Grady runs all over Towers

By JEFF HAWS

For the AJC

When Grady needed a play, the Grey Knights knew where to turn.

Marcus Caffey had 97 of his game-high 164 rushing yards, along with the fourth-quarter touchdown, to put the game away, as Grady beat Towers 34-12 at Panthersville Stadium on Friday.

Towers had the ball with 10:55 left, 89 yards away from a potential game-tying touchdown and 2-point conversion, but Malcom Hamilton’s fumble gave the ball back to Grady.

The Knights (3-0) quickly took advantage, first giving the ball to Caffey for 4 yards, then again for 15 yards and the score that gave Grady a 15-point lead.

For Grady coach Ronnie Millen, it was good to see his workhorse return to running the way he knows he can.

“Caffey was our go-to guy this year,” Millen said. “He’s finally gotten on track; he’s been sick and coming off injuries. He definitely is our main running back.”

He wasn’t the only one on this night, though, for a Grady running attack that amassed 287 yards. Darius Hawkins added 63 yards and a score to highlight Caffey’s supporting cast.

Towers’ running game never got on track.

The Titans finished with 2 rushing yards and were in the negative for the majority of the game.

They made up for it through the air.

Towers quarterback Miles Gooch was 28-for-53 for 354 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions, both in the first half.

More than 200 of those yards came in the second half, as the Titans (1-1) tried to rally from a deficit they had from the opening kickoff, which Grady’s Diamonte Kendricks ran back 90 yards for a touchdown.

The Titans had two receivers go for more than 100 yards — Justin Shakleford (with 141 and Hamilton with 101 — and nearly had a third, as Demeterius Jones had 97.

Millen said the yards through the air didn’t surprise him; it was the ground he was most concerned about.

“We knew they were going to throw it, and we had to shut down the run,” Millen said. “When you put a team in a position where they have to throw it, it’s a little bit easier to defend.”