ATLANTA (AP) Mareo Howard ran for 196 yards and a touchdown and Antonio Henton accounted for four scores to lead Peach County to a 35-17 victory over LaGrange in the Class AAA state semifinals on Saturday.<br>
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The Trojans (11-3), who ended LaGrange's two-year reign as state champs, will face the winner of the Dougherty-Shaw game for the title next week.<br>
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Peach County's defense dominated the Grangers (10-4) in the third quarter allowing minus-8 total yards, while Henton had two straight touchdown throws on ensuing possessions.<br>
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Henton connected with Duranzo Brown on a 23-yard touchdown. Then Chris Slaughter caught a 10-yard touchdown from Henton a few plays after Slaughter picked off a Travis Tucker pass.<br>
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Brown rushed seven times for 74 yards for Peach County. Henton ran for 84 yards with his two touchdowns on the ground.<br>
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In the second quarter, Peach County was charged with two penalties that accounted for 20 yards kept a LaGrange drive alive, resulting in a 1-yard touchdown by Travis Tucker. That gave the Grangers a 17-14 lead.<br>
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But Peach County regained a 4-point edge three minutes later just before halftime on Howard's 15-yard scoring run, giving them momentum in the second half. Howard finished with 23 carries.<br>
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Tucker, who completed 10-of-16 passes for 152 yards, ran for 47 yards in the loss. Mario Poythress caught three passes for 102, including a 53-yard touchdown catch from Tucker in the first half.<br>
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Bernard Heard had 22 yards rushing on 14 carries for LaGrange.<br>
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(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
