It’s been a season of firsts for the Arabia Mountain football program.
The school, which began playing football in 2009, has won its first four games for the first time and this week jumped into the state rankings, making its debut at No. 8. It looks like the Rams are poised to join other area powers like Southwest DeKalb, Stephenson and King.
“The South DeKalb area has a lot of football talent,” coach Stanley Pritchett said. “We’re a magnet school (science and engineering) and we work with the kids we’ve got, groom them and get them ready.”
The Rams scored one of the most important wins in the program’s history last week when they defeated Dacula, a Class AAAAAA program that went 10-2 in 2014. They take this week off before on Sept. 23 to play at East Coweta.
Arabia Mountain has a senior-oriented team, one that has been on the rise for a couple of years. The offense runs a spread offense and grinds out the opposition with its tempo. The defense is loaded with seniors; they’ve shutout two opponents and limited Dacula to 229 yards and 14 points, although another scored on an interception return.
“We’ve been building for a couple of years,” Pritchett said. “There’s a lot of senior leadership on the team. I tell other people our practices are harder than the games, so they’re ready.”
The offense is led by quarterback Samad Noble (6-0, 165), a two years starter who has a good arm but whose real strength is as a runner. The team’s leading rusher is Brandon Snowball and Carl White had a 52-yard touchdown run against Dacula.
The defense is led by linebacker Terray Bryant (5-11, 205), who led DeKalb County in tackles last season. The two-year starter had a 54-yard fumble recovery and return for a touchdown against Dacula, the time he’s done it this year. Bryant has received offers from several service academies.
The defensive front is led by senior linemen Falcoe Johnson (6-3, 205), Keeman Robinson (5-11, 220), Kenstan Hemphill (5-10, 210) and Jelani Davis (6-0, 180). They have good size, but are mobile and quick to the ball.
Only seven perfect records remain: Now that most teams are at least one-third into their season, the number of unbeaten teams has started to dwindle. There are only seven unbeaten and untied clubs remaining in Class AAAAA.
Teams with perfect records are: Thomas County Central, Griffin, Whitewater, Stockbridge, Arabia Mountain, Carrollton and Cedar Shoals. Fayette County is 2-0-1.
Statistical leaders
Teams are requested to post their statistics each week to the MaxPreps website. Here are the Class AAAAA statistical leaders, as reported.
Passing: Tylan Morton of Griffin has thrown for 1,158 yards, the second-best total in the state behind Houston County's Jake Fromm. Morton has competed 72 of 100 passes with only one interception for 10 touchdowns. Haydon Moss of Union Grove has thrown for 825 yards and 11 touchdowns and Cameron Lewis of Eagle's Landing has thrown for 781 yards and 11 TDs.
Rushing: Calvin Turner of New Hampstead has the most rushing yards in Class AAAAA with 660, an average of 8.8 yards per carry, and has six touchdowns. Kelias Williams of Thomas County Central has run for 503 yards and scored 10 touchdowns.
Receiving: Austin Atkins of Union Grove has the most receiving yards; the senior has caught 22 passes for 427 yards, a 19.4 yard average, with seven touchdowns. Jalin Strown has 13 catches for 332 yards and five touchdowns. Griffin has two top receivers in Malik Route (21 catches for 288 yards) and Kerrson Aikens (eight catches for 283 yards).
About the Author
