Touchdowns through the air, three takeaways help Dublin defeat Swainsboro

On a night when running the ball was a definite grind against a strong Swainsboro front seven, some big plays through the air were a massive boost for the Dublin Irish on their way to a fifth win, 27-12, Friday in the Shamrock Bowl.

The skies were not necessarily friendly on a drizzly night that had both physical football teams in a run-first mode. But Dublin was more effective on roughly half the number of passing attempts, and hit two of the big plays the Tigers largely found elusive. 

Irish QB Ryland Yates was 5-of-7 for 161 yards, and touchdowns on back-to-back drives in the first half that pried the lid off a scoreless game as he sailed it to a miles-open Jamarcus Knight for a 56-yard touchdown pass to begin the scoring late in the first quarter, and found Trav Bostic in a tighter window for an even longer 63-yard strike through the air early in the second. 

Swainsboro’s Joshua Gray countered with a 7-of-15 line for only 75, with some opportunities for a few of the same – a good many on third downs with a ways to go – that either didn’t come to fruition, or resulted in fumbles on the end of long runs after the catch. 

Dublin, which had denied the Tigers’ bid for a game-tying score late in the first half on an interception by JaKarian Jones, successfully dislodged the ball to turn potential big ones into two other takeaways in the second half. 

The last, coming as Swainsboro knocked on the door late in quarter 3, had Dublin starting from deep in its own on a possession that had fairly high odds of going three plays and out. 

Instead, the Irish – leading 21-6 – drove close to 85 yards and chewed up the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter clock to threaten a dagger touchdown. 

They crept toward midfield a few plays at a time before Yates pulled a keeper and went left for a huge gain that broke into Swainsboro territory. 

Dublin reached the red zone several plays later, and went back to the well on a play-action pass in hopes of putting the game away. But the ball would be picked off by a stooping Ja’Bios Smith. 

The Tigers still had a little life, and suddenly a bunch of it after rising-star tailback Kyle Johnson broke loose over the right side for a 75-yard touchdown run on the very next play to trim the lead to 21-12, and give the Irish some flashbacks of 2025, and a two-score Swainsboro comeback to beat them with this little time left in the fourth quarter of the season opener. 

But an extra point or points would be critical in turning the gap of nine into a single score. 

The Tigers, perhaps unwisely, opted to try for the deuce, and got held out as Johnson was stuffed in the middle of a direct snap. 

Swainsboro wouldn’t get the ball back anyway. 

A post-play unsporting foul backed the Tigers’ kick to their 25, ensuring Dublin a chance to score on Yates’ recovery of the onside kick attempt. And that, the Irish did to put the game fully away. 

It got kind of complicated after a massive third-down loss put them in a fourth and long. But Dontavius Cannon blew his way through a crack on the right side, then several tackles, to pick up the 20-yard balance and reach goal to go. 

The senior blasted his way into the end zone as time expired two plays later. 

A tough one to put away… 

Though the passing game didn’t come through as hoped, Swainsboro was able to run with the Irish thanks to some of the increasingly superb work of its feature back Johnson, who averaged eight yards on his 21 attempts for 176. 

The 5-foot-11, 205-pounder proved tough to bring down, and over the course of the night began picking up more and more after contact on his way to the big breakaway on that final touch late in the fourth. 

But the Tigers needed some complimentary success in the passing dimension that wasn’t quite there in the moments they needed it. 

Some potentially big catches were close to materializing early in the game, when a juggled and partially broken-up pass cut short  Swainsboro’s first drive on a third-and-fairly long. Another failed early in the second possession that also punted. 

Dublin’s offensive success mirrored the pattern of early progress, followed by a setback, for most of the first quarter. 

An opening drive was going strong for the Irish until D.J. Cuyler and Derek Hughes stopped a third-down run in the backfield to set up a turnover on downs, as a defender knocked the ball from Yates’ hands on a rush from his back. 

Dublin was faced with a fourth down from deep in its own territory on the next opportunity, but got the Tigers to jump on a false count, and then took a shot on the next play that caught Swainsboro totally off-guard. 

Safety Jayvion Sherrod bit hard on some run action to the right side that allowed Knight to slip right by him downfield to score on an easy pitch-and-catch. 

The Irish scored in similar fashion on their next offensive snap, after a fourth-down stop as Knight and V.J. Bond led a torrent of Green that poured into the backfield to drop Gray on a 10-yard sack. 

The book always says teams are liable to go deep after a change of possession. 

This time, Sherrod was alert and picked up Bostic out of the backfield despite good work by Yates to hide the ball on a speed sweep fake. 

But the Irish wingback still sped by him, and the throw once again had some GPS precision to hit him in step for another TD. 

NaZyon Mitchell points-after both scores made it 14-0 Irish. 

Swainsboro overcame a Blake Luecke sack,  thanks to a pass interference flag for a free first down, to respond on a five-yard Joshua Gray rushing touchdown to get within eight, after his 40-yard completion (a biggest of the night) flipped the field. 

The Tigers threatened again with time winding short in the half after a sack forced a Dublin punt, and an Irish facemask foul added 15 to the end of a large run. 

It was Gray’s turn to look to the end zone, and he hung it back-shoulder on a fade for Shannon Benjamin. The senior wideout went up for a one-hander, but inadvertently tipped it for Jones to catch on the rebound just before halftime. 

The third quarter, save for a Dublin touchdown to add on, was a bit messy. 

Just after an Irish punt, Jones got in on a second takeaway as he clubbed the ball loose from behind Sherrod on a catch that would’ve picked up a Swainsboro first down. Jaydon MCRae recovered the loose rock just outside the red zone, although Dublin was unable to convert on a Swainsboro stand with goal to go that forced a field goal try on a fourth and 11 that drifted a little left. 

The Tigers put together another quality drive that, once again, almost hit the big play on a deep pass that just missed completing over midfield. 

But a bad snap would lead to a turnover on downs, and Dublin wouldn’t be denied on a return possession that finished on McRae’s 23-yard scurry up the middle to pad the lead, 21-6. 

Another shot to score fell through for Swainsboro as Gray found Sherrod up the seam for a long catch-and-run into Irish territory. But once again, it got punched loose from behind by Matthew Batts. 

Dublin (5-1, 2-0 region 2-AA) goes to Macon to take on ACE Friday. Swainsboro will face the Gryphons after its bye on Oct. 23.