The Wayne County Jackets buzzed to an easy win Friday night at home as they cruised past South Effingham 42-12 at Jaycee Stadium in Jesup.
The big league win moved the Jackets, who are ranked No. 1 in the Southeast Georgia High School Football Power Poll, to a perfect 8-0 for the season and 2-0 in Region 2-5A. They escaped Statesboro last week with a 21-20 overtime win in the league lidlifter for both teams.
Friday night, the Jackets allowed just two field goals and a 78-yard pass for a score late in the third quarter when they had the game well in hand.
Wayne got a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown from standout running back MJ Fuller, Ashby Cribb also scored twice for the home squad and quarterback Shamar Taylor scored on a 24-yard run.
The Jackets substituted freely once they had control of the game.
The loss dropped the Mustangs to 2-6, 0-2.
Wayne continues to work toward a collision with Ware County for the region title on Nov. 2.
First, though, the Jackets will go to Pooler to face a solid New Hampstead team next Friday.
In other Southeast Georgia high school games Friday night, the results were as follows:
Pierce County 49, Long County 0
Another Friday night yielded another shutout for the Bears who ran their record to 7-0 overall and 2-0 in Region 2-AAA with their blanking of the Blue Tide.
The Bears have now posted shutouts in five of their first seven games and have outscored opponents 322-7.
Against the hapless Blue Tide (0-6, 0-2), the Bears got big games on offense from the usual suspects.
Dee Bethea ran five times for 80 yards and scored three times, two rushing and one receiving.
John Jones, who won Southeast Georgia High School Player of the Week honors for his monster 290-yard night last week against Brantley County, carried 10 times for 160 yards and a score that covered 73 yards. A 93-yard touchdown jaunt by Jones in the first stanza was erased by a penalty. It was one of two TDS wiped off the scoreboard by penalties against the Bears.
Pierce quarterback Jermaine Brewton, who had several passes dropped by his receivers, finished 8 of 16 for 65 yards with two touchdown throws. Those went to Bethea and Parker Peagler.
Backup running back A.J. Staten also scored for the Bears.
Cam Douberly and Dalton Malone both had six tackles each for the Bears. Douberly and Donelius Johnson recovered a pair of Long fumbles.
It was Senior Night for the Bears. Next week it will be Homecoming for Pierce which will host Tattnall County on Friday.
Ware County 35, Statesboro 13
The Gators took care of business as they opened Region 2-5A play at home against the Blue Devils.
The win lifted the Gators, who are fourth in the power poll, to 5-2 overall.
Statesboro (2-6) has now lost six in a row since starting the season with two straight wins. The Blue Devils only got in two practices this week as Bulloch County schools closed Wednesday and Thursday due to possible inclement weather from Hurricane Michael as it made its way through the Peach State.
Ware had last week off and also a full week of practice this week, and the Gators appeared fresh as they were sharp most of the night, too.
The Gators were ahead 21-0 at halftime and scored again in the third period to go up 28-0 before Statesboro scored two straight times to cut its deficit to 28-13. The Blue Devils had the ball with a chance to possibly pull closer when the Gators got an intereption return for a touchdown to all but seal the deal.
Ware’s freshman quarterback Thomas Castellanous ran for the team’s first TD following a 55-yard punt return to the Statesboro 8-yard line by Jeremiah O’Hara. He threw a 4-yard TD pass to O’Hara for the second Gator score.
Also before the halftime break, the quarterback’s brother, Lederic Castellanous, ran 38 yards for a touchown while breaking tackles to give the Gators their 21-0 cushion at the half.
Another 4-yard TD pass from Castellanous made it 28-0, and then after the two Statesboro scores, David Lattimore returned his interception 75 yards to paydirt to put the game under wraps for Ware.
The Gators will go to South Effingham for their second region game next Friday.
Tattnall County 34, Brantley County 19
The Herons missed out on a chance to earn a victory Friday with the loss to the Battle Creek Warriors at their place.
The win was the first for the home team as it is now 1-6 overall and 1-1 in league games. Tattnall dropped their first region game last week to Appling County which was scheduled to face Liberty County on Friday. That key Region 2-3A meeting was moved to Monday as it was postponed a few days by the hurricane scare.
Brantley is now 1-6 overall and 0-2 in the league. The Herons lost to Pierce County last week at home.
Friday’s game was 14-12 in favor of the Warriors who would take charge after halftime when they outscored the Herons 20-7.
Tattnall finished out the night running for 300 yards on 46 attempts. Senior running back Dez Kennedy led the home squad with 164 yards and three touchdowns.
Blaine Brantley threw a 14-yard scoring strike to Bradson Bowers for Brantley’s first touchdown in the opening quarter. The extra-point kick was blocked.
Brantley scored again on a run in the second quarter and added another scoring run in the fourth with Kyle Thomas making the extra-point try.
The Herons are scheduled to host Appling next Friday.
Savannah Christian 42, McIntosh County Academy 6
The Buccaneers got roughed up Friday by Savannah Christian which improved to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in Region 3-A with their big win on Homecoming night in Pooler.
The Bucs are now 0-7 and 0-3.
Savannah Christian quarterback Spencer Robicheaux threw for 118 yards and four scores to pace the easy win for the Raiders. Two of his touchdowns were to Noah Chumley, also the the team’s kicker who was 6-for-6 on extra-point attempts.
The Raiders scored on each of their first six possessions in the opening half while rolling up 381 yards.
MCA managed just one first down before halftime.
The Bucs avoided a shutout when Johnny Cummings caught a 22-yard TD pass from Dalton McClellon in the fourth quarter. The PAT was blocked.
McIntosh will host Claxton next Friday night in Darien.
