Newspaper Page Text
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
MCHS at Warren Co. 7:30 in Warrenton
RTCA vs. Harvester Christian 7:30 in Lyons
Listen to on NewsTalk 970 AM 105.3 FM - WVOP
TCHS at Wheeler Co. 7:30 in Alamo
Listen to on 100.9 FM WLYU
VHS vs. Beach 7:30 in Vidalia
Listen to on 97.7 FM WTCQ
VHA vs. Central Christian 7:30 in Vidalia
Homecoming will be rescheduled
Wheeler vs Toombs Co. 7:30 in Alamo
Treutlen vs Bryan Co. 7:30 in Soperton All game broadcasts streamed live at
Listen to on 101.7 FM WYUM www.southeastgeorgiatoday.com
tcbbroadcasting.com
August 23, 2023
®lft Afiuante
Section B
Photo by Pop-Pop’s Photos
Antonio Barron fights his way for yard
age for fhe Indians.
Indians Fall
In Season
Opener
Courtesy of VHS
The Vidalia High School Indians
2023 Football season got off to a shaky
start as they dropped the season opener to
South Effingham 21-15 Friday night in
Guyton.
The Indians fell behind on the open
ing drive of the night as the Mustangs took
it 69 yards in 16 plays, with Gannon White
taking it in on a 2-yard score to give South
Effingham the lead 7-0. The drive took
over 7 minutes off the clock, giving Vidalia
the ball back with less than 3 minutes to go
in the 1st quarter.
The Indians weren’t able to put any
points on the board during the drive and
had to give the ball back to the Mustangs
with over 8 minutes to go in the half, but
the Indians were able to get a stop on de
fense and got the ball back with plenty of
time left in the half.
This time the Indian offense was able
to cash in with points when they went on a
9-play drive of their own, which was
capped off on a Jamarion Phillips 1-yard
TD, to make it 7-6. Sensing that the game
could come down to a one-score game and
knowing his team would receive the 2nd
half kick, Coach Rodney Garvin rolled the
dice and went for two, with Phillips getting
the two-point conversion and giving the
Indians their first lead of the night 8-7, with
just under a minute to go in the half.
In the second half, the Indians could
not take advantage of good field position
on their first possession due to some un
timely and long penalties. South Effing
ham got their go-ahead score on a 4th and
two from the Indian 30-yard line when
Kaden De Genaro called his own number
and took it in for the score to make it 14-8,
following the PAT.
The Indians answered right back on a
swing pass from Jackson Berry to Antonio
Barron, who sprinted 62 yards for the
score successful PAT by Adam Crutch
field, Vidalia held the lead 15-14.
That lead was short-lived, as the Mus
tangs drove and scored the go-ahead TD
on the most controversial play of the night.
On a 3rd down and medium yards to go,
Mustangs quarterback Kaden De Genaro
handed the ball off to DaMyon McFarlin,
who took the ball 30 yards for what looked
like a score.
But the Mustang senior dropped the
ball going into the endzone at the one-yard
line. The ball appeared to go into and
through the side of the endzone, which
would have given the ball to the Indians on
their 20-yard line. However, a trailing offi
cial ruled the ball had gone out on the
1-foot line, giving the ball back to South
Effingham, who scored the game-winner
when De Gamo kept the ball for the short
score to make it 21-15.
The Indians on the night were held to
183 yards of offense, while South Effing
ham racked up 322 yards, with 286 of that
coming on the ground.
The Indians will jump back into com
petition Friday night when they host Beach
High School at Buck Cravey Field. Game
time is 7:30 p.m., with the Warpath begin
ning at 6:15p.m.
TCHS Wins In Final Minute
Courtesy of TCHS
Lagonza Hayward pulls down a big pass in the first half of the Bulldogs' game against
the Blue Tide of Long County,
Courtesy of TCHS
On Friday Night, the Toombs
County High School Bulldogs football
team hit the road and traveled to Long
County to open the 2023 Season.
The Dogs looked great early on,
jumping on the Blue Tide on their first
drive when Hayden Roy scampered 46
yards on the sixth play of the game for a
Bulldog Touchdown. Senior Braylan
Dietrich added the point after to give
the Dogs a quick 7-0 lead with 9:17 left
in the first quarter.
Long County, who is well known
for their running game, surprised the
Bulldogs with a couple of passing plays
to drive down the field and score. The
two-point conversion failed, and the
Bulldogs held on to a 7-6 lead.
On Toombs County’s next drive,
Dabvin Wadley snuck in a 12-yard run,
which was followed up two plays later
with a 44 yard touchdown pass, when
Junior QB TJ Stanley hit fellow Junior
WR LaGonza Heyward. Dietrich again
added the point after to give the dogs a
14-6 lead.
After forcing a Blue Tide punt, the
Bulldogs added yet another score when
Stanley hit Mike Polke on a 20-yard TD
pass. Dietrich hit his third point after
attempt to make it 21-6.
Long County added a long touch
down pass just before the half and con
verted a 2-point conversion to make
the score 21-14 at the half.
In the second half, both defenses
took control forcing punts and turn
overs on downs. In the fourth quarter,
Long County punched a touchdown in
after blocking a Bulldog field goal at
tempt, and converted another 2-point
conversion to take their first lead of the
game, 22-21 with 5:24 remaining in the
contest.
The Dogs, however, refused to quit,
and Stanley orchestrated a come-from-
behind score on the next drive. On this
final drive, Stanley hit Sophomore
Gavin Fletcher on two clutch passes of
13 and 25 yards. The critical play was a
third and 19 when Fletcher snagged a
21 yard pass, using a second effort to
get the first down for the Bulldogs. Two
plays later Stanley connected on his
third TD pass of the night, this one to
Keshon Deloach with just 41 seconds
left in the game. Deloach also caught
Please see TCHS page 6B
RTCA
Falls To Pinewood
Photo by Mike Branch
Justin Powell picks up a solid gain for the Crusaders late in the first half against Pinewood Chris
tian Academy.
By Mike Branch
Sports Editor
sports 7 advance@gmail.com
Robert Toombs Chris
tian Academy Crusaders
football team opened up
their season against rival
Pinewood Christian Acad
emy. RTCA fought back late
to make the score respect
able. Pinewood won the
game 38-28 over RTCA.
Pinewood got on the
board first on a 26-yard pass
with 8:13 left in the first
quarter of the game. That
pass capped off a 93-yard
drive for the Patriots and
gave them a 6-0 lead as the
two-point try failed.
Later in the first quarter
RTCA recovered a fumble
with just over four minutes
on the clock at the Pine
wood 45-yard line. RTCA
moved the ball down the
field with help from runs by
David Hill and Aaron Han-
kerson. Elijah Baker moved
the ball to the 9-yard line
with 1:40 left in the first
quarter. Quarterback
Hayden Right went up the
middle on the next play, had
the ball knocked loose at
the 2-yard line, it flew up in
the air and was pulled down
by Hankerson for the touch
down. Hayden Meeks added
the extra point to put RTCA
on top 7-6.
Pinewood took the lead
back early in the second
quarter, giving them a 12-7
lead with just over 11 min
utes still to play in the first
half.
RTCA fum
bled the ensuing
kickoff, and Pinewood re
covered the ball in RTCA
territory. They moved the
ball down the field and went
in for the touchdown to give
them an 18-7 lead with 9:52
Please see RTCA page 4B
Wheeler Rolls Over Georgia Military
Courtesy of Wheeler Co.
The Bulldogs ofWheeler
County High School hosted
Georgia Military College
last Friday night in their sea
son opener. It was a one
sided Wheeler victory as
they routed GMC, 41-7. It
was a team effort led by
sophomore running back Al
vin Ricks, who finished with
five touchdowns on the
night.
The Bulldogs have
strength in their youth and
veteran leadership returning
eleven seniors including
Georgia HS Football Daily’s
Preseason All-State 1st Team
Punter, Rhett Rodgers.
Wheeler got things go
ing in the first quarter of the
game as they found the end
zone twice. They failed on
one of the extra points, but
were on top 13-0 heading to
the second quarter. In the
second Wheeler added an
other touchdown and a two-
point conversion to push
their lead to 21-0.
In the second half
Wheeler kept the ball mov
ing scoring one more time in
the third quarter and then
twice more in the fourth.
Wheeler did allow a touch
down in the fourth by GMC,
but took the win, 41-7.
This week Wheeler will
host the Bulldogs of Toombs
County High School. Kick
off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
SOFTBALL
MCHS vs. Washington Co.
Thur. 5:30 p.m. (A)
RTCA vs. Bulloch Aca.
Thur. 6:00 p.m. (A)
TCHS vs. Vidalia
Thur. 6:00 p.m. (H)
VHS vs. Toombs Co.
Thur. 6:00 p.m. (A)
Treutlen vs. Wilcox Co.
Thur. 5:00 p.m. (A)
Wheeler vs. Telfair Co., Hawkinsville, Johnson, Trinity
Wed. 6:00 p.m. (A); Thur. 5:30 p.m. (H); Thur. 6:00 p.m. (A); Sat. 9 am, 2 p.m. (H);
VHA vs.
Thur. 5:30 p.m. (A)