Mill Creek 34, Peachtree Ridge 7

Mill Creek entered Friday night on a four-game winning streak, dominating recent Region 7-AAAAAA foes by stuffing opponents' running games while its own backs churned out yards at will. Facing a top-10 opponent with the region's No. 2 seed on the line, the script didn't change and neither did the results.

The Hawks charged past No. 9 Peachtree Ridge, 34-7, to clinch a home playoff game next week. They await Grayson, the No. 3 seed from Region 8 as determined by coin flip to break a three-way tie with Dacula and Archer. Peachtree Ridge will be the No. 3 seed from Region 7 and face Dacula, Region 8's No. 2 seed.

After an uneventful first 11 minutes, both offenses revved up late in the first quarter. Set up by a Joe Smith fumble recovery inside the 10-yard line, Peachtree Ridge took a 7-0 lead on a 3-yard touchdown run by Na'ceem Antenor with 25 seconds left in opening stanza.

On the first play of the ensuing possession, Mill Creek struck back when quarterback Daniel David cut off left tackle on an option keeper and sprinted 73 yards for a score.

The run seemed to jolt the Hawks' running game to life. Mill Creek entered the game averaging 306 yards per game on the ground, but had just 9 yards on their first eight carries before David busted loose. By halftime, they had 218 yards on 24 carries.

Running back Johnathan Hawkins scored twice in the second quarter — on a 5-yard run at the 7:16 mark and a 47-yarder with 2:16 remaining — to give Mill Creek at 20-7 lead at the half.

The Hawks were scarcely threatened after that. David scored on a 3-yard run early in the third quarter, and Hawkins provided the game's final score on a 4-yard run with 7:15 remaining in the period.