Friday Night Five: Dougherty’s Micah Joyner is Player of the Week

Micah Joyner helped bring Dougherty back. Christian Hernandez finished the job.

Together, they delivered a victory that earned the Trojans attention well beyond Hugh Mills Stadium.

Joyner accounted for 429 yards of offense Friday night as Dougherty erased a 16-point deficit to beat No. 4 Cairo 26-23, earning the quarterback Albany Herald Friday Night Five Player of the Week honors.

Joyner completed 19 of 27 passes for 284 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 145 yards on 13 carries. His production helped Dougherty pile up 543 total yards, take control of the Region 1-AAAA race and improve to 6-1 overall and 5-0 in region play.

The performance also helped bring statewide recognition to the program. Georgia High School Football Daily notified the Herald that Dougherty will be featured as its Team of the Week.

The Trojans trailed 16-0 at halftime before Joyner and the offense found their footing. David Burgess caught both touchdown passes, including a contested grab against two defenders that put Dougherty ahead in the fourth quarter.

After Cairo tied the game at 23, Joyner helped move the Trojans into position for Hernandez’s winning 39-yard field goal with four seconds remaining.

Burgess finished with seven receptions for 103 yards, giving Joyner a dependable target throughout the comeback.

“Everybody said we were going to lose 29-0,” Burgess said afterward. “Go look at that scoreboard.”

Joyner’s performance headlined a week that also included 340 rushing yards and five touchdowns from Terrell Academy’s Bryse Peachey, 367 passing yards from Worth County’s Lyndon Worthy and 233 rushing yards from Monroe’s Justin Grice.

Here are this week’s Friday Night Five leaders, ranked by yardage among the statistics reported to the Herald.

PASSING

1. Lyndon Worthy, Worth County — Completed 19 of 27 passes for 367 yards and four touchdowns in a 49-19 victory over Crisp County.
2. Micah Joyner, Dougherty — Completed 19 of 27 passes for 284 yards and two touchdowns in a 26-23 victory over Cairo.
3. Cohen Lawson, Lee County — Completed 11 of 14 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns while playing only the first half of a 37-0 victory over Northside.
4. Gabriel Hopper, Westover — Completed 13 of 20 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns in a 56-0 victory over Hardaway.
5. Jordan Shorter, Monroe— Complete 7 of 11 passes for 132 yardsPa and a touchdown in a 44-10 victory over Columbus.

RUSHING

1. Bryse Peachey, Terrell Academy — Carried 25 times for 340 yards and five touchdowns against Calhoun County.
2. Justin Grice, Monroe — Carried 21 times for 233 yards in Thursday’s 44-10 victory over Columbus, including a 75-yard touchdown run.
3. Braylen Hundley, Baconton Charter — Carried 20 times for 163 yards and two touchdowns in a 29-9 victory over Jordan.
4. Micah Joyner, Dougherty — Rushed for 145 yards on 13 carries against Cairo.
5. Walt Lee, Terrell Academy — Carried 14 times for 110 yards and a touchdown against Calhoun County.

RECEIVING

1. Keaton Tucker, Worth County — Caught five passes for 132 yards and a touchdown against Crisp County.
2. Tray Matthews, Worth County — Caught four passes for 109 yards and a touchdown against Crisp County.
3. David Burgess, Dougherty — Caught seven passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns against Cairo.
4. Kholin Brownlee, Monroe — Caught four passes for102 yards against Columbus.
5. Jaden Upshaw, Lee County — Caught six passes for 89 yards and a touchdown against Northside.

MORE FRIDAY NIGHT STANDOUTS

Calhoun County’s Quintin Edwards rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries against Terrell Academy, finishing just outside this week’s rushing five.

Westover’s Jaden Thomas turned both of his receptions into touchdowns, totaling 50 yards, and also recovered a fumble. Teammate Legend Brown scored twice on just four carries, gaining 54 yards.

Worth County’s Kody Crutchfield rushed for 91 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries, while Noah Marlin and Mike Wise led the Rams’ defense with 10 tackles apiece.

Lee County’s special teams supplied two touchdowns: Destin Bell returned the opening kickoff 80 yards, and Johnny Burroughs III returned a punt blocked by Champ Brown 15 yards for a score.

And in the week’s biggest finish, Christian Hernandez delivered the kick that turned Dougherty’s comeback into a celebration.