Alpharetta 24, South Forsyth 14

Alpharetta quarterback Austin King threw two touchdown passes to Rustin Suter, and Matt Moore returned an interception 55 yards for a clinching score in the Raiders’ 24-14 win over South Forsyth on Friday.

Alpharetta has won seven straight games since dropping its season opener and can clinch its third straight Region 6-AAAAAA state title with a win next week at Northview. The Raiders’ defense is the biggest reason Alpharetta is in position to three-peat.

With the Raiders (7-1, 6-0) leading 17-8 with 6:25 to play, Moore jumped in front of South Forsyth quarterback Matthew White’s pass on fourth down and sprinted for the game-securing touchdown. Alpharetta’s defense shut out the War Eagles (5-3, 5-2) in the second half. Stalwart defensive end Andrew Butcher, a Tennessee commitment, recorded a pair of sacks, and Ralph Johnson had an interception and a sack for the Raiders.

“We knew they were going to be physical with us,” Alpharetta first-year coach Jacob Nichols said. “We wanted to answer the challenge. We’ve got guys on defense who can rush the passer and guys who can cover. I think it shows the kind of versatility we have on defense.”

The War Eagles dropped their second straight game and fell back into a logjam of two-loss teams with two games to play. Star running back Tyler LaFlamme finished with 108 total yards, 60 on the ground. LaFlamme scored an 8-yard touchdown run that put South Forsyth ahead 8-7 in the second quarter.

But the Raiders answered with a Ryan Kopec 38-yard field and a long drive, capped by a 13-yard pass from King to Suter in the corner of the end zone 45 seconds before intermission. Alpharetta led 17-9 at halftime. King completed 13 of 25 passes for 244 yards with the two touchdowns.

Suter also caught an 82-yard touchdown in the first half, breaking free from a South Forsyth defender and racing down the sidelines to put the Raiders up 7-2 in the first quarter.