Macon Telegraph
10/1
Trojans get Peach of a win against Washington
By Robyn Disney
TELEGRAPH STAFF WRITER
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FORT VALLEY - Mareo Howard wasn't getting attention in the first half. The sophomore tailback only had four yards on three carries in the first two quarters.
He may have not racked up the yards in the first half, but he was there when needed.
Howard finished the game with 93 yards and two touchdowns, the first to tie the game and the second to win it in overtime as Peach County beat Washington County 40-37 in a GHSA Region 4-AAA game.
"Coach (Rance Gillespie) came to me at halftime and said be ready," Howard said. "I told him I could do what ever he asked."
What Gillespie wanted his running back to do was to kill time and score. The Trojans (3-3, 3-0 in 4-AAA) had no problem scoring in the first half, but they had issues with clock management. Twice in the first quarter, it took only one play to get the ball into the end zone.
But in the second half, Peach Country struggled to find the end zone as quarterback Antonio Henton was pressured to miss his targets.
So with 6:20 left in regulation, Gillespie called Howard's number eight times in the Trojans' final scoring drive on the quarter, including the 7-yard touchdown run. However, Juan Rodriquez's following conversion kick was blocked, leaving the game tied 34-34.
Neither team could get into the end zone as both defenses turned up the pressure, collecting a total of three tackles for a loss.
Washington County (4-3, 1-2) got the ball first in overtime. After two carries for a total of two yards for Rosco Walls, William Green got to quarterback Eulas Taylor for a 9-yard loss. That set up Jamie Rountree's 34-yard field goal. Rountree had earlier missed two PATs as WACO suffered its second straight loss and third in four outings.
"What they'd done all night was a pretty good redzone offense," Gillespie said. "Our defense did a great job and I'm so proud of them for making that stop. Then our offense did what they had to do to win the game."
Henton first ran the ball 10 yards to get a first down on the 5-yard line. That set up Howard's winning touchdown run.
"We weren't looking for a field goal," Howard said. "We wanted to win and we wanted to go home."
Contact Disney at 923-3109, ext. 241 or e-mail
rdisney@macontel.com.
PEACH CO. 40, WASHINGTON CO. 37
Washington Co.É14668(3) - 37Peach CoÉ21706(6) - 40 First Quarter
WC - Rosco Walls 36 run (kick failed)
PC - Chris Slaughter 88 kickoff return (Juan Rodriquez kick)
WC - Walls 1 run (Clarence Moment pass from Eulas Taylor)
PC - Antonio Henton 55 run (Rodriquez kick)
PC - Slaughter 13 pass from Henton (Rodriquez kick)
Second Quarter
PC - Slaughter 85 pass from Henton (Rodriquez kick)
WC - Walls 10 pass from Taylor (kick failed)
Third Quarter
WC - Walls 30 run (run failed)
Fourth Quarter
WC - Taylor 5 run (Antonio Danzy pass from Taylor)
PC - Mareo Howard 7 run (kick failed)
Overtime
WC - Jamie Rountree 34 field goal
PC - Howard 5 run (no point attempted)
WCPC First downs 17 6 Rushes-yards 87-327 20-149 Passing yards 22 191 Comp-Att-Int 2-6-0 5-16-0 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1 Penalties-Yards 8-50 4-55 TOP INDIVIDUALS
RUSHING - WACO, Rosco Walls 35-244. Peach, Mareo Howard 15-93, Antonio Henton 5-56.
PASSING - Peach, Antonio Henton 5-16-0, 191 yards, 2 TDs.
RECEIVING - Peach, Chris Slaughter 3-153.