Newton junior A.J. Palomino doesn’t show up on many recruiting radars, but he was able to put together a nice highlight tape after making a team-leading 11 tackles in Friday’s game against Lowndes.
Newton held Lowndes to 208 yards of offense in the 15-14 upset victory, and Palomino was a big reason why.
Here are some of Georgia’s top performers from last week:
The state’s top five
Baldwin RB Kentavious Thomas rushed for 252 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries in a 35-21 victory against Peach County.
Dutchtown RB Brandon Robertson rushed for 301 yards on 23 carries and scored five touchdowns (both school records) in a 53-33 victory against Henry County.
Landmark Christian RB Stockton McGuire rushed for 178 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, threw a 16-yard TD pass and kicked a 36-yard field goal in a 37-18 victory against Wilkinson County.
Newton MLB A.J. Palomino had 11 tackles — four for losses totaling 13 yards — in a 15-14 victory against Lowndes.
Vidalia SS/TB Tra Hardy rushed for 185 yards on 15 carries, intercepted two passes, recovered a fumble and had 89 yards in turnover returns in a 35-7 victory against McIntosh County Academy.
Best of metro Atlanta
Allatoona RB Josh Bettistea rushed for 189 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries in a 39-0 victory against Paulding County. Bettistea has 336 rushing yards on 24 carries in Allatoona’s 2-0 start.
Buford RB Joshua Thomas rushed for 139 yards on 13 carries, and his 77-yard TD run in the second quarter broke the game open in a 38-14 victory over Gainesville.
Campbell DB/RB Mike Rogers rushed for 219 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries, made six solo tackles and intercepted a pass in a 37-19 victory against Osborne.
Dunwoody RB/DB/QB Aaron Alexander rushed for 157 yards and a touchdown, caught three passes for 79 yards and a touchdown and made five tackles in a 30-12 loss to Lakeside-Atlanta.
Etowah RB Brandon Engle rushed for 277 yards — 203 in the third quarter — on eight carries in a 44-17 victory against Centennial. He had two touchdowns, on runs of 87 and 80 yards.
Forest Park RB Dejuann Simms rushed for 209 yards on 32 carries and scored 20 points in a 36-28 victory over Morrow that ended an 11-game losing streak.
Hughes RB Keion Davis scored all five of his team’s touchdowns in a 35-0 victory over Luella. Three were runs, one a reception and the other a 95-yard kickoff return to open the game. He rushed for 130 yards on 17 carries.
Lakeside-Atlanta RB Kellyen Walker rushed for 244 yards and two touchdowns in a 30-12 victory against Dunwoody.
Locust Grove LB Garrett Wallace had 20 solo tackles, and one for a loss, and eight assists in a 7-3 victory against Ola. Wallace has 34 tackles in two games.
Milton RB Treyvon Paulk scored four touchdowns and rushed for 102 yards on 15 carries In a 56-13 victory over Johns Creek. Paulk has 330 yards rushing and seven touchdowns in Milton’s 2-0 start. LB Charlie Fault had three tackles for losses in the Johns Creek game.
M.L. King QB Roland Rivers threw five TD passes on 13-of-16 passing for 195 yards in a 48-10 victory over Southwest DeKalb.
Riverwood QB Grant Drakeford rushed for 117 yards and was 6-for-11 passing for 138 yards and a touchdown in a 35-21 victory against Holy Innocents’. Izaiah Prouse-Lackey had 15 tackles, two for losses.
Shiloh QB Wil Larimore threw six TD passes in a 56-0 victory over Redan. Larimore was 19-of-24 for 291 yards and no interceptions. WR Cameron Stewart had six receptions for 160 yards and three touchdowns.
St. Pius DB/RB Nick Ruffin had nine of his team’s 40 tackles, with a sack, and rushed for 72 yards on three carries in a 28-23 victory against North Oconee.
Stephenson DE Chauncey Rivers had four sacks and another tackle for a loss in a 56-14 victory against Arabia Mountain.
Union Grove QB Jonathan Slade was 10-of-13 passing for 267 yards and two touchdowns in a 28-14 victory against Woodland-Stockbridge.
Walker RB/LB Gaines LaHue rushed for 117 yards on 11 carries and scored on runs of 36 and 50 yards and made three tackles on defense in a 42-7 victory over North Cobb Christian.
Westminster DE Ross Johnston had nine tackles, three for losses totaling 18 yards, in a 24-6 victory against Laney.
Wheeler QB Elijah Staley passed for 277 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 86 yards and two scores in less than three quarters of a 59-20 victory over Pope.
You're Almost Done!
Select a display name and password
{* #socialRegistrationForm *} {* socialRegistration_displayName *} {* socialRegistration_emailAddress *} {* traditionalRegistration_password *} {* traditionalRegistration_passwordConfirm *}Tell us about yourself
{* registration_firstName *} {* registration_lastName *} {* registration_postalZip *} {* registration_birthday *} {* registration_gender *} {* agreeToTerms *}