Bulldogs secure third seed in region
By Chris Sokoloski
csokoloski@gtowntimes.com
Georgetown High won a 49-42 shootout at Wilson last week to finish third in Region VII-AAA.
"We're very happy to win," said Bulldogs coach Bradley Adams. "We got the No. 3 seed and we feel like we earned it. We're going to go in and try and make some noise in the playoffs."
Georgetown (6-4) travels to Bennettsville to play Marlboro County (7-3) on Friday night.
"They're very athletic and a very well-coached football team," Adams said.
The coach said Georgetown has already faced two of the top teams in Class AAA - region rivals Socastee and Myrtle Beach - so the Bulldogs probably won't see a better team than those two in the playoffs.
Wilson struck first last week on a 48-yard touchdown pass with 4:46 left in the first quarter.
Georgetown tied the game two minutes later when A.J. Walker caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Hughes.
The Bulldogs extended the lead to 21-7 with touchdown runs from Julian Lunsford (5 yards) and Michael Billings (1 yard) in the second quarter.
Wilson tied the game at 21-21 with a 59-yard touchdown pass and a 16-yard touchdown run.
Georgetown then regained the lead with two touchdowns in the last 4:18 of the half. Walker caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Hughes and Lunsford ran it in from 1 yard out.
Hughes connected with Jordan Ward on a 5-yard touchdown pass at 8:53 in the third quarter to give Georgetown a 42-21 lead.
Wilson took advantage of a Georgetown fumble on a kickoff to score two touchdowns in 18 seconds at the end of the third quarter to cut the lead to 42-35.
Hughes' fourth touchdown pass of the game, a 39-yard to Tarik Tucker, extended the lead to 49-35.
After Wilson scored to cut the lead to 49-42, Georgetown's offense took over with 2:04 left in the game and ran out the clock.
The game was filled with penalties, seven for Georgetown, including personal foul and unsportsmanlike conduct calls; and 16 for Wilson, including three for personal fouls.
One Wilson player was ejected for hitting a Bulldogs' lineman after the Tigers were called for being offside and officials had stopped the play.
"They told me my player's intent was malicious," Wilson coach Chad Eaddy said. "How is that malicious when he is coming full speed on a blitz? He wasn't doing anything dirty but we are characterized a certain way."
When the game was over, Adams and his staff sent the Bulldogs off the field, eschewing the traditional post-game handshake.
"It was something we felt like it was best for our kids," Adams said. "We didn't want to do anything to jeopardize our kids' futures."
Adams declined to comment on whether he thought Wilson players were intentionally trying to injure Georgetown players. He would only say that he was told not to talk about it.
"I'm real proud of our kids being able to withstand some adversity that came our way," Adams said.
The teams combined for 893 yards of offense. Georgetown had 244 passing yards and 197 rushing yards and averaged 6.6 yards per play. Wilson had 264 passing yards and 188 rushing yards and averaged 7.4 yards per play.
Hughes was 12-for-22 passing with four touchdowns and one interception. Walker was the leading receiver with 136 yards. Tucker had 53, Billings had 29 and Chris Gamble had 21.
Lunsford was the leading rusher with 119 yards. Billings had 51 and Hughes added 24.
Ward led the Georgetown defense with 19 tackles. Dominick Wigfall had nine tackles; Denzell Archie had seven; Gerald German had six tackles and recovered two fumbles; Anthony Blair had six tackles and forced a fumble; Keith Collins, Zaquan Collins and Juwan Gibbs had six tackles each; and Billings forced a fumble.
Of note: The Georgetown Pentecostal Holiness Church is taking its bus to Bennettsville for Georgetown's playoff game on Friday night. The bus will leave at 4:30 p.m. and seating is first-come, first served. The trip is free, but donations to pay for gas will be accepted. No food or drinks except for bottled water will be allowed on the bus.
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Jaleel Filmore returned a kickoff for an 80-yard touchdown for Andrews' only points in a 26-6 loss to Lake Marion last week.
Filmore was the leading rusher for the Yellow Jackets with 62 yards. Johnel Grant added 17.
Andrews (2-8) travels to Mullins (3-7) on Friday night in the first round of the Class AA playoffs.
Waccamaw lost 43-7 to Dillon last week to remain winless in Region VIII.
The Warriors (3-7) travel to Battery Creek (5-5) on Friday night in the first round of the Class AA playoffs.
SCNow.com contributed to this story.