Friday Night Roundups

Central Gwinnett 36, Dacula 33

Dacula took an early 14-0 lead after Jaier Khan recovered the first of Central Gwinnett's two first-quarter fumbles, but quarterback Jarren Williams ran for a touchdown with 2:44 left in the first. He found Khmari Thompson before the half to tie the game 14-14, and his impressive second-half performance was enough to give the Black Knights a 2-0 record. Williams finished the game with 330 passing yards and three touchdowns, the last of which was caught by Jallah Zeze to give Central Gwinnett the lead, and rushed for two more. Zeze finished the game with 133 receiving yards.

Duluth 44, Berkmar 0

Duluth quarterback Jalil El-amin threw five touchdowns in the Wildcats' 44-0 road win over the Berkmar Patriots Friday night. RB Kevon Rouse caught a touchdown, while WR Travion Hampton caught two and ran in a third himself. This was the second year in a row Duluth shut Berkmar out. Duluth had a defensive stand that prevented the Patriots from scoring from the Duluth 5-yard line.

Mill Creek 31, Stephenson 13

Visiting Mill Creek logged 22 first downs to Stephenson’s eight in the Hawks' win. Stephenson led 6-0 after the first quarter, but the Hawks answered in the second quarter with rushing touchdowns by seniors Uriah Leverette and Brady Longenecker to give Mill Creek a 14-6 halftime lead. In the third quarter, Parker Wroble scored a 4-yard touchdown and Austin Williams added a 1-yard touchdown for the Hawks, increasing their lead to 28. After a field goal by Mill Creek, Stephenson looked to ignite a comeback in the fourth quarter scoring a touchdown on a 2 yard run, ultimately falling short.

Mountain View 31, Lambert 13

Host Lambert missed an opportunity to get on the board first with a botched field-goal attempt from its 5-yard line. After the turnover on downs, Mountain View capped off a 90-yard touchdown drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Edwards to Malachi Carter with 3:37 left in the opening quarter. After a quick Lambert three-and-out, Mountain View was back in the end zone on a CJ Stiff run that gave the Bears a 14-0 lead entering the second quarter. Lambert’s field-goal unit executed well the rest of the game and a Bryce Christensen 25-yard field goal in the opening minutes of the second quarter cut the deficit to 14-3. Mountain View answered with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Edwards to Tommy Stewart to push the lead to 21-3, but a Bobby Gabriel heave into the end zone in the final minute of the half was secured by Jakob Unhoch, and Lambert trailed just 21-10 at the break. In the opening minute of the third quarter, Edwards found Stewart on a screen pass that he would take 52 yards for a touchdown. Christenson nailed a 48-yard field goal with 9:18 left in the third to keep Lambert within two scores, 28-13. A Marquel Broughton interception in the fourth quarter set up a Mountain View field goal that would seal the 31-13 victory.

Newton 40, Eastside 0

Newton’s Nuru Tinch rushed for a 12-yard touchdown and caught a 41-yard touchdown pass from Myron Middlebrooks in the first quarter of a dominant night for the host Rams. Middlebrooks connected with Mike Mathison for a 13-yard touchdown with 6:23 left in the half before Tinch escaped for a 62-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 27-0. Tinch finished the half with 160 rushing yards on 12 carries to go with his two touchdown runs and a 42-yard touchdown reception. The second half saw Middlebrooks throw his third (Robert Lewis) and fourth (David Butso) touchdown passes as the lead grew to 40-0. Middlebrooks finished 10-of-20 passing for 135 yards and four touchdowns.

Norcross 18, Collins Hill 10

Host Norcross trailed 10-9 heading into the fourth quarter but got a 9-yard touchdown pass from Louis Williams to Grant Johnson (two-point try failed) and a 47-yard field goal from Jake Camarda in the fourth to win. Omar Sinclair of Norcross had a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, and the Blue Devils got a safety when Collins Hill snapped the ball over the punter’s head and out of the end zone. Williams finished with 137 yards passing, and Ricky Holloman Jr. had three catches for 77 yards.

North Gwinnett 31, Milton 28

Milton capitalized on a North Gwinnett missed field goal with a Jordan Yates touchdown pass to wide receiver Dash Hairston to give the host Eagles a 7-0 first-quarter lead. Minutes later, North Gwinnett starting quarterback and Texas A&M commit Cade Fortin went down with an injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the game. Yates connected with Solomon Vanhorse to push Milton’s lead to 14-0 in the second quarter, but North Gwinnett’s Josh Downs had a touchdown reception for the Bulldogs to cut the lead to 14-7 at the half. A North Gwinnett field goal to make it 14-10 was the only scoring in the third quarter before a wild finish. Milton scored a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter on another touchdown pass from Yates to Vanhorse to extend its lead to 21-10. North Gwinnett responded with a quick 70-yard touchdown to make it 21-17, then the Bulldogs defense recovered a Milton fumble in the end zone to take its first lead of the game, 24-21, midway through the final quarter. Milton answered with a quarterback sneak at the 1-yard line to reclaim a 28-24 lead with five minutes left. North Gwinnett’s Tyler Goodson converted a critical third down to set up his game-winning touchdown run from the 3-yard line with just 12 seconds left.

Parkview 69, Shiloh 0

Host Parkview was dominant on the ground in a game in which it led 48-0 at the half, finishing with six rushing touchdowns by four different backs. Demetrius West and Cody Brown each scored twice, and Tommy Rogers and Jakeim Thompson had one touchdown apiece. Quarterback Fred Payton had a strong game as well, throwing touchdown passes to both Miles Marshall and Malik Washington in the first half and finishing 15-of-18 for 180 yards to lead a Panthers offense that found the end zone on every possession. Parkview's defense was stifling, and Garrett Gamble returned a fourth-quarter interception for a touchdown.

South Forsyth 56, Pinecrest Academy 10

South Forsyth quarterback Cal Morris threw three touchdowns and Jared Honey rushed for a 48-yard score to give the host War Eagles a 28-0 lead in the first quarter. Honey opened the second frame with a 3-yard touchdown run and teammate Jordan Brunson rushed for two more South Forsyth touchdowns to make it a 49-0 lead with 5:22 left in the half. Pinecrest Academy got on the board with a third-quarter field goal and South Forsyth scored its only second-half touchdown with 8:42 left in the fourth quarter on a 3-yard touchdown run by Brett Morlanne that made it 56-3. Pinecrest Academy’s Brooks Binkley ran in a 4-yard touchdown with 4:42 left.

South Gwinnett 17, Lanier 3

South Gwinnett defeated host Lanier with a strong defensive performance. The Comets defense had three interceptions in the first half, one of which was returned 57 yards by Siraye Tchatcha for a touchdown. During the second half, South Gwinnett had two more interceptions bringing the Comets to a new school record of five interceptions in a single game. Dawson Newman of South Gwinnett added a 21-yard field goal in the third quarter. Myles Barnum had a 7-yard touchdown run for the Comets.

Walton 42, Brookwood 35

Walton’s D.J. Soyoye and Brookwood’s Dante Black rushed for first quarter scores, but a missed extra point by Walton gave the visiting Broncos a 7-6 edge entering the second quarter. While Brookwood’s Matthew Hill rushed for a 65-yard score and caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Angelo DiSpigna in the second quarter, Walton managed to throw three touchdown passes in the final 4:44 of the half to take a 28-21 lead. First, Walton quarterback Austin Kirksey found Kendall Alford for a 60-yard touchdown pass, and Kirskey would connect with Dominick Blaylock less than two minutes later for a 27-yard score with 2:58 left in the half. The Raiders’ final first-half touchdown came in the final seconds when Kirksey lateraled the ball to Alford, who then threw a 47-yard touchdown to Chandler Smith. Soyoye and Black traded touchdowns in the third quarter before an even final quarter. Kirksey completed 16 of 22 passes for 262 of Walton’s 309 passing yards.

Wheeler 42, Centennial 38

Host Centennial started the scoring, but Wheeler responded soon after tying the game 7-7 late in the first quarter. Wheeler went up 13-7 in the second quarter with a touchdown, but the extra point was blocked. Centennial would regain the lead 14-13 before Wheeler answered with two touchdowns, one by Davion Wright. Nick Solomon kicked a field goal for the Knights to pull within 26-17 at the half. In the second half, Malcolm Gallagher had an interception for the Knights that led to a touchdown by Emeka Nwanze, making the score 30-26 Knights. Wheeler then kicked a field goal to make it 30-29 at the seven-minute mark and took the lead with 3:48 left before Centennial’s Nwanze scored and added a two-point conversion to make the score 38-35 with 1:35 remaining. Wheeler scored the last touchdown on a drive by Reikan Donaldson to take the victory 42-38. Donaldson finished the game with four touchdowns.

CLASS AAAAAA

Alpharetta 29, Gainesville 7

A holding penalty negated what appeared to be Alpharetta’s first points of the game, and the host Raiders came up empty. It would take a Gainesville fumble for Alpharetta to set up a 25-yard Dylan Schorr field goal to take its first lead of the game. Alpharetta’s Nolan Edmonds added a 1-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter to make it 10-0. A 43-yard interception return for Alpharetta set up a 28-yard Schorr field goal with 7:32 left in the half, and Schorr added a 33-yard field goal and a 27-yarder before Alpharetta took a 19-7 lead into the second half. Schorr kicked his fifth field goal from 34 yards out, and Matthew Downing found Michael Marbaugh for a 67-yard touchdown pass that gave Alpharetta a 29-7 lead and the victory.

Lovejoy 33, Mundy's Mill 14

Lovejoy jumped out to a double-digit lead during a wild first quarter and eventually pulled away from host Mundy's Mill. The Wildcats scored the game's first two touchdowns before Mundy's Mill answered with a 46-yard touchdown strike from Kendall Boney to Jaboree Jones. Lovejoy extended its advantage to 20-6 before the Tigers ended the half with a blocked field goal return for a touchdown by Romario Waithe on the final play. Lovejoy's defense blanked Mundy's Mill in the second half to hold on, as quarterback Jordan Huntington tacked on a pair of touchdown runs for the visitors. Huntington also threw a touchdown pass to Corintheus Edmonds. The Wildcats' ground game included additional scoring runs by Zion Custis and Brenden Williams.

Sequoyah 34, Cherokee 0

Host Sequoyah’s dominant offensive performance was led by quarterback Collier Pecht and Cole Jacobs. Jackson Smith and Luke Jensen each had touchdown runs before Pecht found Jacobs with 48-yard pass to give Sequoyah a 21-0 lead at halftime. Jacobs, a receiver, ran for a 56-yard touchdown two minutes into the second half and rushed for a 31-yard score in the fourth quarter for the last of his three touchdowns. Kicker Wesley Potter was 4-of-5 on PATs and put each kickoff into the end zone for touchbacks.

Sprayberry 43, Osborne 6

Visiting Sprayberry allowed an Osborne touchdown with 4:59 minutes left in the first quarter but controlled the game after that. Justin Jones, Dante Woods and Ashton Reese of Sprayberry all scored touchdowns, and Malik Clark scored a defensive touchdown for the Yellow Jackets.

CLASS AAAAA

Cedar Shoals 22, Discovery 12

Cedar Shoals recovered a Discovery fumble and scored a touchdown for the game's first points in the second quarter. Discovery responded with a long TD from Jason Mitchell, but the PAT was blocked to leave the home team down 7-6. Discovery went into halftime with a 12-7 lead. That score held for most of the third quarter until Cedar Shoals' Cameron Hudson recovered a fumble and ran it back 72 yards for a touchdown. Cedar Shoals converted the two-point conversion to take a 15-12 lead. Despite multiple opportunities, Discovery failed to find any second-half points, while Cedar Shoals got a 5-yard TD run from Jerphari Colbert with 3:24 remaining in the fourth and was able to hold on for a 22-12 victory.

Columbia 42, Druid Hills 7

Columbia dominated on the ground, through the air and also on defense en route to a convincing win over host Druid Hills. It was close for a while, as the Red Devils were within 6-0 after one quarter, 20-7 at halftime and by the same 13-point margin going into the fourth quarter. But the Eagles broke it open the rest of the way, thanks in part to a 24-yard fumble return by Lavar Gardner. Columbia capped off the scoring with Khalon Manuel's second touchdown run of the night, a 30-yard that came following a 90-yard scamper in the first quarter. The Eagles also got a pair of scoring strikes from Tramaine Callaway to Giovanni Dyer. Tyrique Robinson scored Druid Hills' lone touchdown on a one-yard plunge in the second quarter.

Dutchtown 39, Ola 7

Ola scored the game's first seven points, but host Dutchtown scored 49 straight to run away with a victory. Following a scoreless first quarter, Ola blocked a punt that led to a 4-yard touchdown run by Chris Rodriguez. But the Bulldogs took over from there, as Ja’shaun Poke returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown. Dutchtown also got scoring runs from Christopher Coneway, Jonathan Andrews, Samir Trawick and two from Shanaan McKoy. The Bulldogs led 14-7 at halftime and 21-7 at the end of three quarters before dominating the fourth.

Flowery Branch 38, North Hall 0

Flowery Branch surged to a 24-0 halftime advantage and coasted the rest of the way for a shutout victory over host North Hall. The Falcons led by the final 38-0 margin heading into the fourth quarter before a scoreless final 12 minutes wrapped things up. Malik Damons had three touchdown runs for the Falcons, from 10, 5 and 2 yards away. The visitors also got a touchdown run by Malik Drayton, a 25-yard scoring strike from Elijah Gainey to Jalin Strown and a 40-yard field goal by Alex Sanchez.

McIntosh 28, Mt. Zion-Jonesboro 7

Quarterback Dane Kinamon put host McIntosh ahead 7-0 on a quarterback keeper and added a 16-yard rushing touchdown late in the second quarter. Mt. Zion-Jonesboro cut the deficit to 14-7 before the half, but the Chiefs came back with 14 straight points after halftime. Bradley Ector scored on a goal-line dive and then clinched the game with a 58-yard rushing touchdown. DeAndre Wade had two interceptions for McIntosh.

Morrow 28, Forest Park 6

Morrow raced to leads of 12-0 after one quarter and 20-0 at halftime on the way to a win over visiting Forest Park. The Mustangs spread the ball around and got touchdown runs from Tabious Clemmons, Kenneth Robinson, Kris Clark and Christian Willis. Their defense had a shutout going before Forest Park capped off the night's scoring midway through the fourth quarter with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Rayshawn Meiser to Quendarious Redden. Morrow's defensive effort included interceptions by Jayson Greer and Jaylen Williams.

CLASS AAAA

Jefferson 50, Riverwood 13

Riverwood took an early 7-0 lead over Jefferson, but a 91-yard drive capped off by a 35-yard Bryce Moore to Zac Corbin touchdown pass put Jefferson ahead for good. Corbin scored again before the half, this time on defense, with a 65-yard interception return to give the Dragons a 22-7 lead. Colby Wood kept the momentum going with a 75-yard run on the first play of the third quarter for the second of his three touchdowns. Wood finished with 240 rushing yards and also had an interception on defense. Justin Cole (120 yards, two touchdowns) and Kade McNally each scored in the fourth quarter for Jefferson.

Mary Persons 28, Jackson 7

Mary Persons opened the game with a 10-play, 80-yard scoring drive that was capped off by a 5-yard pass from J.T. Hartage to Rashad Hughley. The two would connect again just a few minutes later on a 12-yard touchdown pass to increase the lead to 14 points. The lead remained 14-0 as the Bulldogs held a 204-6 advantage in total yardage at halftime. Mary Persons’ LaDondre Buckner added touchdown runs of 8 and 10 yards in the second half.

Woodward Academy 31, Grady 0

Host Woodward Academy scored less than two minutes into the game on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Mike Wright to Tajh Gary. The War Eagles added a 36-yard Marshall Golick field goal with 8:22 left in the half to increase their lead to 10-0. With 3:10 left in the half, Wright connected again with Gary for a 26-yard touchdown that pushed the lead to 17-0. Woodward Academy’s final two touchdowns came in the third quarter. Christian Wylder found Ambe Caldwell for a 21-yard touchdown pass and Wright found Gary a third time from 19 yards out to make it 31-0 with 1:28 left in the quarter. Wright finished 17-of-23 passing for 242 yards to go with his three touchdown passes.

CLASS AAA

Calhoun 24, Dalton 0

Host Calhoun’s opening drive was capped off by a 21-yard touchdown pass from Gavin Gray to Brannon Spector. Elmer Gutierrez increased the lead to 10-0 with 3:50 left in the first quarter with a 28-yard field goal. The Yellow Jackets outgained Dalton 218-84 in first-half yardage and took a 10-0 lead into the second half. Gray connected with Davis Allen for a 57-yard pass that set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Zack Fuller to make it 17-0. With 5:06 left in the game, Gray scrambled and found Luke Moseley for an 8-yard touchdown pass to make it 24-0.

Cedar Grove 37, Southwest DeKalb 7

Darrell Neal was the first to find the end zone with a 16-yard rushing touchdown to put Cedar Grove on top of Southwest DeKalb 6-0 in the first quarter. Xavier Dennis added to the Saints lead with a 5-yard rushing touchdown to make it 12-0 with 4:32 left in the first half. A Cedar Grove screen pass resulted in a 16 yard touchdown pass from Dennis to Jadon Haselwood to increase the lead to 19 points with just over a minute remaining in the half. A 55-yard run by Israel Spivey set up another 4-yard touchdown for Dennis in the third quarter. Dennis added to the lead by completing a 4-yard pass to Haselwood for his second touchdown.

CLASS AA

Wesleyan 43, B.E.S.T. Academy 22

Banks Ramsey had three touchdown runs and tossed a 37-yard scoring strike to Zach Peterson to help Wesleyan get the best of visiting B.E.S.T. Academy. The Wolves scored the first 13 points of the game, but B.E.S.T. Academy hung tough and pulled to within 20-14 at halftime. Wesleyan took a 36-22 lead with a late third-quarter touchdown before sealing the deal by holding the Eagles scoreless in the fourth. The Wolves also got two field goals by Mateo Rengifo from 30 yards and 40 yards in the opening half. For B.E.S.T. Academy, Nakia Davis threw a pair of touchdown passes to Blaine Gibson and Rashad Whitehead, and Gibson also returned an interception 50 yards for a score.

Southwest 26, Westside-Macon 12

Following a 0-0 tie at halftime, Southwest used a 20-point surge during a six-minute span of the third quarter to pull away from visiting Westside-Macon. Southwest did damage in all three phases of the game. Jordan Slocum tossed a 39-yard touchdown pass to JaQuez Pennimon, Lakelvin Clark ran for 131 yards and a score, Ty’Juhn Blash had a strip-sack for a fumble recovery in the end zone and Javoris Smith returned a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown. The Patriots' defensive effort was led by Randy Green, who had two interceptions.

CLASS A

Prince Avenue Christian 56, Riverside Military 13

Two Mark Simmons touchdown runs and a 17-yard touchdown pass from Grant Roland to Elijah Hynes gave host Prince Avenue Christian a 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. A Sam Wessinger touchdown run with 7:23 left in the second quarter gave the Wolverines a 28-0 halftime advantage. With 3:54 left in the third quarter, Roland threw his second touchdown pass to Hynes and Prince Avenue Christian increased its lead to 35-0. On the following Riverside Military possession, David Bach blocked an attempted field goal and teammate Hunter Fountain recovered it for a touchdown to increase the lead to 42-0. Riverside Military returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown to get on the board, but then Roland connected with Christian Parrish with 1:03 left in the third quarter extend the lead to 49-6. Riverside Military scored in a running clock fourth quarter before Prince Avenue Christian’s freshman quarterback Brock Vandagriff iced the game with a rushing touchdown to make it 56-13.