Troupe had 93 yards on 14 carries, and Caleb Easterling ran for 42 yards and a score on six carries for the Wildcats, who will host Valdosta (5-2, 1-0) next week.

How Effingham won its third straight

Effingham County went on the road and edged Grovetown 35-32 as the Rebels won their third in a row to improve to 4-3 overall and 3-0 in Region 2-6A play.

AJ Butts, the senior two-way standout for the Rebels, had a run of about 60 yards that set up his own 2-yard touchdown and also played well at linebacker for Effingham.

Jayden Evans had a pair of rushing touchdowns, freshman Jmere Doe-Davis ran for a score and Gary Cooper had a pick six for Effingham County.

The Rebels are at Evans (3-3, 2-0) for a region matchup next week.

How Bryan County won a close one at Metter

Bryan County improved to 6-1 overall and won its region opener with a 21-20 victory at Metter.

Quarterback Sean Kelly Hill opened the scoring with a touchdown on a quarterback sneak for Bryan County.

Austin Clemons added a touchdown run, and Jacari Carney added rushing scores for Bryan County in a game that was delayed for more than an hour when Metter's stadium lights malfunctioned.

Austin Clemons and Tanner Ennis continued their excellent play for Bryan County, which will host Screven County (2-4, 0-0) in a Region 3A Division I matchup next week.

How Triston Randall had a huge night to lead Bethesda to region win

Triston Randall, the senior quarterback from Bethesda, had a huge night as the Blazers beat visiting Colleton Prep 46-14 in a SCISA Region 1-2A matchup.

Randall was 9 of 12 for 238 yards passing with three scoring passes and rushed for three touchdowns and 59 yards on nine carries. He added five tackles at linebacker.

Randall connected with Thomas Peters on a 68-yard scoring pass and had a 16-yard touchdown pass to Charles Greene. He also hit Noah Jenkins for a touchdown on a 46-yard screen pass. Jenkins led the Blazer ground game with 116 yards on 16 carries.

Peters had five receptions for 158 yards and the score.

Bethesda improved to 8-0 and 2-0 in region play. The Blazers will be on the road to face Northside Christian (2-3) next week.

How St. Andrew's rolled to dominating win on the road

The Lions went on the road and came home with an impressive 42-0 win over Trinity Christian.

Junior quarterback Zayden Edwards rushed for a score and had a touchdown pass to Richaard Williams, who also returned an interception for a score.

Cullen Conner rushed for a pair of touchdowns and sophomore Joe Frazar added a rushing score, while Jay Sheppard picked off a pass for the Lions, who improved to 5-2 on the year.

St. Andrew's has a bye next week before hosting Pinewood Christian (3-4) on Oct. 20.

How Assir Best came up big despite Memorial Day loss

Assir Best of Memorial Day had a big-time performance for the Matadors in a 43-27 loss at Pinewood Christian.

The junior returned a kickoff 80 yards for a score and rushed for 72 yards on 14 carries, including a 54-yard touchdown, while making three catches for 40 yards. On defense, he had seven tackles.

Tyler Kindle was 18-of-33 passing for 214 yards and three scores with touchdown passes to Julien Zamora and Christian Vaughn for Memorial Day (3-4), which is off next week before facing Thomas Jefferson (1-5) on the road.

How a freshman quarterback made an impression for Beach

Long County beat Beach 58-29 in a Region 3-3A matchup at Savannah High, but freshman quarterback Jayvion Williams had an impressive game for the Bulldogs.

Williams threw for more than 250 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another.

He connected with DaKari Smith for a pair of scores and had a touchdown pass to Chandler Reid for the Bulldogs (1-6, 1-3), who have a bye before hosting SCPS on Oct. 20.

OTHER SCORES

Ware County 56, Jenkins 0

Glynn Academy 35, South Effingham 0

Wayne County 56, Islands 10

Claxton 21, Savannah High 0

Coffee 62, Bradwell 6

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: New Hampstead QB RaShawn Truell turns in another impressive performance