Braves squash the Rebellion
Published 3:23 am Saturday, October 12, 2024
(Editor’s note: The revised Baldwin High football schedule for the remainder of the 2024 season was released earlier this week. Baldwin will play all 10 of its games this season: Oct. 18 at Aquinas, 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 25 Westside-Augusta (Homecoming), 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 31 (Thursday) at Howard (Macon), 7 p.m.; Nov. 5 (Tuesday) West Laurens HOME 6 p.m.; Nov. 9 (Saturday) at Richmond Academy (Augusta) 1 p.m.)
Baldwin High had been waiting a month for this. On Friday the Braves football team showed no signs of rust – or even mercy – in returning to game action at home.
Sadur Salahuddin scored three touchdowns, Lamar Pounds was responsible for four including a rushing score, and the Baldwin defense picked off two passes turning one into six more points. Kevin Patterson’s club demolished the Hephzibah High Rebels from Richmond County 57-0 to take a 2-1 record into the Region 4-AAA standings and 2-3 mark overall. It was the fifth straight loss for Hephzibah, one of numerous schools located in the recently tropical weather ravaged areas of Georgia.
Baldwin had been unable to play since Sept. 13 as games were postponed on consecutive weekends after the system Helene did significant damage in places like Augusta and Laurens County. But Patterson continued to put the Braves to work staying sharp in their football skills, and it showed at Braves Stadium.
Unfortunately for the Rebels, they made things hard for themselves with an inability to field back-to-back kickoffs at the onset of play. Baldwin recovered the muffed opening kickoff on the 10-yard-line.
Due to some mistakes by the Braves on offense, Hephzibah was able to keep the home team out of the end zone, stopping Pounds’ forward progress inside the 1 on fourth down. There would still be some point production in this situation, for the Braves defense brought down quarterback JJ Gant in that same end zone.
That meant – already up 2-0 – another possession for Baldwin from a free kick, the next drive beginning just on the visiting side of the 50. Pounds executed two swing passes, one to Salahuddin from the 30-yard line. That would be the first Braves’ touchdown, and Salahuddin added a ‘swinging gate’ 2-point run for 10-0.
Brandon Dixon recovered the second fumbled kickoff by the Rebels, this one on the 14-yard line. Pounds executed another swing pass to Kielan Walker for 9 yards, then Salahuddin went to his right for his second straight touchdown. The Braves could not get the conversion play right, but halfway through the opening quarter it was getting away from the Rebels at 16-0.
Hephzibah would rack up some first downs, four in the quarter, but Baldwin’s defense came through when Ahmad Reeves and Charvez Driskell made stops setting up 3rd-and-9 on the 30. DeVarious Russell made Baldwin’s first interception of Gant, returning the pick to the 17.
From there, it was a one-play touchdown drive, Pounds going left on a keeper at 3:18. Patterson sent Josh Rhodes out for PAT kicks, and he notched his first try for 23-0.
Tavaris Josey of Hepzibah pulled off his team’s biggest gain of the half, a 42-yard run that finally got the Rebels into Baldwin ground, and deep at that up to the 11. They would not go further thanks to Dixon and Gavin Jarrett, and they missed a try at a 30-yard field goal.
On to the second quarter, where Baldwin completed a 10-play, 80-yard drive with five first downs and Salahuddin’s third touchdown, a 5-yard carry at 9:27 until the break. Rhodes was good again with the PAT making it 30-0.
The points kept on coming, first with Labrayden Burden’s wide-open interception and near 50-yard return and Kaiden Gibson’s two-yard tote on the final play of the half. Rhodes added kicks on both carrying Baldwin to a 44-0 halftime edge.
Pounds and Jaylen King connected twice on touchdown pass plays in the third quarter.
The next task for Baldwin is against Aquinas High in Augusta next Friday. The Fighting Irish upped its record to 3-2 edging out Harlem High in 4-AAA action 12-7.