Ninth-ranked Allatoona took advantage of two fumbled kickoff returns by South Paulding to build a 17-0 first-quarter lead and cruised to a 33-13 victory Friday in a battle of unbeaten Region 5-AAAAA teams.
It was the first of three consecutive games for Allatoona (5-0, 4-0) against teams that were undefeated going into Friday’s games. The Buccaneers will travel to Alexander next weekend and host New Manchester on Oct. 10 with a chance to all but wrap up the region title early.
South Paulding (3-1, 2-1) ran four plays and punted on its first possession. By the time the Spartans ran another offensive play, they trailed 17-0 with 1:51 to play in the first quarter.
Allatoona took that opening punt and drove to the South Paulding 8-yard line, where the drive stalled after a holding penalty and the Buccaneers settled for Alejandro Alvarez’s 24-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.
But South Paulding fumbled on the next two kickoffs, setting up Allatoona at the South Paulding 25- and 23-yard lines. The Buccaneers converted both turnovers into touchdowns, which came on an 8-yard run by Bryant Dallas and a 12-yarder by Josh Bettistea.
Allatoona increased the lead to 24-0 on the second play of the second quarter on a 66-yard pass from Conner Larson to Zach Nichols.
Allatoona’s Russell Halimon, who came into the game as the state’s leading rusher with 882 yards, was held well below his 220.5-yard average. That was partly because of the Buccaneers’ big lead. Halimon came out of the game after his 1-yard touchdown run finished off Allatoona’s first possession of the third quarter and gave the Buccaneers a 30-7 lead. But it also was because Allatoona rarely had far to go. The average starting position on the Buccaneers’ six scoring drives was the South Paulding 49.
Halimon finished with 81 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. He had help from Bettistea, who had 52 yards on eight carries, and Dallas, who ran for 34 yards on three carries.
Allatoona quarterback Conner Larson was 8-of-12 passing for 119 yards and a touchdown. He attempted just two passes in the third quarter before the backups took over.
South Paulding quarterback Jake Oglesby was 20-of-31 passing for 207 yards, but 80 of those came in the last minute of the game, including a 16-yarder to Trey White for a touchdown as time expired.
South Paulding – 0-7-0-6 – 13
Allatoona – 17-7-9-0 – 33
A – Alejandro Alvarez 24 field goal
A – Bryant Dallas 8 run (Alvarez kick)
A – Josh Bettistea 12 run (Alvarez kick)
A – Zach Nichols 66 pass from Conner Larson (Alvarez kick)
S – James Story 22 pass from Jake Oglesby (Brittany Havenner kick)
A – Russell Halimon 1 run (pass failed)
A – Alvarez 34 field goal
S – Trey White 16 pass from Oglesby (extra point not attempted)
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