SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. — The Redskins held on for much of the game but fell short in the final minutes to the Screaming Devils of Warren County, 20-17.
Warren County High School’s football team (1-1) traveled to Redskin Stadium to face the Social Circle Redskins (1-1) in a non-region matchup.
Coming off a strong team win a week ago at Oglethorpe, the Redskins looked to build off their momentum and continue their strong start to the season, while on the other side, the Screaming Devils were looking to rebound after a week 1 loss to Morgan County High School.
The Redskins received the opening kickoff and were determined to start off the night hot.
Social Circle’s first two plays went for a combined 35-yards but quarterback Luke Cross’ first pass of the night was picked off by Warren’s Torossie Leslie, who was immediately dragged down for no gain on the return.
To follow up his interception, sophomore Leslie punched in the first touchdown of the game to conclude a 12-play opening drive by the Screaming Devils. The touchdown just was not enough for Leslie as he also scored the two-point conversion for Warren to make it 8-0.
The Social Circle offense was sputtering the first two drives of the ballgame, with only a combined 30 yards.
Finally, with 10:05 on the clock, Cross completed a 28-yard pass to flip the field for the offense.
The very next play, running back Jaylen Victor blasted up the seam for a 31-yard rushing touchdown. Extra point was good by kicker Preston Guy to cut the lead to 8-7.
After trading possessions, the second play of the next Redskin drive saw Cross connect with Jude Nelson for a 45-yard receiving touchdown, giving the Redskins a 14-8 lead.
The Redskin defense obliterated the Warren County offense and limited any yardage on the drive to head into halftime with the score 14-8.
Coming out of the locker room, Warren County received the kickoff and were hyped up to have the opportunity to gain momentum.
Their drive was very strong, getting them deep into SC territory, until the defense held strong with the help of a huge 12-yard sack from Jameccus Hardge.
With the clock showing 2:44, Kaleb Jones blasted the ball out of the running back’s arms and then received the fumble to give Social Circle the ball.
Concluding a long-sustained drive, Social Circle was faced with a big fourth down decision.
Guy put the ball through the uprights to extend the Redskins’ lead to 17-8.
Facing 4th down and 9 on their next drive, Warren County’s Leslie picked up a huge first down, giving the Screaming Devils a 1st and goal.
Warren County running back Trashad Mathis then pushed into the end zone on a touchdown run that cut the Redskins lead to three after a failed two-point attempt.
After a blocked punt by Warren County gave the Screaming Devils the ball on the 15-yard line, senior Mathis powered into the end zone to give Warren the 20-17 lead with 1:40 on the clock.
Social Cirlce’s defense got the stop on a Warren fourth down, giving them the ball on their 10-yard line with 43 seconds on the clock, but the Redskins’ late game comeback hopes to fell just short as they could not convert on fourth down and would give the ball back to Warren County with 7 seconds on the clock.
The Screaming devils took a knee and sweet victory ensued for them.
The Redskins will host KIPP Atlanta Collegiate next week.
