OAKWOOD — Johnson was one of several area teams to get off to a solid start Friday night in the opening week of the high school football season.
The Knights shut out Madison County 17-0 at Billy Ellis Memorial Stadium, their first season opening win since 2012.
Class AAAA preseason No. 1 Buford was sloppy at times but held off Eastern Christian (Md.) 27-20 getting a key pick-6 touchdown late in the game from R.J. Walker to preserve the victory.
Defending Region 8-AAAAA champion Lanier rallied from an early 7-0 deficit to beat Class AAAAAA Lambert 17-7.
In the most anticipated matchup of the night, Jefferson scored the final 12 points to knock off Rabun County 19-7 for the Dragons’ 17th straight win over the Wildcats dating back to 1972. The game was notable for big plays from Jefferson running back Colby Wood, who took advantage of strong blocking, especially after halftime, to rush for 264 yards and three scores.
Fellow 8-AAA member East Jackson, however, fell 21-13 to Hebron Christian despite a 72-yard touchdown run from Andrew Scott and a 69-yard TD run from Justin Saavedra.
Lumpkin County opened its rugged non-region schedule with gut-wrenching 21-18 loss to Model at The Burial Ground in Dahlonega. The Indians now face back-to-back road games at Union County and Johnson over the next two weeks.
Check AccessWDUN's Friday Game Night page for more detailed reports on all of Friday night’s action.
AREA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCORES, AUG. 21
Buford 27, Eastern Christian, Md. 20
Hebron Christian 21, East Jackson 13
Jefferson 19, Rabun County 7
Johnson 17, Madison County 0
Lanier 17, Lambert 7
Model 21, Lumpkin County 18
