Hephzibah Holds Off Westside 34-24 in Augusta Region Play

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Hephzibah High School built a big early cushion against Augusta’s Westside and then survived a late Patriots rally for a 34-24 region win on Friday night, keeping the Rebels unbeaten in league play in a matchup between two Richmond County programs.

Hephzibah sits about 10 miles south of downtown Augusta, inside the consolidated Augusta-Richmond County government, and Westside High School fields the Patriots. The two schools met in a AAA region game that turned into a tale of two halves.

The Rebels scored first on a short 4-yard run with 40 seconds left in the opening quarter and went to the locker room up 14-0 after a 60-yard catch-and-run off a swing pass. Their defense kept the Patriots off the board for the entire first half.

Hephzibah pushed the margin to 28-0 late in the third quarter on two more rushing scores, one of them by the quarterback. Westside finally answered with a 34-yard touchdown pass, but the Rebels went right back to the end zone on the very next snap with a long run from midfield.

The Patriots made it interesting in the fourth quarter, outscoring Hephzibah 24-7, but the hole was too deep. One Rebels senior running back accounted for all four of his team’s non-quarterback touchdowns and now leads the club in both scoring and rushing, averaging 98 yards a game.

The win lifts Hephzibah to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the region, the program’s first 4-0 region start since the 2018-19 season. The Patriots slip to 3-4 on the year, with a 1-2 mark against region foes.

Next Friday, Oct. 23, brings a home date with Cross Creek for the Rebels, and a road trip to Thomson for the Patriots.

Filed under: Augusta GA Sports News