Archer football is bound for new heights. Riding a wave of dominant performances unprecedented in the program's brief history, the Tigers are advancing to their first state title game after thumping Etowah, 52-7, Friday night.
The Tigers will face Colquitt County in the AAAAAA state championship game at 8 p.m. next Saturday night in the Georgia Dome.
Archer (11-3) is riding an 11-game winning streak and has scored 50-plus points in three consecutive weeks. Last week, they led 56-0 at halftime against Hillgrove. The score at intermission against Etowah (11-3) wasn't quite as lopsided, but the Tigers were in control from the start.
Archer struck on its first play from scrimmage, with Gabe Tiller going deep to Kyle Davis for a 70-yard scoring connection. But it was in the second quarter that the Tigers broke the game open with a four-touchdown flurry.
Tiller took the lead to 14-0 with 8:27 left before halftime, capping a five-play, 61-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge. Capitalizing on an Etowah fumble, Archer scored again less than a minute later on a 3-yard pass from Tiller to Dylan Singleton.
Etowah was able to move the ball in spurts, but struggled to string together drives. Led by Tyray Devezin's 96 yards on 17 carries, the Eagles finished with 197 rushing yards on 46 attempts.
Nonetheless, the Tigers were rarely threatened.
Archer added another pair of back-to-back scores from Singleton late in the second quarter, stretching the margin to 34-0 on a 3-yard run and a 63-yard interception return for a score for the versatile junior before Etowah countered with a 47-yard touchdown pass from Robbie Knox to Noah Dye, giving the Eagles a glimmer of hope just before the half.
Archer opened the third quarter with a 42-yard Cole Fisher field goal, and when Jameyst Williams broke loose on a 42-yard touchdown run to make the score 45-7 minutes later, the issue was all but decided.
Tiller finished 16 of 24 for 207 yards. Davis led all receivers with 110 yards and a score on five catches. Nick Blakely recorded two interceptions, returning the second 60 yards for a fourth-quarter score.
Dye led Etowah with 86 yards on five catches.
