The action under the lights on Friday night provided no shortage of highlights in Week 2 of the high school football season in the Greater Savannah area.
Bethesda, the defending SCISA Class 2A champion, went on the road and beat Savannah Christian in a game that created a stir throughout the city.
Benedictine bounced back from a lopsided loss in its opener with an impressive win over visiting Hebron Christian.
Calvary Day took care of business with a win over visiting Jenkins.
Windsor Forest improved to 2-0 under first-year coach Mac Martin, as his son Jayden had another big game behind center in a win at Tattnall County.
Here’s a look at how teams from the Greater Savannah area fared in Week 2.
It was the first meeting between the teams and the first time Bethesda, which has won two SCISA state titles in the last three years, has played against a GHSA opponent,
The Blazers made the most of their opportunity as they won their 15th straight game at Pooler Stadium in dramatic fashion.
Junior quarterback Jordan Turner hit senior Zhyir Witcher with a 31-yard scoring strike with 26 seconds left to close out the come-from-behind for the Blazers, who improved to 3-0 on the season.
“It was a game for the ages,” Bethesda coach Antwain Turner said in a phone interview Saturday. “It was one of those games where you feel good about coming out on the right side of history.”
Savannah Christian took a 14-0 lead in the first half on a Landon Tyson touchdown run and an 11-yard scoring pass from Caden Godbee to Ivyn Richardson, according to Nathan Dominitz of the Prep Sports Report.
Bethesda rallied when Turner broke loose for an 80-yard touchdown run followed by a scoring pass to MJ Scott, with two-point conversions following both scores as the Blazers led 16-14 at intermission.
Savannah Christian responded with a touchdown run by Wesley Dinkins and another touchdown pass from Godbee, who connected for a 20-yard score with Cam Yeldell as the Raiders went up 28-16 in the third quarter.
That set the stage for the fourth quarter comeback, which was ignited by Turner’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Scott before the game winner to Witcher to close out the game.
Jordan Turner was 17 of 33 passing for 280 yards and the three touchdowns and ran for 172 yards and a score on 14 carries.
Witcher had eight catches for 130 yards and the score and Scott had four catches for 68 yards and the two touchdowns.
Junior Ka’Mond Young led the Blazer defense with 10 tackles, with one for a loss.
“They came out and jumped on us, but we responded with Jordan scored on the 80-yard run,” Antwain Turner said. “We made some mistakes in the second half and were behind again, but the guys understood the mission and rose to the occasion.”
Turner said the win was one of the biggest in program history, but takes nothing away from the Blazers state title runs in 2023 and 2025.
“I would never diminish the state championships our guys worked so hard to win,” he said. “Those titles established something with our program. People might have talked about us playing in a smaller classification, but we were never concerned about what people say. Some might say beating Savannah Christian validated our program. It was a huge win, but we already knew our team was valid. These are different teams with different players and we’re just going to take it one win at a time and try to celebrate every moment.”
Bethesda (3-0) has a bye next week before hosting Trinity Collegiate on Sept. 11. SCPS (1-1) plays at Glynn Academy (0-2) on Friday, Sept. 4.
Benedictine bounced back from a loss to Toombs County in a big way as the host Cadets rolled to a win over visiting Hebron Christian, the two-time defending Class A-3A Private School champions.
Senior quarterback Omari Burse had his best night behind center as he threw four touchdown passes. He connected with Eron Mallard, the Purdue-bound senior, for a pair of scores and also hit senior Cole Henderson for two touchdowns.
Stanley Smart Jr., the senior committed to Virginia Tech, helped set the tone with a pair of rushing touchdowns in the first half.
Benedictine (1-1) is set to host Camden County (2-0), which beat Glynn Academy 42-13, in a non-region game on Friday, Sept. 4, at Memorial Stadium.
The host Wildcats improved to 2-0 with a dominating non-region win over Liberty County.
Senior quarterback Gunner Mobley was 8 of 12 passing for 122 yards and a pair of touchdowns and ran twice for 20 yards and a pair of scores.
CJ Menzie rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Eli Grant had four receptions for 51 yards and a score and Nick Cameron caught a 21-yard touchdown pass.
Jaleal Barnard had five tackles with two for losses and a sack and De’Vion Smalls Clark returned a fumble for a score for the Wildcats (2-0), who are set to host Jenkins (0-2) in a non-region matchup on Friday, Sept. 4.
Windsor Forest went on the road and improved to 2-0 on the season with a non-region win over Tattnall County.
It’s the first time the Knights have started the season with two wins since 2017, when they opened with three straight victories en route to an 8-4 season.
Quarterback Jayden Martin had another big game for the Knights as the junior was 12 of 20 passing for 199 yards and three touchdowns with an interception, while rushing for 109 yards and two scores on 12 carries.
Junior Jaimeer Duncan rushed for 97 yards on 18 carries and Kamari Duncan had four receptions for 36 yards and a score.
Dwane Franklin caught five balls for 107 yards and a touchdown and Gavin Johnson had three catches for 56 yards and a score.
Windsor Forest (2-0) is set to host South Effingham (2-0) in a non-region game on Friday, Sept. 4, at Savannah High Stadium.
The host Rebels fell to 0-2 on the season as they lost their second close game.
Effingham quarterback Matthew Dillon had another big game as the sophomore completed 22 of 28 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns, in just his second varsity start, according to Donald Heath, who covered the game for the Effingham Herald.
He connected with Trayvis Hunter for a 24-yard score and hit Parker Nelson for a 13-yard touchdown.
Senior Jmere Doe-Davis rushed for 71 yards on 20 carries and Isaiah Brown had 10 catches for 101 yards for the Rebels, (0-2) who are set to host New Hampstead on Friday, Sept. 4.
The host Mustangs improved to 2-0 on the year with a strong non-region showing against Johnson.
South Effingham had five players rush for touchdowns. Sophomore Josh Mims led the team with 72 yards on eight caries and a touchdown. Khyran White, Danny Murtha, Cade Womack and Ashton Holder also ran for scores.
Sophomore quarterback Liam Coburn was 7 of 14 passing for 130 yards and a score. Junior Jackson McClure had six receptions for 118 yards and a touchdown.
South Effingham plays at Windsor Forest (2-0) at Savannah High on Friday, Sept. 4.
Jah’Barri Felix was 12 of 15 passing for 225 yards and four touchdowns as the Tigers improved to 2-0 on the season.
Tiger running back Cameron rushed for 100 yards on eight carries, according to the Coastal Courier.
Bradwell is set to play at Valdosta (2-0) on Friday, Sept. 4.
Portal 28, Bryan County 14
Pinewood Prep 52, Savannah Country Day 13
First Baptist 53, St. Andrew’s 14
Calvary Day 30, Jenkins 13
Appling County 7, New Hampstead 0 (weather delay, status TBA)
Islands 11, Savannah High 0 (game postponed at halftime, to be continued on Saturday, Aug. 29, at 3 p.m. at Memorial Stadium
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Friday night lights highlights ― Bethesda gets huge win over Savannah Christian
Discover more from NAIRAVOICE.COM.NG
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
