Greater Atlanta scores: North Clayton nips Griffin

With first place in region 4-AAAA on the line, North Clayton rose to the occasion Friday night with a dramatic 23-20 victory over Griffin (3-3, 2-2).

The win moved the Eagles to 6-1 overall and undefeated in region play.

“This was a great win for us,” head coach Rodney Hackney said. “This team has great confidence and it really stood out [Friday].”

After the Eagles gave up an early touchdown on special teams, Griffin tried to capitalize off the momentum and attempt an onside kick. But the North Clayton front line didn’t bite.

Working with a short field, the Eagles only needed six plays before Clarence Jackson dove in from 2 yards out to tie the game at seven.

“When they scored on that fake punt, we felt like we had to respond,” Hackney said.

With the game still knotted at seven midway through the third quarter, North Clayton turned to its defense to provide a spark. Knowing his team was in need of a big play, sophomore Amarlo Huerra picked up the Griffin fumble and sprinted 70 yards untouched for the go ahead touchdown.

But North Clayton was unable to hold the lead. After not flinching on defense all night, the Eagles gave up a touchdown pass with 2:03 left in the fourth quarter.

“When they scored that touchdown it was looking bleak,” Hackney said. “We’re not a passing team, so for us to take it 80 yards in not a lot of time is unheard of.”

Trailing 20-16 with less than two minutes to play, North Clayton didn’t panic. Riding the arm of Milton Artis, the Eagles managed to find holes in the Griffin secondary, and with 25 seconds left in regulation Artis found Jackson on a screen pass for the game-winning score.

— Doug Stutsman

• Woodward Academy 56, Jackson-Atlanta 6: Delino DeShields rushed for 85 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries as the War Eagles remained perfect in Region 4-AAA.

Woodward (4-2, 4-0) broke the game open early, scoring two touchdowns in less than a minute to take a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. DeShields scored on a 3-yard run with one minute remaining in the quarter, and Davis Elliott returned an interception 34 yards for another score with 2.8 seconds to play in the quarter. Juwan Thompson had given Woodward a 7-0 lead with a 10-yard run four minutes into the game.

DeShields also scored in the third quarter, going 19 yards to put the War Eagles ahead 42-0.

Woodward also got touchdown runs from Greg Patton (15 yards) and Richard Bullock (4 yards). Damon Waller and Justin Watkins had touchdown receptions.

Miron McClain scored the only touchdown for Jackson (1-5, 0-4) on a 79-yard reception in the fourth quarter.

— Chip Saye

• Carver-Atlanta 48, Riverwood 0: Demond Dennis had touchdown runs of 76 and 47 yards and finished with five carries for 189 yards for Carver (2-3, 1-2 Region 5-AAA Division B) in the rout of Riverwood (1-5, 0-3). Darren Myles ran for one touchdown and caught passes for two more, and Ricky Wells added a 43-yard touchdown run. Kevin Myles Jr. returned an interception 40 yards for another score.

• Eagle’s Landing Christian 34, Mt. Pisgah 14: Van Jakes scored on runs of 31, 22 and 6 yards and Taylor Barron threw a pair of scoring passes for Eagle’s Landing Christian (5-1, 4-0 Region 5-A). For Mt. Pisgah (2-4, 0-4), Fedale Hall carried 10 times for 128 yards, including a 56-yard touchdown run. Kyle Sloter scored Mt. Pisgah’s other touchdown on a 14-yard run.

• East Coweta 27, Lovejoy 0: Maderrius Robinson carried 15 times for 96 yards and scored on runs of 14 and 5 yards for East Coweta (5-1, 5-0 Region 4-AAAAA) in the win over Lovejoy (2-4, 2-3). Austin Ingram completed 9 of 17 passes for 141 yards as the Indians rolled up 339 yards of total offense. Ingram connected on touchdown passes to Jeric Woodall and Zack Fore.

• Northgate 31, Fayette County 13: Isiah Riddle carried 11 times for 98 yards and Jake Copeland added 76 yards on six attempts for Northgate (4-2, 2-0 Region 5-AAAA Division A). Riddle, Copeland, Cody Gatewood and Malcolm Poindexter all scored touchdowns. Fayette fell to 1-5, 1-1.

• Grady 46, Therrell 10: The Grey Knights (5-1, 2-1 in Region 5-AAA Division B) gave winless Therrell its seventh loss and kept pace with division leaders St. Pius and Washington. Grady piled up 320 yards of offense and led 39-0 midway through the third quarter, as quarterback Damian Swann completed 7 of 11 passes for 103 yards, including a touchdown to Jordan Francais. Swann also ran for 50 yards and two scores. Michael Johnson rushed for 30 yards and a fourth-quarter score for Therrell, as the Panthers managed only 9 yards passing.

• Henry County 16, Greene County 15: Drew Little scored on a 1-yard run and Quan Jones a 6-yarder for Henry County (5-1, 3-0 Region 4-AA), which led 16-9 before Greene (3-3, 2-1) scored in the final two minutes but missed the extra point. Chris Planchon kicked a 32-yard field goal for Henry.

• Hiram 7, South Paulding 3: Trey Wesley scored on a 60-yard run early in the fourth quarter for Hiram (4-2, 2-0 Region 7-AAAA Division B), which trailed 3-0 entering the fourth. South Paulding fell to 2-4, 0-2.

• Newnan 44, Riverdale 9: Newnan (6-0, 5-0 Region 4-AAAAA) had three different runners surpass 100 rushing yards in the win over Riverdale (3-3, 3-2). Keandreas Wynn carried 12 times for 181 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Russell Powell carried four times for 103 yards and a touchdown, and receiver Allen Bonner added 101 yards on five carries. Powell completed 6 of 14 passes for 115 yards and another score, while Bonner caught four passes for 73 yards.

• Tri-Cities 22, Lithia Springs 6: Duran Jones scored on an 85-yard kickoff return and Tri-Cities (2-4, 1-2 Region 5-AAAA Division B) held Lithia Springs (2-5, 1-3) to 150 total yards. Muhammed Saleem scored on runs of 4 and 56 yards for Tri-Cities.

• Union Grove 22, Douglass 0: Donovan Johnson carried 33 times for 122 yards and a touchdown for Union Grove (6-0, 3-0 Region 2-AAAAA). Kevin Roberts kicked field goals of 50 and 37 yards and Danny White returned an interception 80 yards for another touchdown.

— Compiled by Jay Stone