Friday Night Five: Lee County’s Jaden Upshaw is Player of the Week

Editor’s note: Several local schools had a bye Friday night and several others did not report or post stats so finding five in each category was challenging.

For most players, 12 catches and two touchdown receptions would be enough for a pretty good Friday night.

Jaden Upshaw wasn’t finished.

With Lee County trailing Sequoyah in the final minutes Friday night in Canton, the Texas A&M commit fielded a punt and raced 55 yards for the touchdown that gave the Trojans the lead in an improbable 43-32 comeback victory.

That was the exclamation point on a huge night for Upshaw and makes the Lee County senior the Albany Herald Friday Night Five Player of the Week.

Upshaw caught 12 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns and added a two-point conversion before delivering the biggest play of the night on special teams.

Lee County trailed 32-21 with three minutes remaining before scoring a touchdown to pull within four. After the Trojan defense forced a punt, Upshaw took care of the rest, racing 55 yards for the go-ahead score.

Montravious Clay followed with a pick-six to complete the stunning comeback and keep No. 2 Lee County unbeaten at 3-0.

Upshaw’s performance highlighted a week in which several Southwest Georgia teams had byes and statistics were unavailable from several others. That left this week’s Friday Night Five a little short of five in a couple of categories, but there was no shortage of big performances.

Passing

1. Micah Joyner, Dougherty — 18-of-24, 333 yards, 5 TDs

The sophomore put together a remarkable night in Dougherty’s 42-19 victory over Spencer. Joyner completed 75 percent of his passes and threw five touchdowns to three different receivers as the Trojans improved to 2-0.

2. Cohen Lawson, Lee County — 24-of-36, 277 yards, 2 TDs

Lawson threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns in Lee County’s comeback victory over Sequoyah, with Upshaw serving as his favorite target.

3. Lyndon Worthy, Worth County — 13-of-19, 161 yards, 4 TDs

Worthy made his completions count. The Worth County quarterback threw four touchdown passes as the defending Class 3A state champion Rams rolled past Early County 31-0.

4. Khi Mitchell, Colquitt County — 11-of-15, 132 yards, 2 TDs

Mitchell completed better than 73 percent of his passes and threw two touchdowns as Colquitt County cruised past Cook 38-6.

5. Jordan Joyner, Westover — 4-of-6, 65 yards

With regular starter Gabriel Hopper not playing, Joyner stepped in at quarterback as the Patriots remained unbeaten with a 49-8 rout of Columbus.

Rushing

1. Braylen Hundley, Baconton Charter — 30 carries, 189 yards

Hundley was the area’s workhorse, carrying 30 times for 189 yards as Baconton Charter blanked Brookwood 27-0.

2. Malik Young, Westover — 17 carries, 139 yards, 4 TDs

Young turned 17 carries into four touchdowns in Westover’s rout of Columbus. He averaged more than 8 yards per carry as the Patriots improved to 3-0.

3. Jordan Bush, Lee County — 11 carries, 50 yards

Bush led Lee County’s ground attack during the Trojans’ 43-32 victory over Sequoyah.

4. Kody Crutchfield, Worth County — 8 carries, 36 yards

Crutchfield contributed on the ground as Worth County remained unbeaten with a 31-0 victory over Early County.

Receiving

1. Jaden Upshaw, Lee County — 12 catches, 143 yards, 2 TDs

Upshaw’s receiving numbers alone would put him atop this week’s list. Add a two-point conversion and the 55-yard punt-return touchdown that gave Lee County the lead in the closing minutes, and it became a Player of the Week performance.

2. Detavious Poole, Dougherty — 6 catches, 101 yards

Poole topped the century mark and caught one of Micah Joyner’s five touchdown passes in Dougherty’s victory over Spencer.

3. Jherel Gibson, Dougherty — 3 catches, 88 yards

Gibson averaged more than 29 yards per reception, giving Joyner another explosive option in a Dougherty passing attack that produced 333 yards.

4. Carter Blackwell, Lee County — 5 catches, 73 yards

The Clemson commit complemented Upshaw with five receptions for 73 yards as Lee County’s passing game helped the Trojans erase an 11-point deficit.

Player of the Week: Jaden Upshaw, Lee County

There were plenty of worthy candidates.

Joyner threw five touchdown passes. Young ran for four. Hundley rushed for 189 yards.

But Upshaw did a little bit of everything — and when Lee County desperately needed somebody to make a play, he made the biggest one of the night.

Twelve catches. Two receiving touchdowns. A two-point conversion.

And one unforgettable 55-yard trip to the end zone.

That’s a Friday night worthy of Player of the Week.