The 2021 high school football season is fully underway as both of Georgia’s major associations — the GHSA and the GISA — have at least one full week under their belts now. Here’s how a few teams outside of Baldwin County have fared so far.

Gatewood 10, Edmund Burke 0

The three-time defending GISA AA champion Gators won on their home field Friday by shutting out visiting Edmund Burke Academy. It was Gatewood’s 10th straight victory dating back to last season, and the program’s second shutout in its last four games.

Special teams wound up being the difference on the scoreboard as the Gators got a first quarter field goal from new kicker Blake Callaway and later a punt returned for a touchdown from returning All-State player Landon Wilson. The defense also obviously had a strong showing as it kept EBA off the scoreboard all night. 

The Eatonton private school Gatewood is replacing its entire offensive backfield, but does have both its offensive and defensive lines returning from last year’s 12-1 team. The offense will see if it can find that chemistry that allowed the program to put up 30 points per game a season ago. The Gators’ next test comes at Trinity Christian this Friday. The Crusaders of Dublin are 1-1 this season having defeated Edmund Burke and lost to Westfield. 

Putnam Co. 37, Morgan Co. 0

For the first time since the 2010 and 2011 seasons, Putnam County has back-to-back victories against its 441 neighbor Morgan County. The War Eagles of Putnam were dominant in their season opener against the larger school who still leads the all-time series 31-18-1. 

Putnam senior quarterback Gerald Kilgore was more dangerous with his legs than his arm as he totaled 121 yards on eight carries according to stats on MaxPreps. Defensively, Unique Reid and Detravius Smith had a sack apiece while Jalon Kilgore finished with a team-high seven tackles. 

The War Eagles this Friday are set to face off against another neighboring county school, Jasper County, who dropped its Aug. 20 opener to Mount de Sales 17-7. The Putnam-Jasper game is slated to be played in Eatonton.

Wilkinson Co. 38, Twiggs Co. 0

The Wilkinson County Warriors whooped up on the Twiggs County Cobras in Irwinton Friday. It marked the first time Wilco won its season opener since 2011 when the team finished 9-3. The Warriors are coming off a 2-7 campaign that saw them finish fourth in Region 7-A Public. Twiggs, meanwhile, is coming off not having played at all last season due to the pandemic. The Cobras are 0-2 in their return thus far.

Wilco will try to advance to 2-0 this week when it travels to Wrightsville to face 1-0 Johnson County.

Briarwood 41, John Hancock 7

The Rebels’ return to the GISA this season has been a struggle due in large part to low roster numbers. The Sparta private school has dropped its two opening games by a combined score of 73-13 to Thomas Jefferson then Briarwood. JHA this week will be back on its home field to take on the Piedmont Academy Cougars of Monticello.