(LINCOLNTON, GA) Lincoln County's Cheer Devils' run-through sign read "Not all Devils are created equal - watch us prove it" and that they did - frequently and relentlessly. The home Red Devils walloped the visiting Red Devils from Hawkinsville 56-0 here last Friday to earn a home game in the quarterfinals.
Brooks County High, near Quitman eleven miles north of the Florida line, will be making the 4.5 hour drive next Friday for the 7:30 kickoff at Buddy Bufford Field. The Trojans are 7-5, but those five losses came to ranked teams. Four of those are in larger classes, and their only region loss was 6-0 to perennial powerhouse and second-ranked Clinch County. Brooks upset previously-undefeated Johnson County 14-7 last Friday with a fourth quarter touchdown. The Trojans outscored their opponents 260-172 this season.
The Trojans have favored passing over rushing this year, averaging per game 141 yards in the air to 113 on the ground. Quarterback Junior Burrus (#2) has completed 113 of 196 pass attempts for 1,652 yards and 17 TDs. Damari Baynard (#0) has carried 221 times for 1,150 yards and 11 touchdowns. Trae Stevenson (#1) leads their receivers with 44 catches for 799 yards and 9 TDs.
LCHS and Brooks have met only once with the Trojans coming from down 29-19 to win 33-29 in the 1994 playoffs. This was the first time ever that the Devils lost a game in which they scored at last 25 points. Brooks breezed through the remaining playoffs to win the state title; the Trojans also won state in 2021. In 1994, as now, Brooks County is one of the largest schools in Class A, and will return to Class AA in 2026.
Thomas McWhorter recovered a Devil fumble on the first scrimmage play. Jonathan Norman then ran for 22 to the H 31. Kelby Glaze bounced off a defender and scored from 15 yards out. Fortson Partridge booted the PAT and Lincoln led 7-0 with 8:40 in the first.
Hawkinsville's big running rack rambled for 27 yards but Aiden Jones recovered a fumble at midfield on the next play. Mekhi Wade for 10 yards and Norman for 14 setup a 12-yard run by Nasir Gartrell up the middle for a touchdown. Partridge boomed the PAT to go up 14-0 with 5:36 left in the quarter.
Hawkinsville then put together its best drive of the game, twice capitalizing on passes by the punter on fourth down. The visitors reached Lincoln's 25 before their quarterback was stopped a yard short of another first down.
Four plays later Glaze scored on a 54-yard run where he went up the middle untouched and turned on the after-burners to the end zone. Lincoln County led 21-0 midway the second quarter. Glaze rushed six times for 96 yards and caught two passes for 32 yards.
Partridge intercepted a pass to give the local Devils a fresh possession at the H 31. Glaze made a great catch on the right side and then gained 15 yards-after-catch to the H 9. Christian Elam rushed for five before scoring from four yards out. With just over three minutes left in the half, Lincoln County had a commanding 28-0 lead.
Hawkinsville reached midfield on its next drive before falling backwards on penalties and poor plays. On 4th-&-39 it punted from its 18. Wade returned the pigskin thirty yards to the H 30. With only two seconds on the clock, Lincoln lined up for a short field goal. Showing they have some trickery in their special teams playbook, holder Wade passed to Walker Thornton for five yards and a TD. Big Red led 35-0 at halftime.
After forcing a Hawkinsville punt, 12-yard runs by Glaze and Norman and two long penalties gave LCHS a first down at the H 24. Wade went right and scored from there with 4:14 left in the third. Partridge made the score 42-0.
Elam recovered a Hawkinsville fumble at its 45 and returned to the H 30. Jones went untouched into the end zone with 1:39 left in the third. The kick put the home team up 49-0.
With the clock running, freshman Bryson Elam scored on an 8-yard run midway the fourth. Nick Giovengo booted the final PAT for the 56-0 victory.
The home Red Devils outgained the Devils in white 409 to 149 in yards and 23-7 in first downs. Lincoln County did not face a third down on offense the entire game. Three turnovers and eight penalties hampered the visitors.
The other quarterfinal games will see Screven County travel to Early County, Clinch County host Wheeler County, and Jenkins County head west to Bowdon. The Lincoln-Brooks winner will play the Screven-Early winner in the semifinals. Warren County lost to Wheeler County 28-20 and Washington-Wilkes played Bowdon tough early but fell 54-24 to the three-time defending state champion.
Big Red has now outscored opponents 489-79 this season. The 489 is the third most ever by LCHS after 500 in 1979 and 565 in 2003, but those seasons reflect 15 games each. Lincoln has outscored opponents 182-18 in the first quarter and 373-28 in the first half this season.
The pigskin will fly at 7:30 this Friday night in Lincolnton.