Roundup: Sprayberry tops Hillgrove in OT

By Staff

For the AJC

Sprayberry 13, Hillgrove 7 (OT): A 15-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jerick McKinnon to Devin Suttler on the first play of overtime lifted Sprayberry (5-2) to a 13-7 overtime victory against previously undefeated Hillgrove.

Sprayberry’s defense sealed the win by surrendering no yards to Hillgrove (6-1) on the ensuing four plays in the overtime period.

McKinnon’s first touchdown pass of the game, a 54-yarder to junior D.J. Funderburg, gave Sprayberry an early second-quarter lead but Hillgrove answered immediately with a 76-yard scoring drive, capped off by junior Jabari Hunt-Days’ 1-yard touchdown run.

After that, two of the region’s top defensive units dominated the remainder of regulation as neither team could manage more than 94 yards of total offense in the second half.

-- ADAM LAZARUS

Centennial 31, Walton 28: The Knights rallied from a 28-7 deficit, shredding the unbeaten Raiders’ defense with 460 yards rushing and surviving seven turnovers.

Brendan Moore’s 19-yard field goal with 12 seconds left capped the Centennial comeback, which was keyed by quarterback Scott Laffler, who tied the game with a 75-yard scoring run midway through the fourth quarter and broke loose for 37 yards to the Walton 2 to set up Moore’s game-winning kick.

Centennial (3-3 in Region 6-AAAAA) got 186 yards rushing from Laffler and 152 yards and two touchdowns from tailback Zietrick Smith, as the Walton defense had no answer for the Knights’ triple-option attack.

-- MIKE BLUM

South Gwinnett 14, Parkview 10: South Gwinnett won its chilly homecoming with a touchdown in each half to improve to 6-1. Parkview kept it close but fumbled on the South 35-yard line with 2:37 remaining.

On the third play of the game, South fumbled, giving the ball to the Panthers. A drive of seven plays and 56 yards was capped by freshman Anthony Covington going 20 yards for Parkview’s only touchdown. The Panthers fumbled a punt attempt and South got the ball on the 6-yard line. Chad Ross ran it in for Comets first touchdown, but the extra point was blocked.

In the third quarter, South’s Andre Pierce took a pass 62 yards to the 20. Aaron Wimberly took it in for the Comets second touchdown with a 20-yard run. Wimberly (15 carries for 60 yards) also ran in the two-point conversion.

-- ERIC BRUCE 

Wesleyan 28, Commerce 3: Wesleyan took advantage of three Commerce fourth-down fumbles in the second half to extend its winning streak to 20 games.

Trailing 3-0 in the third quarter, the Wolves (8-0, 4-0 in Region 8-A) took over on the Commerce 25-yard line after the Tigers (3-4, 2-1) fumbled on a punt attempt.

Harrison Cheeley then caught a 10-yard pass from Connor Welton with 5:22 left in the third for a 7-3 lead. Wesleyan forced another punt on the next drive, resulting in another Tigers’ fumble on fourth down. The Wolves recovered on the Tigers’ 26. Welton again found the end zone, this time to Devin Stanton.

Commerce put the ball on the turf late in the fourth quarter, leading to the fourth Wesleyan second-half touchdown.

Kyle Karempelis, who had 92 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries for Wesleyan, converted the fumble into a 1-yard TD run with 43.8 seconds remaining.

-- BRYAN FAZIO

Dacula 20, Shiloh 0: Dacula scored on its first possession and got long scoring runs from Aashad Holloway and Darien Lane in a shutout win over Shiloh.

Rocky Capobianco put the Falcons on the board with a 1-yard dive with 3:23 left in the first, then Holloway scored on a 70-yard run just before halftime. Lane broke loose for a 55-yard TD run with 6:11 left in the game.

-- STEVE SHELNUTT

Mt. Zion 24, Dutchtown 0: In a battle of Bulldogs, Mt. Zion-Jonesboro (6-2, 4-2) put a damper on Dutchtown’s (5-2, 3-2) homecoming festivities and won a key Region 4-AAAA game.

Josh King put the visiting team on the scoreboard with a 15-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter, then added a 9-yard scoring run in the second.

Quarterrio Morgan broke loose for a 61-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter, and Jarrell King closed out the scoring with a 4-yard burst late in the third.

Dutchtown’s offense was colder than the evening temperature, getting inside the Mt. Zion 30-yard line only twice.

-- MONROE ROARK

Westminster 21, Decatur 0: A stifling defense and a second-half offensive surge lifted Westminster past Decatur in a key Region 6-AA game. Special teams came up big in the first half for Westminster (5-2, 4-0), which scored the game’s first points on a safety after Yates Webb blocked a Decatur punt through the end zone at the 5:44 mark of the second quarter. Jeff Oser connected on a 27-yard field goal with 2:27 remaining in the first half for a 5-0 lead at halftime.

Ralph David Abernathy IV and Malcolm Chester scored second-half touchdowns for Westminster.

-- MICHAEL PADEN

Buford 41, Thomson 7: Jessel Curry ran for 102 yards and two touchdowns and Alexander Ross passed for two scores as Buford cruised at home.

After an Eric Barr 24-yard touchdown run, Curry sprinted 47 yards for his first touchdown and a 14-0 Buford lead in the first quarter. Ross later connected with Kurt Freitag on a 24-yard touchdown pass for a 21-0 lead at half. 

On the first play of the second half, Curry raced untouched 53 yards for his second touchdown, and Ross passed 1-yard to Sherman Page on the next possession to extend the lead to 35-0.

-- DAVID BROCK

St. Pius 40, Washington 14: The No. 3 Golden Lions rushed 56 times for 351 yards to remain undefeated in Region 5-AAA.

Cole Moon ran 25 times for 165 yards and two touchdowns and George Kennedy added two touchdowns on 11 carries and 110 yards to pace host St. Pius (7-0) on the ground.

Washington quarterback Ronald Humpheries threw for 140 yards and a touchdown but the Bulldogs (4-4) fumbled their first possession in each half and the Lions converted both turnovers into touchdowns to keep Washington at bay.

-- DAVE PAUL

Avondale 38, GAC 21: Avondale defeated visiting Greater Atlanta Christian behind two second-half touchdowns and 225 total yards from running back Max Thompson, and first-half rushing and passing touchdowns from quarterback Jonquil Dawson. Thompson rushed for 185 in the second half, while Dawson threw for 133 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in the first.

-- BAILEY WEBB