Four weeks tackled. Now what do we know?
Richmond Hill keeps finding ways to win. New Hampstead finally put one in the win column. Beach nearly completed a comeback after a long night at Groves Stadium. Calvary Day was tied going into the fourth quarter before taking its first loss, while Savannah Christian tried to climb out of a 24-point hole.
That’s the thing about getting a few weeks into a football season. The records matter, but how teams handle these kinds of Friday nights can tell you just as much.
So, what did we learn in Week 4?
1ST QUARTER | BIG STORY: WHAT MATTERS
Richmond Hill finds another way
There are wins, and then there are wins you’re probably going to talk about for a while.
Richmond Hill’s 13-7 victory at Ware County falls into that second category. Ware was lining up for a field goal that could have won the game when Shane Tucker got a hand on the kick. Eli Grant picked up the loose football and took it 96 yards the other way for the winning touchdown.
Grant had already put together quite a night. He caught a touchdown pass, made eight tackles and intercepted a pass. CJ Menzie also gave Richmond Hill 106 yards rushing on 18 carries.
The interesting part about the Wildcats’ 4-0 start is that the wins haven’t looked the same. They beat Effingham County by a point, handled Liberty County, scored late to get past Jenkins, and then needed a special teams play to escape Ware County.
Four different Friday nights. Four wins.
That’s starting to say something about Richmond Hill.
New Hampstead gets the one it needed
New Hampstead needed one good Friday night.
The Phoenix entered Week 4 at 0-3, but Antonio Benton and the offense changed the conversation with a 34-7 win over Harris County. Benton completed 19 of 29 passes for 363 yards and three touchdowns, while Christian Kinlaw ran for 90 yards and a score.
Layne Watkins was Benton’s big-play target, catching six passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns. Jalen Suber added 85 receiving yards, while Aydan Day had 59 yards and a touchdown.
One win doesn’t erase the first three weeks. It gives Phoenix something to build on, and sometimes that’s exactly what a young football team needs.
Beach almost finishes the comeback.
Anybody who waited through the weather delay at Groves Stadium got quite a football game.
Long County opened the night with a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, but Beach kept answering. Willie Mayes Jr. scored on an 8-yard run, and quarterback Jayvion Williams found Jordan Newton for a 42-yard touchdown on fourth-and-12. Williams later connected with Dionte Riley for another 42-yard score.
In the second half, Williams hit Mayes for a 32-yard touchdown. Long County eventually pushed the lead to 34-24, but the Bulldogs still weren’t finished.
Williams led a 15-play, 65-yard drive and scored from a yard out on fourth down. He ran in the two-point conversion, cutting the lead to 34-32 with 1:56 remaining.
Beach never got the ball back.
The Bulldogs didn’t get the win, but Williams accounted for four touchdowns, three through the air and one on the ground. Beach kept coming when it would have been easy to let the game get away.
That’s worth something, too.
Calvary’s first loss came down to the fourth quarter.
The 28-14 final doesn’t tell the whole story of Calvary Day’s trip to North Carolina.
The Cavaliers and Ambassador Christian were tied 14-14 at the end of the third quarter. Ambassador scored twice in the fourth, and Calvary couldn’t answer.
James Mobley IV threw for 154 yards and ran for a touchdown. Ca’Den Jones carried 17 times for 102 yards, while Marlon Knight Jr. had a 71-yard reception.
Calvary is 3-1. There won’t be an unbeaten season, but September isn’t about being perfect. Now we get to see how the Cavaliers respond to their first loss.
Savannah Christian fought back, but the hole was too deep.
Savannah Christian found itself down 24-0 against Fellowship Christian, and at that point this one could have gotten away from the Raiders.
It didn’t.
Savannah Christian battled back and eventually cut the lead to 27-15, but that was as close as the Raiders would get.
Senior linebackers Ivyn Richardson and Aiden Frazier did about everything they could defensively. Both finished with 17 tackles, including 14 solo stops apiece. That’s 34 combined tackles from two linebackers.
Savannah Christian is 1-3 after three straight losses. The Raiders don’t have to wait long for another opportunity. They make the short trip to Savannah Country Day on Friday.
Country Day keeps knocking on the door.
The Hornets are still searching for their first win, but Friday’s 20-17 loss at Porter-Gaud was another game that was there for the taking.
Thomas Holland carried 23 times for 134 yards and a touchdown. Devin Trawick threw for 106 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown to Amir Atkinson.
Country Day also had three defenders reach double figures in tackles. Jackson Skinner led the way with 15, Turner Chase had 13, and William Rhodes finished with 11.
The record says 0-5. Friday night says the Hornets were three points away.
Now Savannah Christian comes to town.
2ND QUARTER | NUMBERS THAT GOT OUR ATTENTION
A lot of numbers show up on a stat sheet every Saturday morning. These are the ones that made PSR look twice this week.
Start with Eli Grant. The Richmond Hill senior caught a touchdown pass, made eight tackles, and intercepted a pass before taking Shane Tucker’s blocked field goal 96 yards for the winning touchdown. That’s offense, defense and special teams all in one night.
New Hampstead quarterback Antonio Benton threw for 363 yards and three touchdowns, while Layne Watkins caught six passes for 158 yards and two scores.
Beach quarterback Jayvion Williams accounted for four touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ 34-32 loss. Willie Mayes Jr. scored twice, once on the ground and once through the air.
There were three 100-yard rushing performances in the numbers supplied to PSR. Thomas Holland had 134 yards and a touchdown for Savannah Country Day, CJ Menzie rushed for 106 yards for Richmond Hill, and Ca’Den Jones finished with 102 yards for Calvary Day.
And don’t skip the defensive guys.
Savannah Christian’s Ivyn Richardson and Aiden Frazier each had 17 tackles. Country Day’s Jackson Skinner had 15, Turner Chase 13, and William Rhodes 11.
St. Andrew’s Pat Jackson finished with 11 tackles, three tackles for loss and a fumble recovery, while Richmond Hill’s De’Vion Smalls-Clark had 10 tackles.
Those are the Week 4 numbers that got PSR’s attention.
HALFTIME | WEEK 4 SCOREBOARD
Thursday, Sept. 10
Hardeeville 33, St. Andrew’s 14
Friday, Sept. 11
Richmond Hill 13, Ware County 7
McIntosh County Academy 20, Liberty County 19
New Hampstead 34, Harris County 7
Long County 34, Beach 32
Ambassador Christian 28, Calvary Day 14
Tattnall County 31, Savannah High 0
Fellowship Christian 27, Savannah Christian 15
Porter-Gaud 20, Savannah Country Day 17
Trinity Collegiate vs. Bethesda Academy — Canceled
3RD QUARTER | PREP SPORTS REPORT TAKE
Everybody loves the big numbers.
Give us the 300-yard quarterback, the 150-yard running back, or the receiver who catches three touchdowns, and we’re going to talk about it. That’s part of football.
But Friday night at Ware County showed that sometimes the biggest play of the night comes from somewhere else.
Ware had a chance to win the game with a field goal. Richmond Hill needed somebody to make a play, and Shane Tucker did exactly that when he blocked the kick.
Then Eli Grant finished it.
He picked up the football and went 96 yards the other way. Instead of talking about Richmond Hill losing its first game, we’re talking about the Wildcats being 4-0.
That’s why coaches spend so much time talking about all three phases of the game. Offense gets most of the attention. Defense gets plenty. Special teams sometimes gets forgotten until it decides a football game.
Friday night, it decided one.
And four weeks into this season, that’s probably the biggest thing Richmond Hill has shown us. The Wildcats don’t seem too concerned about how they win.
They keep finding a way to do it.
That’s the Prep Sports Report take.
4TH QUARTER | WEEK 5: WHAT’S NEXT?
Now the schedule starts changing.
Region games are showing up, and those Friday night results start meaning a little more in November. PSR’s published area schedule confirms a full slate for Sept. 18, including Benedictine at Statesboro, Greenbrier at South Effingham, and Wando visiting Richmond Hill.
Wando, S.C. (2-1) at Richmond Hill (4-0)
Bradwell Institute (2-1) at Glynn Academy (1-2) *
Effingham County (1-2) at Lakeside-Evans (0-3) *
Greenbrier (1-2) at South Effingham (3-0) *
Benedictine (2-1) at Statesboro (3-0) *
Groves (0-3) at Ware County (1-2) *
Evans (2-1) at Jenkins (0-3) (Memorial Stadium) *
Windsor Forest (2-1) at Bryan County (0-3)
Beach (1-2) at Toombs County (3-0) *
Islands (3-0) at Brantley County (1-2) *
Johnson (1-2) at Pierce County (3-0) *
Savannah Christian (1-3) at Savannah Country Day (0-5)
*Region game
FOUR THAT HAVE THE PSR ATTENTION
Benedictine at Statesboro is an easy place to start. The Cadets have responded to their opening loss with two straight wins, and now they get an unbeaten Statesboro team on the road. This one also counts in the region, so we’ll learn a little more about both teams Friday night.
Greenbrier at South Effingham gets our attention for a different reason. The Mustangs are 3-0, and now it’s time to see what that unbeaten start looks like when region play begins. South Effingham has done everything asked of it so far. Now the games start carrying a little more weight.
Then there’s Wando at Richmond Hill. The Wildcats have gotten to 4-0 about every way possible, and now they get a 2-1 Wando team coming down from South Carolina. Richmond Hill has a chance to make it five straight.
And one more this week.
Savannah Christian at Savannah Country Day.
Don’t get caught up in the 1-3 and 0-5 records. These schools know each other, the players know each other, and both teams could use a Friday night that changes their season's direction.
That makes it worth watching.
OPTIM ORTHOPEDICS
Optim Orthopedics presents Prep Sports Report’s 2026 high school football coverage.
Optim Orthopedics has long supported high school athletics throughout the Savannah area and Coastal Empire, helping local athletes stay healthy, recover from injuries, and get back to doing what they love.
PSR appreciates Optim Orthopedics for supporting our coverage and, more importantly, supporting the athletes, coaches, and programs that make Friday nights special throughout our area.
Optim Orthopedics wants you in the game.
FINAL WHISTLE
Four weeks are down, and we’re getting into the part of the schedule where things start getting interesting.
Richmond Hill is 4-0. South Effingham and Islands haven’t lost. New Hampstead finally got its first win. Calvary gets its first chance to answer a loss, while Savannah Christian and Country Day meet and both teams looking for something good to happen.
Now region games are starting to enter the picture.
So here’s this week’s Final Whistle question:
Which Savannah-area team has your attention heading into Week 5, and why?
Let us know. That’s part of what makes covering high school football around here fun. Everybody has a team, a player, or a game they’re watching.
Sources & Editor’s Note
Information in this week’s Friday Night Huddle was compiled from area coaches and schools, team-provided statistics, Savannah Morning News reporting, MaxPreps, Georgia high school football sources, and Prep Sports Report’s own coverage and schedules. The Savannah Morning News’ Week 4 reporting also provided game details and athlete performances, including the Beach-Long County game PSR received for this week’s Huddle. PSR also cross-checked the Week 4 schedule and matchups against its published 2026 schedules.
Statistics are based on information available to PSR at the time of publication. If a player, statistic, or performance was missed, coaches are encouraged to send verified information to Prep Sports Report so the athlete can be recognized.
Optim Orthopedics presents Prep Sports Report’s high school football coverage.
Photos courtesy of Jennifer Outlaw Photography.
Follow Prep Sports Report on X @PrepSav and Instagram @savannahsportsreport.
To share scores, story ideas, or corrections, email kdemasi@prepsportsreport.com or text 912.507.9158.
