Week #9 Griffin Clinches Region 3-AAAA Division A Title
October 24, 2010
By Alan Richards of Griffin, Georgia High School FootballDIVISION CHAMPS! Bears' win clinches Region 3-AAAA Division A title, state playoff berth
Griffin High running back Wontavious Washington (2) runs for a 74-yard touchdown in the third quarter to give the Bears a 10-6 lead Friday night at Dutchtown. Washington finished with 202 yards rushing. (Martin Layton/Special to the Daily News)
HAMPTON, Ga. - Wontavious Washington ran for a touchdown, Eddie Glanton kicked a field goal and the Griffin defense stood tall as No. 5 state-ranked Griffin High defeated Dutchtown 10-6 Friday night to win the Region 3-AAAA Division A championship.
More importantly, the Bears (8-0 overall, 5-0 division) clinched a berth in the state playoffs which begins in three weeks. Dutchtown (7-1 overall, 4-1 division), meanwhile, lost it first game of the season.
Griffin took its first lead of the night when Washington ran for a 74-yard touchdown that capped a three-play, 83-yard drive with :40 left to play in the third quarter. Washington, who has topped the century mark rushing every game this season, went over 1,000 yard for the season with that run. He accumulated a game-high 202 yards on 27 carries to up his season totals to 1,165 yards and 13 TDs on 162 carries.
Just as impressive as Washington's totals was a Griffin defense which limited the Bulldogs' two-tight wing offense to one first down in the second half and only 4 first downs and 69 yards offense (53 rushing and 6 passing) for the night.
In the first quarter, Griffin matched a 22-yard field goal by Dutchtown's Ryan Kay with a 27-yard field goal by Eddie Glanton. The only thing that separated the two teams at the half was another 22-yard field goal by Kay midway through the second quarter.
Both Dutchtown scores in the first half were set up when the Bulldogs recovered Griffin fumbles - the first at the Griffin 8 and the second at the Griffin 20 when a punt hit a Bears player in the back.
Griffin, which travels next week to take on Ola in the division finale, will now play for the Region 3-AAAA championship in two weeks against No. 8 state-ranked Starr's Mill (8-0, 5-0), which won the Region 3-AAAA Division B championship with a 35-24 win at Northgate Friday night.
