Good to be a cat - Tigers, Bobcats, Panthers and Wildcats win

After last week’s season opening loss to Woodland, Henry, Fayette County head coach Tommy Webb said that eliminating a lot of of the offensive mistakes would lead to an entirely different game on both sides of the ball. Boy, was he right.

Fayette County Tigers - 16 Union Grove Wolverines - 0

Last Friday’s win over Union Grove marked the first time since 2007 the Tigers posted a shutout. Fayette County had two shutouts that year (the year they won the region championship) one to Jonesboro (21-0) and one to Creekside (28-0). Friday’s win over the Wolverines doesn’t define the season, it is much to early for that, but it does give a much better impression of the team after their season opening loss to Woodland. The Tigers were impressive on defense and effective on offense. Justin Murray (8 of 13, 165 yards passing) and Eric Lauderdale ( 8 catches, 126 yards) scored touchdowns and Jonathan Seldon (37 yards rushing) and Lauderdale converted two point conversions, giving Fayette County 16 points.

Lauderdale and Maurice Williams both made drive sustaining catches, while Murray, Tago Smith (63 yards rushing) and Seldon did some great work on the ground. One of the keys to the game for Fayette was to avoid turnovers and, aside from a goalline fumble, they did this very well. The defense, which allowed only 95 yards of offense, was led by Derrick Cannon’s nine tackles and five assists, while Jason Hood had five tackles and 13 assists. Traveon Kellogg had six tackles and two assists, Torrey Davis had five tackles and three assists and Trey Smith added three tackles and 13 assists.

Fayette County (1-1) is off this week. They will return Sept. 17 to begin sub-region play at Northgate (1-1).

Starr’s Mill Panthers - 21 Woodland, Henry Wolfpack - 7

Woodland had a 7-0 lead over Starr’s Mill at the half, but the Panthers came back, tying the game in the third quarter and scoring 14 points in the fourth to put it away. Zach Laskey (76 yards rushing) and Adam Holley (58 yards rushing and 20 of 25 for 172 yards passing) each rushed for a touchdown while Holley also connected with Alex Riddle (81 yards receiving) on a touchdown pass. Jake Thelen added four catches, while Laskey and Jason Lindner both had three. Overall, seven different Panthers receivers caught at least one pass.

Starr’s Mill (2-0) hosts Alcovy (0-2) on Friday. The Tigers lost to Harris County 28-0 last Friday.

Whitewater Wildcats (1-1) - 49 Ola Mustangs (1-1) - 19

Whitewater quickly moved past the disappointing home loss to Sandy Creek in the season opener and jumped out to a big lead on Ola last Friday. Josh Clemons (130 yards rushing) rushed for three touchdowns for the Wildcats, while Trey Wafford and Taylor Stanford also scored. Daniel Amos (91 yards, two touchdowns) Whitewater had close to 500 yards of offense and Wafford had nearly 150 yards in returns on the night.

"Our offensive line is doing a great job and playing real well for us," said head coach Amos McCreary.

McCreary mentioned several players as defensive standouts. McClain Head (3 tackles, 5 assists, 2 tackles for a loss, one forced fumble), Joel Van Asch (2 tackles, 5 assists) and Roshaud Turner (4 tackles, six assists) all had big games and Wafford is doing good things on both sides of the ball.

Whitewater (1-1) hosts Union Grove (0-2) Friday. The Wolverines have yet to score this season.

McIntosh Chiefs (0-2) - 0 Dutchtown Bulldogs (2-0) - 40

Although the Chiefs couldn’t get on the scoreboard, sophomore Reid DeLoach nearly averaged six yards per carry ( six rushes for 35 yards), while Matt Cichanski had three catches for 38 yards. Daniel Lenze had three punts and a 48.3 yard average. On defense, Joe Trevena led McIntosh with 12 total tackles, a forced fumble and a tackle for a loss, while Karod Stong had two fumble recoveries (making in four fumble recoveries in two games).

McIntosh (0-2) hosts Jones County (1-1) in the Chiefs home opener. Jones County outlasted Northgate 31-28 last Friday.

Landmark Christian War Eagles (1-1) - 24 Athens Christian Eagles - 6

The Landmark War Eagles played at home for the first time on the young season and defended their turf by defeating the Athens Christian Eagles by a score of 24-6.  The War Eagle defense lead the charge all night only giving up one score and holding the Athens Christian ground game to only 76 yards on 32 carries.

Defensive lineman Chris Johnson was unblockable all night as he tallied 17 total tackles including three stops for loss. Fellow seniors Jordan Brown and Cassius Price also had big defensive nights from their linebacker positions, while freshman William Higbie picked up his first career interception on the night.  Offensively senior Carson Barnett again compiled over 300 total yards and three passing touchdownswhile leading the attack. 

On the receiving end of many of the passes was junior wide receiver Cantrell Frazier who finished the night with 157 yards on nine receptions and a highlight reel worthy touchdown catch in the back of the endzone.  Sophomore Josh Nobles and senior Zach Barnett also caught touchdown passes, while senior receiver Brandon Sorenson caught a long 59 yard pass setting up a touchdown.  The offensive line and running back were great all night allowing no sacks.

Landmark plays at Riverside Military (1-2) on Friday.

Our Lady of Mercy Bobcats (3-0) - 52 Glascock County Panthers (0-2) - 22

The Bobcats played at Glascock County and led 28-7 halfway through the second quarter, thanks to a five yard touchdown run from Greg Hadley, two touchdowns from Rashard Fant and one from quarterback Lance McGuffie. McGuffie then threw touchdown passes to Fant and Jordan Sartor before a field goal from Kyle Sharp and a 10 yard touchdown run from Adam Rose capped the scoring. Glascock got on the board a few times, but never got closer than 20 points down.

Our Lady of Mercy is 3-0 for the first time in school history. This is the ninth season of football for the Bobcats. They have already surpassed last season’s win total (2) and have already scored more points (125) than they did in all of last season (113). There is plenty to work on for Our Lady of Mercy though as they prepare to meet their rivals, Landmark Christian, on the road on Sept. 17.

Sandy Creek (1-0) was off last week. They will play at Eagle’s Landing (0-2) on Friday. The Golden Eagles lost to Luella 32-2 last Friday.