Five observations from Friday night’s games in the high class –
*Lowndes looked awfully sharp in its 38-7 victory over No. 3 Parkview. Lowndes’ ‘’Concrete Curtain’’ defense forced Parkview to punt on its first five possessions, and Jacurri Brown rushed for 111 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries and was 7-of-12 passing for 116 yards. Camden County coach Bob Sphire last week essentially called Lowndes the team to beat in Region 1 this season, though added that Colquitt County is No. 1 until somebody proves otherwise. But with the emergence of Brown at quarterback and the play of the defense – Lowndes had allowed Parkview to score 30+ each of the past three seasons – the Vikings might have their most balanced if not best all-round teams in some time.
*Defending champion Milton lost to Buford 26-23 after a strong comeback bid. Delvin Farrell threw two fourth-quarter touchdowns to get Milton within 26-23, but Milton muffed a punt that Buford recovered with 2:14 left, and Buford ran out the clock. Ahmad Junearick rushed for 78 yards on 17 carries.
*Shiloh is 3-0 for the first time since 2012 and has a fighting chance at its first winning season since 2003. The Generals – under first-year coach Tino Ierulli - defeated Wheeler 39-8 to move to 3-0. Shiloh also has beaten Discovery (46-0) and Duluth (42-0). Ierulli Ierulli came from Palm Beach (Fla.), where his teams were 33-24 over five years and 11-2 in 2018.
*Mill Creek bounced back from a last-play loss to Dacula the week before with a 30-10 victory over Norcross. beat Norcross 30-10. Chancellor Lee-Parker, a preseason all-state running back, rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns, and Parker Wroble had six catches for 133 yards and two touchdowns. In fact, Wroble had 228 all-purpose yards. He had committed to Air Force earlier in the day.
*No. 1 Marietta beat a pretty good Collins Hill team 28-9. . Harrison Bailey was 25-of-35 passing for 257 yards and spread the ball to receivers Ricky White (10-99-1), Arik Gilbert (9-93-0) and Taji Johnson (5-65-1). Marietta is No. 6 in USA Today’s national rankings. The No. 4 team in those rankings, St. John’s College of Washington, lost to St. Joseph’s Prep 34-30 on Friday. Of course, Marietta beat St. Joseph’s the week before 21-17.
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