Creekside pride is back.
After the first 0-10 season in the rich history of the south Fulton school, which won the Class AAAAA crown just five years ago, the Seminoles improved to 4-3, 4-1 in Region 5AAAAA, with a hard-fought, 49-48 win over south metro rival Mays.
The victory over the two-time defending region champs didn’t come easy. Junior Tyler Malone’s 1-yard plunge with 42 seconds left in regulation, and senior Davaris Best’s seventh successful point-after kick of the game, provide the winning margin. One play prior to the diving touchdown, senior quarterback Lazarus Anderson was stripped of the ball on his way into the end zone on a quarterback keeper. But he was able to recover his own fumble and preserve the comeback win for Creekside.
After racing to a 21-6 lead midway through the second quarter, thanks to a disputed 100-yard scoop-and-score fumble return by junior Terrell Miller, Creekside fell behind 26-21 by halftime after Raider touchdowns by junior Tyree Nelson, and seniors Jahquez Evans and Terrence Morton.
Then with just 39 seconds left in the third quarter, Mays, which won last year’s contest 67-7, took a two touchdown lead when Evans hit Morton in stride on a go-route down the near sideline, after the Creekside defender fell down, for an 80-yard touchdown and a 34-21 lead.
But the Seminoles answered in 13 seconds when Anderson found senior Julian Perkinson for a 49-yard touchdown on a deep post route between two Raider defenders. Then on the ensuing kickoff, Creekside stripped Mays’ kick returner at his own 20-yard line and Miller was in the right place at the right time again. This time he returned the fumble 18 yards for a touchdown to put Creekside ahead 35-34, just seconds into the final period.
“I told them before the game how it would turn out,” Creekside head coach Maurice Dixon said. “I told [his players] I thought we would jump out on top of them early but they are a strong program and a proud program, and they will fight back and go on a run. But in the end I thought we would come out on top.”
Mays regained the lead, 42-35, when Evans capped a six-play, 70-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Jaquari Wiggles. But Creekside tied the game at 42-42 with 7:45 to play after a 5-yard run by Anderson.
After a big return by Morton on the ensuing kickoff to the Creekside 43 yard line, the Raiders took the lead again on a 22-yard touchdown run by Evans on a zone-read option play. But Mays, which has had trouble all season converting point-after conversion kicks, failed to convert a two-point conversion run and had to settle for a 48-42 lead with a little more than six minutes left to play.
The miss would prove to be fatal for the Raiders, as the Seminoles took possession on their 38-yard line and flexed their muscles on the game’s final scoring drive – a 14-play drive featuring nothing but running plays, mostly between the tackles, by Malone and Anderson.
“Take nothing away from Creekside,” said Mays head coach Niketa Battle. “Coach Dixon has done an amazing job. Kuddos to them. All we can do now is go work on the things we need to improve, win out the rest of the season and see what happens.”
Dixon, who took over last season just one month before the Seminoles’ first game, said his team’s dramatic turnaround is the result of hard work and his players “committing to the C.”
“That means being compliant and accountable, on and off the field. Following rules and being accountable to your teammates,” Dixon said. “Our kids know our next game is always the biggest game. We’ll keep taking them one game at a time.”
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