Creekside reeled off 24 straight points in the third quarter in route to a 38-22 senior night win over Carver-Atlanta at Arrowhead Stadium in Fairburn.
Creekside quarterback Felix Harper hit Tysean Carter for a 36-yard score to put Creekside ahead 21-14 with 8:26 left in the third quarter. Two scoring runs by Sabree Curtis (29 and 20 yards, respectively) and a 37-yard field goal from Francisco Alejandre gave the Seminoles a 38-14 lead late in the third quarter.
A 75-yard kick return by Quinton Gates led to a Carver-Atlanta answer by running back Timsonte Dukes with 25 seconds left in the quarter.
“We really got it going,” Creekside coach Will Rogers said. “I’m proud of how the kids responded. We had gone through a bit of a slump over the last couple weeks.”
Creekside took an early lead when quarterback Felix Harper (14-of-21 passing, 130 yards, 1 TD; 17 yards rushing, TD) scored on a 4-yard run with 9:04 to play in the second quarter. The 26-yard drive was enabled by a Carver personal foul during the punt, and included a 10-yard run from Harper on third down that gave the Seminoles first down at the 15.
Carver pulled within 7-6 on the next drive when backup quarterback Octavius Battle scored on a 1-yard run. Creekside forced 4th-and-goal at the 1, but the sophomore sneaked in on the right side to cap the 10-play, 69-yard drive.
Creekside forced a turnover on downs at its 40 when Carver faked a punt on 4th-and-5. Harper took over and hit four of five passes for 60 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown pass to receiver Khalil McClain with 25 seconds left before halftime. A 31-yard catch by Kelvin Freeman put Creekside inside the 20.
Down 14-6 at halftime, Gates took the first snap of the second half into the end zone from 71 yards out to tie the game. Gates took a handoff from Kentrell Barber and went up the right sideline for 50 yards before cutting back at the 20.
Before Friday, Carver-Atlanta had allowed only 24 points in five straight wins since giving up 28 in a season-opening loss to Carver-Columbus. Creekside rebounded after the worst back-to-back defensive performances in school history, surrendering 90 points in losses to Stephenson and Mays.
Both teams are 5-2 overall and 1-1 in Region 6-AAAAA Division B. Last season, Carver-Atlanta, Creekside and Mays finished in a tie for first place in the region, which Creekside won by tiebreaker.
Curtis rushed 24 times for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Gates finished with 100 yards on five runs.
Creekside 38, Carver-Atlanta 22
CA 0 6 16 0 22
C 0 14 24 0 38
C - Felix Harper 4 run (Francisco Alejandre kick)
CA - Octavius Battle 1 run (kick failed)
C - Khalil McClain 13 pass from Harper (Alejandre kick)
CA - Quinton Gates 71 run (Quentavious Monday pass from Kentrell Barber)
C - Tysean Carter 36 pass from Felix Harper (Alejandre kick)
C - Sabree Curtis 29 run (Alejandre kick)
C - Curtis 20 run (Alejandre kick)
C - Alejandre 37 FG
CA - Timsonte Dukes 12 run (Barber run)
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