Fellowship Christian, which had been shut out in the first half and completely shut down in the second quarter, turned three of Mount Paran Christian’s second-half turnovers into touchdowns and rallied for a 21-13 victory in an important Region 6-A game Friday in Kennesaw.
Trailing 13-0 midway through the third quarter, Fellowship (5-0, 3-0) got its first break when Parker Addison intercepted a Niko Vangarelli pass and returned it 18 yards to the Mount Paran 12-yard line. Three plays later, Brooks Bryant threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Brewer to cut the lead to 13-7. The Paladins, ranked No. 10 among Class A private schools, went on to score on two of their next three possessions to remain tied for first place with Whitefield Academy in Region 6-A Division B.
Eighth-ranked Mount Paran (2-2, 1-1) fell into fourth place in the eight-team subregion.
“They did an amazing job all night,” Fellowship Christian coach Al Morrell said of his defense. “Mount Paran’s got a heck of a good football team. They’re big, they’re physical, and their style of play is they just pound you and keep the ball away from you with sustained drives. They did that all night, and our guys just kept fighting and kept fighting and came up with some huge turnovers, and that was the difference in the football game.”
On the sixth play of Mount Paran’s ensuing possession, Lawson Haigler intercepted a pass and returned it 48 yards to the Mount Paran 26. Five plays later, Cameron Gill scored on a 7-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter to give the Paladins a 14-13 lead.
Mount Paran’s next two drives reached deep into Fellowship territory but came up empty because of more turnovers. The first reached the Fellowship 10 before Cam Cochran intercepted a pass with 8:32 remaining in the game. The next got to the Fellowship 22 but ended when Caleb McClung recovered a fumble on a first-down play.
The Paladins took advantage of that one. After a penalty on first down backed Fellowship up to the 9-yard line, Murphy Reeves broke a 91-yard touchdown run for a 21-13 lead with 2:57 to play. Mount Paran got the ball back one more time but turned it over on downs near midfield, and Fellowship ran out the clock.
Reeves came into the game as one of the leading rushers in Class A, averaging 135 yards through the first four games, but was held to 13 yards on five carries in the first half. He finished with 159 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
Bryant attempted just one pass in the second half, a 14-yarder to Brewer, but was 5-of-11 for the game for 67 yards. Brewer had four receptions for 67 yards.
The Paladins finished with five total takeaways, including an interception by Gill in the first half, which helped offset a 377-298 disadvantage in total offense. Mount Paran outgained the Paladins 229-97 in the first half and was especially dominant in the second quarter, when it scored all 13 of its points, gained 173 yards and held Fellowship to minus-3 yards.
Mount Paran’s Vangarelli was 9-of-23 passing for 218 yards with the four interceptions and ran for 68 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. Jack Allen had 93 yards rushing on 15 carries.
Fellowship’s best scoring opportunity in the first half came on its second possession of the game, when the Paladins drove from their 16-yard line to the Mount Paran 14 in seven plays. On third-and-8, Bryant broke loose around the right side but got hit hard near the sideline at the 1-yard line and fumbled into the end zone, where Mount Paran recovered for a touchback.
Mount Paran got a 5-yard touchdown run by Vangarelli, and two Parker Rostowsky field goals on its next four possessions for a 13-0 halftime lead.
Fellowship Christian - 0-0-7-14 - 21
Mount Paran Christian - 0-13-0-0 - 13
Second quarter
MP - Parker Rostowsky 34 field goal, 8:18
MP - Niko Vangarelli 5 run (Rostowsky kick), 5:50
MP - Rostowsky 32 field goal, 0:00
Third quarter
F - Jordan Brewer 14 pass from Brooks Bryant (Will Peterson kick), 4:59
Fourth quarter
F - Cameron Gill 7 run (Peterson kick), 11:56
F - Murphy Reeves 91 run (Peterson kick), 2:57
