FITZGERALD —
In a battle of top-10 teams in the state of Georgia’s Class AA polls, the homestanding Fitzgerald Purple Hurricanes held off the Cook High Hornets, 21-15, Friday night.
On the first play from scrimmage in the game, Fitzgerald quarterback Romarius Gaulden electrified the home crowd with a 59-yard touchdown run.
Manuel Chavez would add the extra point to give the Canes an early 7-0 lead.
With 2:02 left in the first, Gaulden would again break loose on a 30-yard touchdown run.
Cook would finally dent the scoreboard with 9:47 left in the second as quarterback Ross Pickle would hit Jeremy Walden on a 26-yard scoring pass. A try for two failed.
The Hornets would later get that two points back in an unusual way.
Fitzgerald held Cook on a goal line stand late in the first half. Back on their own half-yard line after holding the Hornets, Cook would make a tackle in the backfield to earn two points on a safety with 1:00 left in the first half.
In the third quarter, Fitzgerald’s Zeke Coley would intercept a pass by Pickle to give the Canes the ball. On the ensuing drive, Gaulden would reward Coley by throwing a 24-yard touchdown pass to him. After the kick, the score was 21-8 with 8:14 left in the third.
Cook would make a game of it late, as Pickle would score on a 6-yard run. However, Fitzgerald would hold on for the win.
Gaulden had a hand in all three scores for Fitzgerald. He also ran for 121 yards on 11 carries, while completing the scoring pass to Coley.
The Hurricanes will be right back in the fire next week when they travel to Quitman to face the Brooks County Trojans.
Local Sports
Fitzgerald hands Cook first loss, 21-15
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Sending the Blazers off
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All-Region teams announced
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Brooks County's Parrish in Rivals Top 100
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Summer camp information
VSU baseball camp coming soon
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Prince Automotive donates new baseball equipment
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Needmore holds final races before big Memorial Day weekend
Saturday night racing at Needmore Speedway saw some new faces in victory lane.
That wasn’t the case in the Late Model division, as Valdosta's Gene Ross drove to victory once again, but not without some close competition from Steven Roberts who came in second.
In the Limited Late Model class, it was another win for Cole Exum, with Gene Maine finishing second in the NAPA Auto Parts special. -
VSU softball wins South Region, headed to nationals
For the third time in four years, and second in a row, Valdosta State’s softball team will play in the national championship tournament.
The Blazers won their third South Region championship Saturday, beating Alabama-Huntsville 8-3 in game three of the best-of-three series at Steel’s Diamond at Blazer Park. - More Local Sports Headlines
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