Southwest dominates Central in 45-6 victory for second region win

Steve Robinson led the way for Southwest’s offense in the latest edition of a classic Macon rivalry Friday night, as the Patriots dominated the Central Chargers in a 45-6 win.

While the Chargers still lead the all-time series 30-20 after the loss, Southwest has now won five of the last six meetings between the two cross-town foes.

“It’s huge for us, but we also try to take it one game at a time and get to 1-0 every week,” Patriots head coach Joe Dupree said after the game. “It’s great, but it’s just another game for us.”

The Patriots, donning helmets with “The South” scrawled on the side, put on a show offensively. Robinson — who took over at quarterback earlier this year after starter Chase Dupree injured his hand in the offseason — finished with 237 total yards of offense and three touchdowns, while running back Christian Hill tacked on four scores on the ground in the dominant win. Robinson likely would have added more big plays if the contest had not become lopsided late.

“Steve’s just an amazing kid, a great athlete. He’s taking on the role of a quarterback and he’s doing a wonderful job,” Dupree said of his quarterback. “We’ve relied on him.”

The momentum is big for Southwest, which snagged its second win in region play after defeating then top-10 Bleckley County on the road two weeks ago before a bye week.

Robinson’s speed was tough to stop. He had some long runs nullified by penalties and evaded Chargers tacklers all night.

“That kid’s phenomenal, it’s simple,” Central head coach Jarrett Laws said of the opposing passer after the game. “Sometimes I just tell the kids, that kid just won the play 18 years ago when mom and dad met.”

The game was filled with turnovers. At one point, Central fumbled the ball away only for the Chargers’ Austin Shannon to make an incredible leaping grab for the interception on the next play. Central then fumbled it right back to the Patriots a second time, leading to a Southwest score.

Patriots tight end and defensive end Rinaldo Callaway also had a huge game. Callaway sacked Central quarterback Justin Releford three different times and reeled in a touchdown pass. If that wasn’t enough, he caught the ball for a two-point conversion after the score as well.

His effort as a pass rusher was part of a well-rounded Southwest defensive showcase.

“We did a great job containing (Releford), we put a lot of pressure on him and he couldn’t get it downfield,” Dupree said. “They have some great receivers, but the defensive line, whole defense and defensive coordinator Cameron Prather did a great job.”

The Chargers scored their points on what looked like a possible momentum swing. Just before the half wrapped up, Central drove inside Southwest territory. As the Patriots headed toward the locker room following what they thought was the final play of the half, the refs stopped the clock with a second remaining before the break.

Central took advantage of the confusion, as Releford heaved a pass about 30 yards to his best target, Joshua Pettigrew, for a slick touchdown.

“It was a huge play,” Laws said. “With our kids, we have to get them to recognize the minuscule steps. Everything is a microcosm of where we want to go… you gotta take those small victories and get them to understand how they bridge to big victories. It’s hard, but that’s how you build up a program.”

The play did not become the impetus for a comeback, however, as the Chargers squandered their possession to open the second half with an interception on the very first play — the Patriots scored and held firm control for the remainder of the game.

The traditional rivalry game has not gone Central’s way in recent seasons. As the program tried to build, the Patriots beat them 37-0 last season, 34-33 in a nailbiter in 2019, 14-6 in 2018 and 40-0 in 2017. The Chargers’ only win in the past six seasons came in 2022, when Central upset Southwest 24-6 to steal the fourth playoff spot in the region.

Laws spoke about standards after his team’s fifth loss of the year.

“As we try to rebuild this program where people want it to be, we have to think differently about wins and losses,” Laws said. “Every game can’t be a big win, we have to focus on cleaning things up, learning things and improving piece by piece… our kids are working hard.”

Southwest gets a big test against Dodge County on the road next week. The Chargers face Washington County at home.