Collins Hill stays perfect, nips North Forsyth

By Michael Carvell

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Collins Hill, which defeated North Forsyth 14-10 on Friday, might be the best football team you’ve never heard about this year.

Enlarge photo

Josh D. Weiss, Special Collins Hill's Charles Perkins (left) stiff arms North Forsyth's Riley Quinton during the first half of Friday night's game.

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The Eagles have a 5-0 record in the state’s largest division, and are tied for first in one of the toughest regions, 7-AAAAA. Yet they are unranked because they play in the shadows of fellow Gwinnett County powerhouses Grayson, North Gwinnett and Peachtree Ridge.

“We don’t look at being unranked as a slap in the face to our kids and our program,” Collins Hill coach Billy Wells said. “We’re a little bit under the radar, but we don’t mind it at all. We feel like we can line up and compete with any team on Friday nights.”

The Eagles are carried by Charles Perkins, one of the nation’s top tailbacks. Perkins, who committed to Georgia Tech, had 33 carries for 204 yards and two touchdowns against North Forsyth.

Perkins was especially valuable after the game-ending injury to quarterback Taylor Heinicke. He tried to run for a first down in the closing minutes of the opening half and was smacked from behind in the shoulder, fumbling the ball.

Trey Marksberry finished the game at quarterback and had only one attempt as Collins Hill depended heavily on Perkins.

“Charles has [1,003 yards rushing in five games], which is incredible with the competition we play,” Wells said. “If he’s not the best running back in the state, then he’s around the top.”

North Forsyth (3-2) was led by quarterback Joey Vicary, who had 24 carries for 121 yards and one touchdown. However, Vicary also lost three fumbles.

The Raiders had a pair of chances to win in the closing minutes, but both drives stalled deep in Collins Hill territory. The Eagles didn’t relax until Chris Caspari drilled a 59-yard punt to the North Forsyth 3-yard line with 3 seconds left.

“We know a lot of people look at us as underdogs, and that’s fine with us,” Perkins said. “We’re not ranked, but we use it as motivation. Somehow we’ve found a way to beat teams that are supposed to be better than us.”