It may be tough to beat Friday’s Carrollton-Rome game for drama and impact.
In a playoff atmosphere, No. 3 Carrollton held off No. 7 Rome on Friday for a 24-20 win at Grisham Stadium in Carrollton. The victory puts the Trojans in the driver’s seat for Region 7, with a trip to No. 10 Kell as the major hurdle between the program’s first region title since 2011.
Carrollton stunned Rome with two special teams touchdowns in the first quarter – a 35-yard blocked punt return from Cyrus McClure and a 76-yard punt return from Terrell Carmicheal. The clubs exchanged field goals – Rome getting a 27-yarder from Alonzo Rodriquez and Carrollton a 32-yarder from Damean Dominquez – and Carrollton had a 17-3 lead at the half.
But Rome, winners of the last three Region 7 titles, responded with three scores to take the lead. Caleb Ellard threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Jaquavious Wise, Rodriquez kicked a 26-yard field goal and Ahijah Blackwell scored on a 21-yard run to put the Wolves ahead 20-17 with 1:30 left to play.
That’s when the Carrollton offense, which had sputtered in the second half, found itself. Starting at their own 20, the Trojans drove 80 yards for the winning score, a 20-yard third-down pass from Myles Morris to Austin Waldrop with 20 seconds left. Morris started the drive with a 30-yard run and two Rome penalties – a person foul and a pass interference call – put Carrollton on the 20.
Morris ran for 70 yards and threw for 155, completing 14 of 30 with one interception and one touchdown. Chaz Chambliss led the defense with nine solo tackles, five assists, 4.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and two hurries.
Rome was led by Blackwell, who carried it 25 times for 147 yards and one touchdown. Ellard completed 11 of 33 for 94 yards, but was sacked four times. The Rome defense was led by Bryan Wilkinson with five solo tackles and five assists. Scott Peterson had an interception and Jamie Perez and Rayquan Jones each recovered a fumble.
In other key games played Friday:
No. 8 Stockbridge rallies for win: The Tigers scored 15 points in the final quarter on runs from Isaiah Johnson (who scored twice) and Jevon McDonald and beat upset-minded Eagle's Landing 28-14. Stockbridge (4-0) came away with an interception on the final drive to seal the win.
No. 10 Kell gets five TD passes from LaFrance: The Longhorns (3-1) bounced back from last week's loss to Rome by clobbering East Paulding 45-0. Quarterback Corbin LaFrance threw five touchdown passes, two to Jamal Hill and one each to David Mdabinga, Jaylon Brown and Camron Ball. Deandre Creary added a pick-six for a score.
No. 9 Wayne County falls in shootout: 47-35 to Glynn Academy: The Yellow Jackets (2-1) scored first on a 51-yard pass from Trey Pierce to Treyvon Chancey, but couldn't keep up with Glynn, which rushed for 307 yards and six touchdowns. Wayne County's Kaliz Hadley rushed 14 times for 149 yards and three touchdowns.
No. 4 Warner Robins falls to Class AAAAAAA No. 5 Colquitt County: Warner Robins came up with 440 yards of total offense, but lost a 31-14 road decision to Colquitt. A highlight for the Demons was a 49-yard one-handed grab from Marcayll Jones from Jalen Addie that resulted in their first touchdown. Warner Robins other points came on a blocked punt that went for a touchdown.
Veterans knocks off Class AAAAAA No. 5 Houston County: Quarterback Blake Ethridge threw a touchdown pass to Jalon Shine in the third quarter and the Warhawks outslugged Houston County 7-2. It was a nice bounce-back win for Veterans (4-1), which got knocked off by Statesboro a week earlier.
South Effingham wins again: The Mustangs improved to 4-0 by knocking off Class AAAA No. 10 West Laurens 31-30. South Effingham took the lead in the fourth quarter on Rocko Griffin's touchdown and a two-point conversion pass from Taylor Jackson to Noah Hoang. The Mustangs defense rose up to make a big stop on a two-point conversion.
Statesboro improves to 3-0: Jaylin Roberson rushed for 262 yards and Aundrell Grace ran for 121 as the Blue Devils hammered Effingham County 35-0. Statesboro hasn't won three straight since 2013 and broke a five-game losing streak to Effingham County.
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