Giving up 47 points and more than 500 yards of offense in a quarterfinal victory over Houston County didn’t sit well with the Allatoona defense.
One week later, the Buccaneers’ defense made amends, limiting Northgate to 196 total yards in a 28-7 victory in the Class AAAAA semifinals Friday at Buccaneer Stadium to advance to the state championship game for the first time in program history. Allatoona will meet Glynn Academy at the Georgia Dome at 8 p.m. Friday.
Allatoona (13-1) is the first Cobb County public school to reach the championship game since 2011, when Walton lost to Grayson in the final. That Walton team was coached by Rocky Hidaldo, who is now the coach at Glynn Academy.
“Our defensive staff kinda took last week personally,” Allatoona coach Gary Varner said. “They went back to work, not that they don’t work all the time, but they and the kids took it personally, and they really came out with a strong effort.”
Allatoona drove for touchdowns on its first three possessions to take control of the game early. Quarterback Brandon Rainey, who ran for a school-record seven touchdowns in the 59-47 victory last week, gave Allatoona a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter with a 1-yard run to cap a seven-play, 85-yard drive. He threw a 93-yard touchdown pass to Turner Cockrell on the next possession, then completed a 61-yard drive with another 1-yard touchdown run on the second play of the second quarter.
“In games like this you want to get ahead early. It means a lot,” Varner said.
Northgate (12-2) came into the game averaging 40 points per game behind a powerful running attack led by 1,000-yard rushers Ton Evans and Kyle Cater, but the Vikings weren’t able to get anything going until the game was out of hand. Northgate didn’t get a first down until 10 minutes remained in the first half, at which point the Vikings faced a 21-point deficit and trailed 243-29 in total offense.
Evans finished with 45 yards rushing on 15 carries, and Cater had 7 yards on four carries for the Vikings, who were limited to 83-yards rushing on 26 carries. Sophomore quarterback Kyle McLaren passed for just 11 yards in the first half but warmed up in the second, finishing 13-for-24 for 113 yards but with three interceptions, including two by Danny Tesler. McLaren’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Kamari Ray with 9:38 to play was the Vikings’ only score.
Allatoona didn’t have a 100-yard rusher for the first time in the playoffs, but the Buccaneers still managed 164 yards rushing and 377 total yards. Brandon Archibald ran for 72 yards on 12 carries, and Charles Anderson had 64 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Rainey attempted just nine passes but completed six for 213 yards and a touchdown.
Northgate – 0-0-0-7 – 7
Allatoona – 14-7-7-0 – 28
A – Brandon Rainey 1 run (Skyler Davis kick)
A – Turner Cockrell 93 pass from Rainey (Davis kick)
A – Rainey 1 run (Davis kick)
A – Charles Anderson 14 run (Davis kick)
N – Kamari Ray 6 pass from Kyle McLaren (James Skalski kick)
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