By Robert Haddocks
Bijan Sirleaf scored two touchdowns and anchored a stingy defense that shut down Shiloh and led Dacula to a 28-6 win.
Sirleaf bulled his way in to the end zone and caught a touchdown pass. But the burly defensive tackle made his biggest impact on the line, crashing into the Generals’ backfield. Dacula stopped 10 plays for negative yardage, led by Sirleaf, 5-7, 240, and the active Jakob Brashear, who hunted down ball carriers all over the field.
“I thought the defense played excellent,” said coach Tommy Jones whose Falcons improved to 5-0, 3-0 in Class AAAAAA Region 8. “We had strong pressure, we tackled well and we played the ball well when it was in the air.” t
The No. 10 ranked Falcons were methodical and relied on their ground game, running for 190 yards on 33 carries. They were far from flawless, but with the defense controlling Shiloh, the Generals never were threatened. Kevin Ficklin and Jacque Evangelister patrolled the secondary and the Falcons held the Generals to 138 total yards.
“We grounded it out,” Jones said. “We’re going to focus on Dacula and do what we do, but we’ve got to get better at it.”
Dacula took advantage of favorable field position on its first two scoring drives, both starting in Shiloh territory. Sirleaf’s 1-yard touchdown run capped a six play, 40-yard drive that gave the Falcons a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
The Falcons scored again on their next possession, a three-play, 43-yard drive with Wesley Whitehead doing the honors from one yard out. Evangelister ripped off a 45-yard run to set up the score.
Shiloh (1-3, 0-2), which had just one first down on its first five possessions, cut the deficit to 14-6 when Charles Shavers busted up the middle for a 24-yard touchdown with less than three minutes left in the first half. But Dacula answered immediately with an 88-yard kickoff return by Kelan Fraise for a 21-6 lead. “That put a halt to their momentum,” Jones said. Sirleaf sealed the game with his leaping touchdown catch late in the third quarter.
Dacula hosts Central Gwinnett on Friday.
DACULA – 14 – 7 – 7 – 0 – 28
SHILOH – 0 – 6 – 0 – 0 – 0
D - Bijan Sirleaf 3 run (Antonio Yin kick)
D - Wesley Whitehead 1 run (Yin kick)
S – Charles Shavers 24 run (kick blocked)
D – Kelan Fraise 88 kick return (Yin kick)
D – Sirleaf 9 pass from Whitehead (Yin kick)
