Holy Smokes Has The Wiggle & Twist To Win Johnson Co.
The first Johnson Co. Wiggle & Twist Festival included a Georgia Barbecue Association (GBA) competition. The unique festival name pays tribute to the old Wrightsville & Tennille Railroad. The old rail route had such a winding path that it picked up the nickname “Wiggle & Twist”. The festival and contest were held at the Wrightsville American Legion Post along with the Johnson Co. Chamber of Commerce. A large crowd turned to enjoy the sights & sounds of the BBQ competition; lots of vendors & great music. Holy Smokes, Gary & Dion Lanton, from nearby Dublin won both the Pulled Pork & Rib categories to claim the Grand Championship.
Grand Champion – Holy Smokes
Tifton’s Smokin’ 42 BBQ had a 599.7 preliminary score in Loin along with a 6th place in Pulled Pork and 7th place in Ribs to win the Reserve Grand Championship.
Reserve Champion – Smokin’ 42 BBQ
1st Loin – Bubba Grills
In the Loin finals, Bubba Grills edged Rescue Smokers by just 0.4 of a point to win the category. Smokin’ 42 BBQ finished third. The competition was close throughout the field as there was a 3 way tie for 4th place between Fiddlers BBQ, CaJenn Smokin Q and H & J Cooking Team. Fiddlers BBQ won the tiebreaker to take 4th place. CaJenn then won the next tiebreaker for 5th and H & J took 6th place. Georgia Boys claimed 7th place just ahead of Johnson Boys BBQ in 8th. Ninth place went to Real South BBQ and Holy Smokes got the 10th place call.
The Pulled Pork finals was almost as close as the Loin finals. Holy Smokes won the category by only 0.8 of a point over Real South BBQ. Old Henry’s BBQ may have gotten the loudest ovation of the day with their 3rd place call. The BBQ Ninja took 4th place; Georgia Boys took 5th and Smokin’ 42 BBQ took 6th place. Southern Hogs edged Bubba Grills for 7th place by 0.3 of a point. CaJenn Smokin’ Q and H & J Cooking Team finished 9th & 10th respectively.
Holy Smokes Grand Championship winning Ribs topped the category. Fiddler’s BBQ was the runner up. Fat Daddy P’s BBQ, in the first competition, got the 3rd place call. Rescue Smokers grabbed 4th place with The BBQ Ninja in 5th. Sixth place went to H & J Cooking Team with 7th place going to Smokin’ 42 BBQ. Real South BBQ took 8th place. Johnson Boys BBQ walked in 9th place and Bubba Grills rounded out the top 10.
In the Cooking for Fun Division, Mama’s Que & Stew won the Pulled Pork category with Big Papa BBQ in 2nd & Smokin’ Snowballs in 3rd. In Cooking for Fun Ribs, Big Papa BBQ walked last. Master Basters took 2nd and Smokin’s Snowballs, again, took 3rd place.
 Cooking For Fun Pork – Mama’s Que & Stew |
 Cooking for Fun Ribs – Big Papa’s BBQ |
The GBA thanks all the coordinators and volunteers of the Johnson Co. Wiggle & Twist for their outstanding hospitality including a delicious Friday evening welcome dinner for all the teams & GBA officials. The group put on a great first year event & the GBA is looking forward to returning next year.
Full Results: (note in the GBA standings 1st, 2nd & 3rd place scores are from the finals round. All other scores are from the preliminary rounds.)
| LOIN | PULLED PORK | RIBS | ||||||||
| 1 | 595.4 | BUBBA GRILLS | 1 | 597.9 | HOLY SMOKES | 1 | 599.4 | HOLY SMOKES | ||
| 2 | 595 | RESCUE SMOKERS | 2 | 597.1 | REAL SOUTH BBQ | 2 | 594.6 | FIDDLERS BBQ | ||
| 3 | 594.2 | SMOKIN’ 42 BBQ | 3 | 587.9 | OLD HENRY’S BBQ | 3 | 589.7 | FAT DADDY P’S BBQ | ||
| 4 | 591.2 | FIDDLERS BBQ | 4 | 592.2 | THE BBQ NINJA | 4 | 594.8 | RESCUE SMOKERS | ||
| 5 | 591.2 | CAJENN SMOKING Q | 5 | 591.5 | GEORGIA BOYS | 5 | 591.9 | THE BBQ NINJA | ||
| 6 | 591.2 | H & J COOKING TEAM | 6 | 589.9 | SMOKIN’ 42 BBQ | 6 | 590.6 | H & J COOKING TEAM | ||
| 7 | 585.9 | GEORGIA BOYS | 7 | 587.5 | SOUTHEN HOGS | 7 | 588.7 | SMOKIN’ 42 BBQ | ||
| 8 | 582 | JOHNSON BOYS BBQ | 8 | 587.2 | BUBBA GRILLS | 8 | 584.5 | REAL SOUTH BBQ | ||
| 9 | 580.9 | REAL SOUTH BBQ | 9 | 586.6 | CAJENN SMOKING Q | 9 | 582.3 | JOHNSON BOYS BBQ | ||
| 10 | 579 | HOLY SMOKES | 10 | 585 | H & J COOKING TEAM | 10 | 581.2 | BUBBA GRILLS | ||
| 11 | 576.6 | OLD HENRY’S BBQ | 11 | 582.6 | RESCUE SMOKERS | 11 | 580.4 | OLD HENRY’S BBQ | ||
| 12 | 571.5 | SOUTHEN HOGS | 12 | 581.7 | FAT DADDY P’S BBQ | 12 | 578.7 | SOUTHEN HOGS | ||
| 13 | 570.5 | THE BBQ NINJA | 13 | 576.8 | FIDDLERS BBQ | 13 | 573.8 | CAJENN SMOKING Q | ||
| 14 | 562.7 | FAT DADDY P’S BBQ | 14 | 567.2 | JOHNSON BOYS BBQ | 14 | 558.8 | GEORGIA BOYS |
| Loin | Pulled | Ribs | Total | |||
| 1 | SMOKIN’ 42 BBQ | 599.7 | 589.9 | 588.7 | 1778.3 | |
| 2 | HOLY SMOKES | 579.0 | 598.8 | 598.8 | 1776.6 | |
| 3 | RESCUE SMOKERS | 599.1 | 582.6 | 594.8 | 1776.5 | |
| 4 | H & J COOKING TEAM | 591.2 | 585.0 | 590.6 | 1766.8 | |
| 5 | BUBBA GRILLS | 595.8 | 587.2 | 581.2 | 1764.2 | |
| 6 | FIDDLERS BBQ | 591.2 | 576.8 | 595.8 | 1763.8 | |
| 7 | REAL SOUTH BBQ | 580.9 | 595.2 | 584.5 | 1760.6 | |
| 8 | OLD HENRY’S BBQ | 576.6 | 598.8 | 580.4 | 1755.8 | |
| 9 | THE BBQ NINJA | 570.5 | 592.2 | 591.9 | 1754.6 | |
| 10 | CAJENN SMOKING Q | 591.2 | 586.6 | 573.8 | 1751.6 | |
| 11 | FAT DADDY P’S BBQ | 562.7 | 581.7 | 595.7 | 1740.1 | |
| 12 | SOUTHEN HOGS | 571.5 | 587.5 | 578.7 | 1737.7 | |
| 13 | GEORGIA BOYS | 585.9 | 591.5 | 558.8 | 1736.2 | |
| 14 | JOHNSON BOYS BBQ | 582.0 | 567.2 | 582.3 | 1731.5 |
Cooking For Fun:
| PULLED PORK | RIBS | |||||
| 1 | 591.5 | MAMA’S QUE & STEW | 1 | 589.8 | BIG PAPA BBQ | |
| 2 | 589.8 | BIG PAPA BBQ | 2 | 584.2 | MASTER BASTERS | |
| 3 | 587.5 | SMOKING SNOWBALLS | 3 | 579.4 | SMOKING SNOWBALLS | |
| 4 | 575.7 | MASTER BASTERS | 4 | 576 | SPANK YO BUTT BBQ | |
| 5 | 0 | SPANK YO BUTT BBQ | 5 | 573 | MAMA’S QUE & STEW |