Whitewater beats Starr’s Mill, Creek and Landmark stay perfect

The first half of tonight’s game featuring Whitewater and Starr’s Mill wasn’t what anyone would consider exciting, save for a big play on offense on each side, one from Starr's Mill's Randon Ruff and the other from Whitewater's Trey Wafford.

Ninety seconds into the game, Starr’s Mill quarterback Dylan Autera found Ruff on a short pass and Ruff ran 63 yards for a touchdown. The Panthers missed the extra point and later Austin Ingram kicked a 34 yard field goal to give Starr’s Mill a 9-0 lead. Whitewater’s kicker Austin Bernard kicked a 35 yard field goal to cut the lead to six points and Wafford later scored on a 53 yard touchdown run to give the Wildcats a 10-9 led at the half. In between the big plays was a defensive battle and neither offense looked like they would get much of anything going.

Whitewater did get something going in the third quarter. They put together a 5:37 drive that went 63 yards and ended with Wafford running seven yards for a touchdown. Starr’s Mill fumbled on their next drive and Whitewater’s Brandon Bolden recovered the fumble in the endzone to give Whitewater a 24-9 lead. They had another big play up their sleeve in the fourth when quarterback John Mark Rhodes connected on a 49 yard pass to Jay Carlson for a touchdown.

Whitewater won 31-9. The win snapped a two game losing streak to the Panthers. It was their fourth win in a row this season. Whitewater (4-1) hosts Upson-Lee next week and Fayette County the week after. Starr’s Mill (2-3) has lost three games in a row. They will play at Fayette County next week and will host McIntosh the week after.

In other sub-region games, McIntosh (1-3) couldn’t stop Northgate’s run. The Chiefs lost to Northgate (5-0) for the first time in three years, 30-14. Fayette County (0-4) had another close game and lost to Harris County 7-6.

Henry County was the first team in three weeks to score on Sandy Creek (4-0), but the Patriot offense doubled the output of the Warhawks and won 34-17. They will put their 33 game winning streak on the line next Saturday at Eastside.

In Class A, Landmark Christian improved to 5-0 with a 34-10 win over Whitefield County. The War Eagles host Southwest Atlanta Christian next week and will follow it with a bye and then a home game against ELCA, one of the top teams in Class A.