Three local teams out of nine are moving onto the Georgia High School State Association sweet sixteen round. Two more teams from Savannah moved on Saturday afternoon, Calvary Day School and Savannah Christian Preparatory School. The first team to clinch a spot was Benedictine Military School on Friday night. Benedictine's recap was posted on Friday. Here are the other Pigskin Roundup breakdowns from Friday and Saturday's playoff action.
Benedictine Cadets moves on with 34-10 first round win over Whitewater
Jake Merklinger threw five touchdown passes, and Michael Smith caught four of them to pace Class 3A No. 2 Calvary in a 49-0 thumping of Salem High School in the first round of the state playoffs Saturday afternoon at Specialty Sports Complex. All of Calvary's points came in the first half, and 35 of them came in the second quarter.
Calvary Day (10-0) hosts the winner of Saturday's Dougherty/Mary Persons game on Friday, November 18, in the Class 3A second round (Sweet 16).
A junior 4-star recruit who has yet to commit, Merklinger has thrown 32 touchdown passes this season, while the sophomore tight end Smith is up to 12 receiving scores. Caden Arnold caught the other Merklinger TD toss, and the Calvary starters were resting comfortably on the sideline for the second half.
AJ Butts and Trevor Strowbridge added a rushing touchdown apiece for Calvary, which is averaging 45.2 points per game while allowing just 10.6.
SHS – 00 - 00 - 00 - 00 – 00
CDS – 14 - 35 - 00 - 00 – 49
HALF: CDS, 49-0.
RECORDS: SHS 2-9; CDS 10-0.
NEXT: CDS (Home) vs. Dougherty (November 18).
SAVANNAH CHRISTIAN 41, HEPHZIBAH 26
The Raiders led 34-12 at halftime and coasted from there to earn the Class 3A first-round victory at Pooler Stadium.
Jaden Miles had two rushing touchdowns, and Paulus Zittrauer had a rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown to lead Savannah Christian (10-1). Zo Smalls had a rushing touchdown and rushed for more than 150 yards, while David Bucey caught the Zittrauer TD toss and hauled in five catches for more than 120 yards in the first half. Jayden Hester also had a rushing touchdown for SCPS, which is averaging 44.64 points per game.
Savannah Christian plays the winner of Saturday night's Peach County/Crisp County game on November 18 in the Class 3A second round. If Peach wins, the Raiders will be on the road. If Crisp wins, they'll host again in Pooler.
HHS – 06 - 06 - 00 - 14 – 26
SCP – 14 - 20 - 00 - 07 – 41
HALF: SCP, 34-12.
RECORDS: HHS 6-5; SCP 10-1.
NEXT: SCP at Peach (November 18).
WARNER ROBINS 31, JENKINS 13
MACON - Warner Robins jumped out to a 24 - 0 first-quarter lead. The Demons came out in the second half and scored right away to make it 31-0. In the fourth quarter, Jenkins put 13 points on the board. The first score came with 10 minutes to go in the game. Quarterback Jeremiah James threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Keyshawn Legget. Placekicker John Sedensticker converted the point after attempt. Then James scored the game's last touchdown on a two-yard run, and Sedensticker kicked the extra point.
Jenkins finishes the season 4-7 overall, 2-2 in the region, and faced six top 10 teams in Georgia this year, moving up in classification 5A.
HVJ – 00 - 00 - 00 - 13 – 13
WR – 24 - 00 - 07 - 00 – 31
TROUP COUNTY 36, NEW HAMPSTEAD 29
LAGRANGE – New Hampstead went on the road as a 4-seed on Friday night to face off against the top-seeded Tigers, and the Phoenix nearly pulled off the upset. No. 5 Troup (10-1) won by fending off a late comeback attempt from New Hampstead (6-5), and the Tigers will advance to next week's second round of the Georgia High School Association's Class 4A state playoffs.
NHHS trailed 16-7 after one quarter, and it remained that way until the second half. The Phoenix led in the second half and outscored the Tigers 22-20 after halftime. A third straight loss ends the season for New Hampstead and concludes the end of quarterback Pauly Seeley's prep career.
Seeley had a touchdown pass to Zion Griffin in the loss. NHHS also got three rushing touchdowns, one from Kaleb Smith. A Wofford commit, Seeley played in 23 games for the Phoenix, throwing for over 4,600 yards and 55 touchdowns along the way.
NH – 07 - 00 - 14 - 08 – 29
TC – 16 - 00 - 07 - 13 – 36
LEE COUNTY 57, EFFINGHAM COUNTY 7
SPRINGFIELD – The 3-seed Trojans came out hot and never let up in the Class 6A game played at the home of the 2-seed Rebels. It was Effingham's only home loss of the year (4-1).
Lee County (8-3) came in as the No. 9 ranked team in Class 6A despite finishing third in region 1-6A. Ousmane Kromah rushed 11 times for 131 yards and four first-quarter touchdowns to lead the Trojans.
Effingham (7-4) was the 2-seed out of region 2-6A after losing to Brunswick in the region title game last week. The Rebels got 105 rushing yards from Jayden Evans in his 20 carries. The junior tallied 1,114 rushing yards on the season and should be the focal point for head coach John Ford's club next season.
LC – 27 - 20 - 07 - 03 – 57
EC – 00 - 00 - 00 - 07 – 07
HEARD COUNTY 27, BRYAN COUNTY 16
FRANKLIN – The Redskins fell behind 13-0 and never recovered in the Class 1A DI first-round game against the 2-seeded Braves. It was Bryan's first playoff game since 2015.
Konnor Leggett had a rushing touchdown (and two-point conversion), and Luke Holcombe recovered a fumble in the endzone for the two Redskin scores. Both came in the second quarter.
Bryan County (6-5) finishes with a winning record for the first time since 2013, and head coach Cherard Freeman will have plenty of returning talent to return to the dance again next season.
BC – 00 - 16 - 00 - 00 – 16
HC – 13 - 14 - 00 - 00 – 27
FLINT RIVER ACADEMY 41, MEMORIAL DAY 18
WOODBURY – Memorial Day (1-9) lost the GIAA Class A game on the road, ending its season. Tyler Kindle threw a touchdown pass to Alex Herwig, and Silas Brown added a touchdown run in the MDS loss. Jake Vendetti recovered a fumble and returned it for a touchdown for the Matadors.
WILLIAMSBURG ACADEMY 38, BETHESDA ACADEMY 8
KINGSTREE, SC – The Blazers saw their season come to an end in the SCISA 2A semifinals. Williamsburg is 11-0 and headed to the state championship. The loan Blazer touchdown was by a run by Marcus Harris. Bethesda finishes the season overall 8-4.
FOLLOW Travis Jaudon on Twitter/Instagram @JaudonSports. Email him at travisLjaudon@gmail.com.
PHOTO CREDIT - Prep Sports Report
Optim Orthopedics supports Benedictine Military School, Calvary Day School, Richmond Hill High School, Savannah Country Day, South Effingham High School, and St. Vincent's athletics. Benedictine Military School's team doctor is Dr. David Sedory. Dr. David Palmer is the team doctor for Calvary Day School, South Effingham, and Richmond Hill. Savannah Country Day and St. Vincent's team doctor is Dr. Thomas Alexander. Remember, Optim Orthopedics gets you back into the game!
.jpg)
