>>GMC PREP
Last Friday was a huge night for the GMC Prep football team, winning its first region game of the season on Homecoming night with an unexpected 34-22 upset of Hancock Central.
Hancock Central was 1-0 in region play and 3-3 overall before arriving at Davenport Field in Milledgeville, where GMC’s Bulldogs were led by Johnathan Roach and Jessie Washington, who combined for 297 yards rushing and four touchdowns.
GMC got things started early by letting quarterback Logan McMillan throw the ball. He completed a pair of passes, throwing 15 yards to Nate Webster to bring the Bulldogs within striking distance, then going 21 yards to Roach in the endzone for an early 6-0 lead.
Next, the visiting Bulldogs were stopped and turned the ball back over to GMC, which led to a home ‘Dogs touchdown. Washington battled his way to the endzone on a 17-yard rushing score to give GMC a 12-0 lead.
The ‘Dogs defense then held off Hancock Central again and set the GMC offense up for another scoring drive. GMC’s drive started from around mid-field, where McMillan rolled out to his right and completed a 21-yard pass to Roach that set up Roach for a 36-yard rushing score on the next play.
Before the half was over, Roach had followed up with another impressive 45-yard rushing touchdown and by halftime GMC led 27-8 and looked primed for its first region win of the year.
In the second half, Washington scored once more for GMC with a nice 35-yard run. With the extra point tacked on, the ‘Dogs finished 34-22 to earn their first region win of the season in tough conditions on a memorable Homecoming night.
Junior quarterback McMillan finished the night completing 5 of 6 passes for 80 yards total, while senior Washington made 25 carries for 155 total yards, with his longest being 45 yards and averaging 6.2 per carry. Roach also had a long run of 45 yards while averaging an impressive 10.3 yards per carry for a total of 144 yards on the night.
On the defensive side, junior Nate Webster led the way with 4 solo tackles, while sophomore Noah Yohan had 3, while Roach led in total tackles alongside junior Jose Caballero with 8 apiece.
This Friday, GMC (2-6, 1-2) travels to Glascock County, a school it traditionally has enjoyed some success against. The Panthers are 3-5 on the season so far and 1-2 in region play.