Etowah advanced to its first quarterfinal appearance in school history in a 23-6 win over Westlake in a Class AAAAAA second-round matchup Friday night.
The win also gave Etowah (10-2) its first 10-win season in the school’s 37-year history. The Eagles host the Central Gwinnett/Newton winner next week.
Etowah superbly executed its gameplan to slow down a speedy Westlake defense. The Eagles ran for 291 yards and held the Lions to 23 on the ground. The Etowah defense hurried Westlake quarterback Dakota Rocker all night, creating four turnovers and sacking him four times.
“The things we do well have to do with the guys up front,” Etowah coach Dave Svehla. “The gameplan was go in and see if we could run the football. Our guys stayed after it play after play.”
Etowah took a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter behind a 46-yard drive that ended with an 8-yard run from Stanlee Logue. Facing a third down and 10 from the 30, quarterback Robbie Knox rushed for 14 yards, and Logue scored three plays later.
The Eagles pushed the lead to 14-0 when Knox scored with 1:38 to play in the first quarter. Sophomore running back Tyray Devezin rushed for 55 yards on two runs to put the ball at the Westlake 1, and Knox’s sneak closed the 43-second drive.
A 20-yard field goal from Noah Weber nine seconds before halftime gave Etowah a 17-0 lead.
Westlake (9-2) struggled offensively throughout and ran for just 19 yards. Running back Justin Broughton, who rushed for 154 yards in an opening round win over North Paulding, managed just nine yards rushing on seven carries.
Devezin, who replaced his older brother Raishod after the senior suffered a season-ending injury, rushed for 152 yards on 21 carries.
“Coming into this we said we needed to make them snap the ball over and over again,” Svehla said. “We had to prevent the big play.”
Westlake pulled within 23-6 with 8:56 to play when Rocker connected with Nigel Warrior for a 35-yard touchdown pass along the left sideline. Rocker went 5-for-6 passing for 59 yards on the drive, including three passes to Warrior. Along with the touchdown pass, Rocker finished 15-of-37 passing for 159 yards and four interceptions.
Etowah 14 3 6 0 23
Westlake 0 0 0 6 6
E – Stanlee Logue 8 run (Noah Weber kick)
E – Robbie Knox 1 run (Weber kick)
E -- Weber 20 FG
E – Noah Dye 6 pass from Robbie Knox (kick failed)
W – Nigel Warrior 35 pass from Dakota Rocker (pass failed)
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