Russell Halimon rushed for 219 yards on 38 carries and gave fourth-ranked Allatoona all the points it needed with two first-quarter touchdowns, leading the Buccaneers to a 35-7 victory Friday over Carver-Atlanta in the first round of the Class AAAAA football playoffs.
Region 5 champion Allatoona (11-0) advances to the second round and will host second-ranked Coffee (10-1), which advanced with a victory over Mundy’s Mill.
Although Alllatoona led only 14-0 entering the fourth quarter, the Buccaneers were never in jeopardy after Halimon’s second touchdown, a 5-yard run with 17 seconds to play in the first quarter.
That’s because Carver (8-3), the No. 4 seed from Region 6-AAAAA, was never able to generate much offense. The Panthers finished with 170 yards rushing and 185 total yards. Quentin Gates got 53 of those on a fourth-quarter touchdown run after Allatoona led 28-0. Gates had 109 yards rushing on 13 carries. Carver was 2-for-9 passing for 15 yards, 11 of which came on a fake punt late in the second quarter.
Carver drove to Allatoona’s 3-yard line on its first possession, but Gates was stopped for no gain on a fourth-and-1 play. Allatoona took over on downs on drove 97 yards for Halimon’s second touchdown and a 14-0 lead. The Panthers turned the ball over on downs on two other first-half possessions – at the Allatoona 35 and right at midfield – but didn’t threaten again until Gates’ fourth-quarter run. The Panthers were held to 4 yards of offense in the third quarter on 12 plays.
Allatoona, meanwhile, was content to hand the ball to Halimon, who led Class AAAAA during the regular season with 1,681 yards rushing. Halimon carried on 10 of Allatoona’s 11 plays on its first possession and capped the 59-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run. He finished the half with 142 yards, picked up 51 more in the third quarter and then sat out most of the fourth.
Josh Bettistea added 51 yards on 11 carries, mostly in the fourth quarter. Bryant Dallas ran for 41 yards on seven carries and had touchdown runs of 3 and 10 yards in the fourth quarter as the Buccaneers put the game away.
Allatoona quarterback Conner Larson was 8-for-9 passing for 109 yards.
The Buccaneers could have added to their early lead but fumbled in Carver territory on their final two possessions of the first half. The second came when Bettistea was hit at the 1-yard line after a pass reception and fumbled into the end zone, where the Panthers recovered.
Carver-Atlanta – 0-0-0-7 – 7
Allatoona – 14-0-0-21 – 35
A – Russell Halimon 2 run (Skylar Davis kick)
A – Halimon 5 run (Davis kick)
A – Bryant Dallas 3 run (Davis kick)
A – Dallas 10 run (Davis kick)
C – Quentin Gates 53 run (Kentrell Barber kick)
A – Caleb Gibbs 13 run (Davis kick)
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