“I didn’t see that coming.” Those five words were once again spoken by many fans and followers of Georgia high school football after another week of upsets that has become the norm instead of the exception in 2023. It was another round of games that saw some underdogs win and the favored teams left wondering what went wrong.
Bainbridge 35, Ware County 21
Among the notable 2023 Georgia high school upsets last week was Bainbridge’s sound defeat of coach Jason Strickland’s Ware County Gators by a 35-21 score at Centennial Field. The Bearcats used a stunning 20-minute time of possession advantage (34:03 to 13:57) to keep Ware County’s offense off the field. The Bearcats took full advantage when they were on offense, scoring on five of their seven possessions.
Bradwell Institute 35, McIntosh County Academy 14
This was without a doubt the biggest victory since Deshon Brock took over the struggling Hinesville program in 2021. The season before Brock arrived, Bradwell Institute had finished 0-7-1. In his first season of implementing change in the program, Bradwell again went winless, finishing 0-9 overall and 0-6 in region play. Last season, the team struggled to a 1-9 record.
This season, however, Brock seems to have the Tigers ready to turn the corner. Having defeated Liberty County in the second week of the season, they were 1-3 coming into Friday’s game.
McIntosh has never missed the playoff under Bradley Warren, who was named the 2022 Brunswick News Coach of the Year. Last year he led the Buccaneers to a 10-win season and a playoff victory. So, when these two teams met Friday night, it was truly a David vs. Goliath matchup.
Brock and the Tigers pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the 2023 Georgia high school season, winning by three touchdowns. At 2-3, Bradwell already has more wins through the first five weeks than the Tigers totaled in the last three seasons combined.
McEachern 28, Valdosta 7
The Wildcats came into this game heavily favored over the Indians. Valdosta was 4-1 and had allowed just 13.4 points per game while averaging 40 points on offense. McEachern had scored just 36 points, was winless through its first four games, and was about to go up against one of the top defenses and one of the best defensive players in the country in Eric Brantley. Oh, did I mention that McEachern was 0-6 all-time against the Wildcats?
But the 2023 season has proved so far that anything can happen. And it did at Cantrell Stadium Friday night.
Playing solid defense and stuffing the Wildcats at the line of scrimmage in every series, McEachern caught the first break of the night when QB Jaydon Kinney picked up a fumbled snap, started to take off running, but then saw a wide open Jayreon “JJ” Campbell, who took in the pass from Kinney and outran the ’Cats defense for a 65-yard TD and a 7-0 McEachern lead.
The Indians took advantage of several Valdosta mistakes, including turnovers and the inability to convert key third downs, to torch the Valdosta defense with long pass plays of 43 yards, 52 yards, and 40 yards that helped them take a commanding 21-7 lead. They would add a fourth and final TD to put the exclamation point on a 28-7 upset win.
Other upsets and surprising finishes in Week 5 of the 2023 Georgia high school season:
- Lambert defeated the previously unbeaten East Coweta Indians, 23-22.
- Tift County ended what began as a rather tumultuous week at the high school with its first victory of the season, a 17-0 shutout win over Gadsden County (FL).
- Douglas County defeated defending Class 6A state champion Langston Hughes on the Panthers’ home field by a 30-27 final score.
- North Cobb was a 20-point underdog to the Milton Eagles, but the Warriors came away with a 15-point win at Milton. North Cobb has won three straight games after starting the season 0-2.
Be sure to check out “Extra Point! With Phil Jones” every Monday at 5 p.m. at the ITG Next Georgia Facebook Page for more conversation about these and many more games from around the state.
