Anyone who wants to win the state championship is going to have to go through Rome.
That belief was confirmed on Friday when the No. 1-ranked Wolves improved to 3-0 with a 54-33 win over No. 9-ranked Kell. The defending state champions took the lead in Region 7 and awaits a huge showdown with No. 4 Carrollton on Sept. 29 in Rome.
The win was the 15th straight for Rome, whose last loss came against Kell a year ago. It was the second straight week the Wolves have topped 50 points and they've scored 143 in three games.
Kell actually led Rome 33-32 after Josiah Futral’s 79-yard run on the Longhorns’ first play of the second half. But Rome reeled off 22 unanswered points and the Wolves’ talented defense limited Kell to 33 total yards, including minus-13 on the ground, from that point, according to the Marietta Daily Journal.
Rome’s one-two punch of Jamious Griffin (131 yard) and Jaylynn Sykes (109 yards) were a handful against Kell. Quarterback Knox Kadum ran for 65 yards and
Futral rushed 11 times for 120 yards for Kell and quarterback Evan Conley threw for 254 yards and three touchdowns.
Big night for No. 7 Jones, Ross: Quarterback Teldrick Ross threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as Jones County ripped Locust Grove 43-7. De'queze Fryer had 133 receiving yards and two touchdowns for Jones County (3-0).
No. 3 Stockbridge survives: The Tigers got behind, but came back to beat Dutchtown 13-7. Shanaan McKoy scored on a 4-yard run to put Dutchdown ahead, but Stockbridge came back behind a 30-yard pass interception return by Demaje Carter and a 5-yard run from Marquez Ezzard. B.J. Riley rushed for 100 yards to lead Stockbridge.
No 6 Griffin survives trip to Upson-Lee: The Bears (3-0) scored on a 46-yard pass from Avion Nelson to Terrell Jester, blocked a punt for a safety, and a 31-yard pass from Nelson to David Westmoreland.
The Griffin defense got a great week from linebacker Larry Corbin. He had 17 tackles, 11 of them solo, with four sacks, two tackles for loss and three quarterback hurries.
Big win for Hampton: The Hornets won the region game in school history when Matthew Slagel kicked a field goal with three seconds left for a 17-14 win over Woodland.
It's 4-0 for Big Mc(Intosh): It doesn't matter that their schedule hasn't been the toughest, McIntosh is 4-0 after a 40-14 win over Luella. Quarterback Dane Kinamon threw for two touchdowns – to Andrew Villiger and Ryan Cate -- and ran for another. Bradley Ector ran for two touchdowns. The win equals McIntosh's win total from each of the last two seasons and is the first time the Chiefs have opened the season with four wins since the 2013 team started 6-0.
Hurricane Irma leaves postponements: The evacuation of Georgia's coast led to several postponements and cancellations. Region 2 was the most heavily affected with New Hampstead-Bluffton (S.C.), Statesboro-Screven County, Griffin-Ware County and Brunswick-Wayne County all washed out. It is not known when – or if any of those games will be reschedule. None of them are region games.
The Buford game against the International School of Broward (Fla.) was also cancelled
