Calhoun wins 17th straight title
CHATSWORTH — The Calhoun Yellow Jackets were on a mission to make history on Friday night, and it didn’t take long to also make Murray County’s chances of an upset history.
The Jackets (9-1) ran out to a big lead early on thanks to some explosive plays in the passing game and never looked back on their way to an 65-23 victory and their 17th straight region title. That ties Lincoln County’s all-time mark in the state of Georgia, which they set from 1982-1998.
Calhoun coach Hal Lamb said it’s almost unbelievable to think about the program achieving something like that.
“When you really sit back and think about it, it’s an amazing feat,” said Lamb, who won his first region title in 2001 in his third season at the helm of the Jackets. “It is a testament to these kids and coaches, but not only these kids on this year’s team but all the players that came before them. They have helped build an incredible tradition at Calhoun.”
Calhoun’s Gavin Gray racked up 358 yards through the air on 16-of-21 passing with five touchdowns, including several huge plays coming on screens, all coming in one half of play.
The Jackets started the onslaught midway through the first quarter when Brannon Spector took a short pass from Gray and went 44 yards to the end zone.
On the next possession, Gray hit Luke Moseley deep for the first of his two touchdown catches on the night. He went 71 yards to make it 14-0. Gray added his third TD pass of the first quarter a few minutes later when Bralin Barton took a short screen pass and bobbed and weaved 71 yards for a score to make it 21-0.
Calhoun will be the No. 1 seed from Region 6-AAA and host the No. 4 seed from Region
5-3A next Friday in the first round of the Class 3A State Playoffs. That opponent is still yet to be determined due to tiebreakers in the region.
“We’re excited to start the next part of our season,” said Lamb. “We’ve reached our first goal of winning a region title, and now we’re ready to go try to get our next goal which is a state title. It’s going to be a tough road. We need a really good crowd next Friday because this will be the toughest first-round opponent we’ve ever faced.”
Alex Farrer, Calhoun Times
North Murray 42, Sonoraville 28
CHATSWORTH — Despite a tenacious and gutsy effort across all three phases of the game, Sonoraville couldn’t quite keep
pace with the dynamic offense of the North Murray Mountaineers in a 42-28 loss that effectively ends the season for the Phoenix. Sonoraville (4-6) fails to make the state playoffs for the first time in five seasons.
The Sonoraville offense was a bit lethargic out of the gate, with all first quarter drives ending in either a punt or turnover.
The lack of production gifted the Mountaineers (7-3) solid field position, which the highflying, prolific passing attack led by quarterback Preston Poag Jr. was quick to take advantage of.
On the team’s first drive, Poag put North Murray on the board with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Connor Rice, who out-sprinted the Phoenix secondary up the seam. Mountaineer running back Dante Tidwell increased
Sonoraville’s deficit with a four-yard rushing touchdown a couple of minutes later. Poag then made his presence felt again by stepping up in the pocket and lofting a perfect back-shoulder throw to Preston Buck in the end zone, which put Sonoraville at a 21-0 disadvantage after just one quarter of play.
Poag’s aerial efficiency was as advertised, as the junior signal-caller piled up 269 passing yards and three scores. Rice proved difficult to cover all night, snagging 12 passes for 198 yards.
The loss ends Sonoraville’s four-year playoff streak, while North Murray will move into the first round of the Class 3A state playoffs next Friday when they host the No. 3 team from Region 5-3A.
Tyler Serritt, Calhoun Time