Bulldogs follow up win with road loss

Harlem coach Jimmie Lewis brought out a familiar line Friday at Hephzibah.

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"We gave great effort," he said after the Rebels' beat his team 53-7. "They go hard every game. I can't ask for no more."

Harlem (1-6, 1-5 Region 3-AAAA) couldn't keep its momentum going after it's win over Cross Creek the previous week. The Bulldogs managed just 20 rushing yards in the first half.

Hephzibah's defense held Harlem to 173 yards of offense. Bulldogs quarterback Zach Morris carried 18 times for 66 of his team's 126 rushing yards.

Harlem faced bad field position most of the evening. Hephzibah kicker Dustin Deckert booted eight of nine kickoffs into the end zone.

The Bulldogs' lone score came after they recovered an onside kick to start the second half. A 29-yard run on third down by Morris set up Tyler James' 6-yard scoring run one play later.

Hephzibah is off to the best start in school history at 6-1 and remains atop the Region 3-AAAA standings at 6-0.

"Now we're just going to try to secure a second consecutive playoff berth," coach John Bowen said. "We're just trying to establish that winning culture."

With its key region matchup with Evans coming up, Hephzibah showed no signs of looking ahead. The Rebels scored on three of their first four drives and led 27-0 at halftime.

"It shows we're playing our hearts out," Hephzibah senior defensive tackle Kwame Collins said.

Hephzibah senior running back Antoine Nabors scored on runs of 5 and 45 yards in the first half. After Harlem pulled within 20 early in the third quarter, Nabors picked up a one-hop kickoff at the 15 and rumbled 85 yards for a touchdown.

Rebels senior wide receiver Gary Robinson hauled in three passes for 107 yards and two TDs. Sophomore quarterback Terry Robinson, Gary's younger brother, tossed touchdown passes of 30 and 38 yards and finished 4 for 9 passing for 113 yards.

"It's wonderful having guys like that on field," Rebels senior safety/tight end Chris Owens said. "We expect big plays from them."

The Augusta Chronicle staff writer Chris Gay contributed to this report.

Augusta Christian 26, Cardinal Newman 7

The Lions bounced back from a homecoming loss the week before to take out Cardinal Newman.

Cole Turner rushed for 102 yards and scored on touchdown runs of 62 and 30 in the Lions' victory. Freshman quarterback Tyler Roberson capped the Lions' scoring with a 17-yard pass to Evans Wells.

Newton 39, Greenbrier 0

Newton limited Greenbrier to 85 total yards in a shutout of the Wolfpack in a Region 2-AAAAA game. Greenbrier dropped to 2-5, 1-3 in region play.

Wolfpack running back DJ Tyson returned from a neck injury suffered earlier in the season to rush for 16 yards on 10 carries.

Lakeside 42, Cross Creek 12

Panthers quarterback Mark Weidenaar threw three touchdown passes and ran for another as Lakeside dominated the Razorbacks. The Panthers returned a fumble for a touchdown 11 seconds into the game.

Northside, Warner Robins 47, Grovetown 7

The first-year Warriors could not keep pace with one of the toughest opponents on its schedule.

Grovetown's Xavier Crain threw a touchdown pass to Hunter McBride in the third quarter.

Grovetown dropped to 5-4 on the season.