High school football playoffs roundup: Northwest, North Murray end seasons with first round losses

Published 1:30 pm Monday, November 18, 2024

Jenkins 28, Northwest Whitfield 14

With a regular season that saw Northwest Whitfield toppling teams such as Dalton, Coahulla Creek and North Murray en route to an 8-2 record and a third place finish in Region 7-3A, the Bruins secured a state playoffs appearance for the second year in a row.

But a formidable first round opponent presented a tough task for the Bruins.

Northwest lost to Jenkins (9-2) in Savannah on Friday in a bout that saw several big offensive plays from both teams in the second half.

Northwest’s and Jenkins’ defensive lines were able to keep the score 7-0 at halftime, with Jenkins’ Trenton Rhodes scoring the lone touchdown of the first half on a 36-yard run.

Just a few minutes into the third quarter, Warriors defensive back Malik Mosley intercepted a long pass from Bruins quarterback Gavin Nuckolls and blitzed down the field for a 59-yard score.

Other scorers for Jenkins included J’Viauhn Belton and Domonique Johnson, who quarterback Demetrius Holloway found with 9-yard and 31-yard passes, respectively.

The second half also saw big plays from the Bruins, including an 11-yard touchdown pass from Nuckolls to Akendris Douglas with just a few minutes left in the game.

Earlier in the fourth quarter, running back Caden Ramsey scored the first six points for the Bruins with a touchdown run.

Nuckolls was 11-for-19 passing with 135 yards and 118 rushing yards on 18 carries.

Holloway, who helped Jenkins amass 229 total yards, was 5-for-6 with 87 passing yards and 33 rushing yards on five carries.

Jenkins now leads the series against the Bruins 1-0 and will go on to face Stephenson in the second round on Friday in Stone Mountain.

Stephens County 31, North Murray 14

Despite a pair of mid-game scores from Tyler Henry and Layten Myers, North Murray ended its 2024 season Friday with a loss in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs.

Traveling to Toccoa, the Mountaineers (6-5) squared off against Stephens County (7-4), who had the home field advantage, for the first time in North Murray’s ninth straight playoffs appearance.

To begin the season, the Mountaineers, who placed third in Region 7-2A, knocked off Dalton before defeating region rivals Murray County, Coahulla Creek, Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe, Sonoraville and Ringgold.

Against Stephens County, quarterback Hudson Hulett found Henry with a 20-yard pass to mark the first score for the Mountaineers in the second quarter. Myers’ scoring run came with one minute to go in the third quarter when he ran in for an 8-yard touchdown.

Scoring for Stephens County were Javin Gordon, who had 100 yards on 24 carries, and Jonah Swinton, who scored three times on passes from quarterback Tripp Underwood. Swinton had 118 yards on six receptions. Underwood was 18-for-23 with 222 passing yards.

Stephens County’s Luke Waters scored the first three points for the Indians in the first quarter with a 41-yard field goal.

Stephens County advances to the second round of the playoffs and will meet Callaway in Hogansville on Friday.