Randolph-Clay knocks off Chattahoochee County
CUSSETA, Ga. -- The Chattahoochee County Panthers looked to pick up their second win of the season in their home opener against Class A opponent Randolph-Clay on Friday night.
However, some key injuries and opportunistic plays on defense and special teams sent the visiting Red Devils back home to Cuthbert with a 24-14 win.
ChattCo played the game without all-state quarterback C.J. Afoa under center due to injury.
"It was a tough situation because C.J. tore a tendon in his elbow last week and will have to have Tommy John surgery that he's putting off until the end of the year," said ChattCo coach Josh Kemp. "He can play, but he can't throw."
Despite not playing his quarterback position, Afoa still helped the Panthers at receiver, picking up a 20-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter. He finished the night with two receptions for 48 yards.
"We had to find a quarterback and Cory Dixon, one of our best athletes, wanted to do it," Kemp continued. "Our whole offense, though, was built around C.J. Cory came in and worked hard, and our kids worked hard, but the thing I was worried about was being sloppy with the ball, and the rain and the slick field sure didn't help things out."
Dixon finished the night 6-of-9 passing for 77 yards and a touchdown. He also had 12 rushes for 57 yards.
After Isaiah Carter's 13-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the first quarter, Randolph-Clay picked up 10 points off ChattCo mistakes on special teams in the span of 17 seconds in the second quarter. After picking up a safety when the snap on a punt attempt deep in ChattCo territory sailed out of the back of the end zone, Kevin Brown took the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown, putting the Red Devils ahead for good at 16-7 midway through the second quarter.
Besides Afoa, more injuries plagued the Panthers. After scoring on the fumble return in the first quarter, Carter suffered an injury that left him sidelined for the remainder of the game.
Those key losses on defense gave Randolph-Clay a chance to run methodical drives on the ground that chewed up most of the clock in the second half. The Red Devils ran a 17-play, 55-yard drive to open the third quarter that took 9:43 off the clock before ChattCo could touch the ball offensively. Millsap iced the game for the Devils on a 24-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter. He finished with 21 rushes for 205 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Panthers begin region play next week with a home contest against Heard County on Friday night.Friday at Panther StadiumR-Clay 8 8 0 8--24
ChattCo. 7 7 0 0--14First Quarter
RC--Justus Millsap 1 run (Millsap run), 8:23
CC--Isaiah Carter 13 fumble return (Mateo Gonzalez kick), 5:45Second QuarterRC--Safety, punt snap out of end zone, 5:02
RC--Kevin Brown 80 free kick return, (run failed), 4:45
CC--C.J. Afoa 20 pass from Cory Dixon (Gonzalez kick), 1:55Fourth QuarterRC--Millsap 24 run (Rahemn Price run), 5:22
Team records: Randolph-Clay 3-2, Chattahoochee County 1-3. Next: Chattahoochee County, home vs. Heard County, Oct. 2, 7:30 p.m.
This story was originally published September 25, 2015 at 11:47 PM with the headline "Randolph-Clay knocks off Chattahoochee County ."