Roswell’s Mechane Slade corralled a tipped pass for the winning touchdown with 23 seconds left in the Hornets’ thrilling 33-31 upset of No. 6 Milton on Friday in front of an overflow crowd at the Eagles Nest.
Slade’s touchdown reception from quarterback James Whitaker capped a 13-play, 80-yard drive and helped the Hornets (3-1) snap a three-game losing streak to their Region 5-AAAAAA rivals. Two Milton defenders were on Slade, but the ball got tipped into the air and Slade came down with it in the end zone for the winning score.
Slade finished with eight catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Whitaker completed 18 of 39 passes for 192 yards and three touchdowns.
In a back-and-forth battle, Roswell trailed 24-20 with 7:45 to play, when Sheldon Evans headed up the middle, bounced off a tackle and raced in for a 44-yard touchdown, his second score of the night. Evans rushed for 140 yards on the night.
Milton’s Micco Brisker answered with his third score of the night, a 65-yard burst up the middle that put the Eagles up 31-26 with 3:41 to play. But Whitaker made plays with his arm and legs on the ensuing drive, helping the Hornets convert on a fourth down and twice on third down, before hooking up with Slade for the winning score.
In an exciting first half, Milton grabbed a 10-0 lead on an Ethan Suda field goal a short touchdown run by Brisker, who rushed for 101 yards.
Roswell responded with a 19-yard touchdown run from Evans. But on the ensuing kickoff, Nathan Cranor pulled out of a tackle at the 30 yard line and took off down the sidelines for a 96-yard touchdown return that made it 17-7 with 10 minutes left before halftime. The Hornets weren’t going away, though, and closed to within 17-14 on a touchdown pass from Whitaker to Slade.
This Fulton County rivalry was dominated by Roswell for years. The Hornets won nine of 10 meetings from 2001-2010, but had fallen on hard times and suffered through three straight losing seasons, including an 0-10 campaign in 2011. They appear to have turned things around under second-year coach John Ford.
Milton (2-1) was off to an impressive start, highlighted by a 24-0 shutout of two-time defending state champion Norcross. But the Eagles' defense, which returned all 11 starters, couldn't come up with a big stop when they needed it most and suffered their first loss of the season.
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