FRIDAY NIGHT SCOREBOARD: August 23, 2024

Trinity pulled off a major win on the road, giving new head coach Bruce Lane his first as a Crusader. Dublin got a game from East Laurens, but pulled away to win by comfortable margins in a huge performance by Micah O’Neal. West Laurens impressed with a shutout of Groves in its regular season debut. And Dodge County hung on to beat top-ranked Bleckley County, opening Phillip Brown’s head coaching tenure with a big statement.

Here’s a closer look at the results from some of the area’s top week 1 games, and Friday’s full scoreboard.

For full coverage, see next week’s print editions, and check back on courierheraldtoday.com/sports for complete coverage.

Trinity 28, Gatewood 12

The Crusaders defeated their longtime rival, and last year’s AA state runner-up, for the first time since 2014, and in “The Swamp” for only the third time ever. After allowing a long touchdown drive on the opening possession, the Crusader defense gave up just one scoring drive on the Gators remaining eight possessions to win going away. Wade Register rushed for over 150 yards and a touchdown. Ben Castro-Poveda threw for nearly 100 and two scores, and also ran for a touchdown. Cruz Giles had 92 yards receiving and caught both the touchdown passes.

– Jeremy Payne

West Laurens 28, Groves 0

Cason Pollock found Juvon Hill twice for touchdown passes in a remarkable debut as the Raiders’ new starting quarterback, while Ty Cummings ran for more of his typical big plays, carrying a first touch of the night 69 yards to the house, and later scoring a second time on a short direct-snap keeper. The West Laurens defense brought some big hits on Groves quarterback Trenton Tukes, who gained most of the visitors’ yardage on freestyle scrambles from nearly constant pressure by members of the Raiders’ front seven. West Laurens got home for multiple sacks, and forced four turnovers on downs.

– Clay Reynolds

Dublin 66, East Laurens 26

The Falcons put up a nice fight, but the third-ranked Irish pulled away with over 500 rushing yards, and big second and fourth quarters, to remain unbeaten. Micah O’Neal topped his week 1 performance with a hand in six touchdowns – four rushing on 121 yards, a fifth on one of three completions passing and another on a 72-yard punt return. Xavier Bostic also scored twice with a team-leading 177 yards on the ground. Dublin halted East Laurens twice on fourth downs, including once in the red zone early, to create some distance, though the Falcons put up their own strong offensive number, with 413 total yards to compare to the Irish 593. Ty Snead threw for just south of 300 yards, with a pair of touchdowns to Kemo Mitchell and Carson Smith, while rushing 16 times for 68 yards and his team’s other two meetups with paydirt. Major Floyd also caught seven passes for 140 yards.

– Clay Reynolds

Dodge Co. 19, Bleckley Co. 16

Duke Johnson rushed for two key touchdowns that helped deliver the Indians a first win over Bleckley County in six tries, helping deliver on promises to go out a winner after three losses in the series, and help his team “flip the script” in the rivalry. HIs touchdown runs in the second and third quarters built on an earlier touchdown pass from Kain Mincey to Jeremiah Burns to give Dodge a 19-9 lead going to the final quarter. Josh Stanley countered with a pair of TDs for the Royals, who scored earlier points on a safety, though a plethora of penalties and other miscues got the best of their offense on this particular night. Stanley’s second touchdown with four minutes left narrowed the gap to the final three, and Bleckley forced a punt, got the football back and drove deep into Dodge territory with time winding short. Miscommunication would cost the Royals a final shot with seconds remaining, as they ran up to spike the ball after a pass completion that came up short of the marker, and inadvertently turned it over on downs with their last offensive play.

– Clay Reynolds

Other area scores…

Johnson Co. 27, Montgomery Co. 6

Wilkinson Co. 29, Treutlen 7

Wheeler Co. 14, Taylor Co. 10

Brentwood 67, Pinewood 48

Washington Co. 32, Jefferson Co. 0

Greene Co. 15, Twiggs Co. 7

Vidalia 28, Screven Co. 7

Jones Co. 49, Woodland (Stockbridge) 19

Perry 49, Peach Co. 39

Statesboro 21, Veterans 10

Crawford Co. 43, GMC 7

Schley Co. 47, Hawkinsville 23

Toombs Co. 55, Dougherty 14

Metter 33, Tattnall Co. 0

Bacon Co. 38, Telfair Co. 21

Northside 13, Baldwin 12

Warner Robins 42, Fayette Co. 7

Mitchell Co. 30, Dooly Co. 20

ECI 24, Swainsboro 21

Northeast 36, Southwest 14

FPD 49, Marion County 21

Jeff Davis 54, Rutland 24

ACE 38, Central 6

Stratford 56, Calvary Christian 0

Deerfield-Windsor 35, Mount de Sales 14

Windsor 28, Thomas Jefferson Academy 14

Tattnall 27, St. Anne-Pacelli 0

First Baptist Academy (Naples, Florida) 49, Westside 0

Covenant Academy 13, Crisp Academy 12

Briarwood 31, CFCA 7