The Creekside Seminoles put on a dominating performance on the road against the Alpharetta Raiders, coming away with a 28-0 win in the first round of the Class AAAAAA state playoffs on Friday at Raider Stadium.
The Seminoles (7-4), a No. 3 seed out of Region 5, will play the winner of Greenbrier at No. 3 Lee County. It was their second shutout of the season.
“We fly around and we have fun with each other,” said junior two-way lineman Jalil Muhammad, who holds Power 5 offers from Baylor and Maryland. “We’re brothers. Eleven hats to the ball.”
The Raiders (7-4), a No. 2 seed from Region 7, ended the year the way they began it — getting shut out. They lost their first two games a combined 68-0 to Milton and Lanier before turning their season around, going 7-1 in league play.
(See also: AAAAAA bracket)
On Friday, the Seminoles limited the Raiders to 62 yards of offense. The Raiders were just 3 of 20 for five yards in the passing game with two interceptions.
The Seminoles were led on offense by senior workhorse running back Tyler Malone, who had 145 yards on 32 carries, including a 31-yard touchdown early in the third quarter.
“We picked it up the second half,” said Malone, who holds an offer from South Alabama. “We were wearing down the defense. We were hitting them in the mouth and they didn’t want to hit us anymore. So we just executed.”
The Seminoles scored the only points they would ultimately need with 8:13 remaining in the first half on quarterback Aaron Penny’s six-yard rushing touchdown. The score was set up by Penny’s 61-yard pass to Trenton Smith, which moved the Seminoles from their own 10 to the Raiders 29.
On Alpharetta’s ensuing possession, sophomore corner back Dainsus Miller hauled in an interception and returned it 50 yards before he was stopped just short of a pick-six at the Raiders 2. The Seminoles would fumble the ball right back on the second play of the drive, giving the Raiders the ball on their own 2. The Creekside defense would come through again on the next play, collecting a safety on a stuffed run, making it 8-0 with 7:09 left in the half — a score that held through halftime.
The very first play of the third quarter was another Creekside interception, this one by senior Rashad Battle. Five plays later, Malone broke through on third-and-five for his touchdown run to make it 15-0 with 9:34 left in the third.
They’d score again on their next possession when, on second-and-goal from the 5, Muhammad — who was lined up to the left of the quarterback — received a direct snap and bulldozed his way into the end zone for his first rushing touchdown of the season.
“Nobody was going to stop me,” Muhammad said.
With the game completely out of reach, the Seminoles added a final score with 1:40 remaining on Marcel Hudson’s 10-yard run, which brought the score to its final margin.
The Seminoles, who are six years removed from winning the AAAAA state title — their only championship since the program began in 1990 — have now advanced for a second year in a row.
“Our goal is every week to get better,” Seminoles third-year coach Maurice Dixon said. “Play better than you did last week. Last week we lost, this week we won. I’d say we’re getting better.”
Creekside 0 8 13 7 — 28
Alpharetta 0 0 0 0 — 0
C — Aaron Penny 6 run (kick failed)
C — Team safety
C — Tyler Malone 31 run (Joaquin Pinon kick)
C — Jalil Muhammad 5 run (kick failed)
C — Marcel Hudson (Pinon kick)
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