Malik Washington was a first-team all-county player in 2016, the only sophomore to get that honor from either the Touchdown Club of Gwinnett or the Gwinnett Daily Post.
The Parkview wide receiver/defensive back was coming off a season with 980 yards from scrimmage - 641 receiving, 369 rushing - to go with 47 tackles and five interceptions. Parkview had won its first playoff game in four years.
As a junior, Washington suffered a season-ending ACL tear in the sixth game. He still made second-team all-county, but neither Washington nor Parkview got to see what might've been.
Now fully healed, Washington is making the most of it as a senior. He had 167 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns in Parkview's victory over Lowndes last week. He's a high-academic three-star recruit with schools such as Duke, Stanford and Virginia Tech looking closely at him.
"I truly think he is the best overall athlete in the state of Georgia," Parkview coach Eric Godfree told GHSF Daily in preseason. "He has fully recovered and will have a stellar season on both sides of the ball. We will play him more on offense this year because he is so special with the ball in his hands. His film is fun to watch."
Washington's recent big game is among the Top Performances of last week.
Top five
*Blessed Trinity RB/LB Steele Chambers rushed for 179 yards and four touchdowns on 18 carries and caught a 22-yard pass in a 43-21 victory over Woodward Academy. Playing almost every snap, Chambers also had four tackles and a sack.
*Monroe Area QB Chandler Byron rushed for 219 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries and was 6-of-11 passing for 157 yards and three touchdowns in a 36-15 victory over Pace Academy. Byron also scored two conversions.
*Parkview WR/DB Malik Washington had 12 receptions for 154 yards and two touchdowns and four rushes for 13 yards and a touchdown in a 39-27 victory over Lowndes. It was the first victory over a ranked team since 2012 for Parkview, which is now ranked No. 6 in Class AAAAAAA.
*Prince Avenue Christian QB Brock Vandagriff was 23-of-35 passing for 365 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 122 yards on six carries in a 49-28 victory over Wesleyan. His 45-yard run in the final seconds of the third quarter gave Prince Avenue the lead for good.
*West Forsyth RB Stephon Bland rushed for 286 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries and caught a 7-yard TD pass in a 38-30 loss to Hewitt-Trussville, a nationally ranked team from Alabama.
Best of the rest
*Archer QB Carter Peevy threw five TD passes, two to Braylen Weems, in a 51-17 victory over Spartanburg (S.C.). Peevy was 22-of-29 passing for 266 yards, and Weems had nine receptions for 142 yards.
*Brookstone RB/LB Jeremiah Burgess rushed for 200 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries and had 132 yards on kickoff returns in a 61-25 victory over Jordan. Burgess also had three tackles and recovered an onside kick.
*Camden County QB Logan Watson threw five TD passes, two to Shawn Hardy, in a 51-13 victory over Locust Grove. Watson was 14-of-22 passing for 272 yards.
*Christian Heritage RB/DB Zach Gentry caught a 35-yard TD pass and returned an interception 40 yards for a score in a 27-14 victory over Riverside Military. The Lions are 2-0 for the first time.
*Creekview QB Ethan Dirrim rushed for 152 yards and passed for 76 in a 24-13 victory over Allatoona. Creekview is 3-0 for the first time since 2009 and ranked an all-time high of No. 4 in AAAAAA.
*Dodge County DE Jadin Johnson had six solo tackles behind the line in a 22-10 victory over West Laurens.
*Greene County QB C'Darius Kelley scored all four of his team's touchdowns and rushed for 102 yards on 15 carries in a 31-14 victory over Putnam County.
*Haralson County RB Treylon Sheppard rushed for 290 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries in a 35-0 victory over Armuchee.
*Hardaway LB Jordan Parker had five tackles for losses, one sack, two QB pressures, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery for a touchdown in a 28-0 victory over Fayette County.
*Jones County WR Jontavis Robertson had seven receptions for 186 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-27 victory over Northside of Warner Robins.
*LaFayette QB Vyshonn Daniel was 17-of-19 passing for 273 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-0 victory over Gordon Lee.
*Landmark Christian RB/LB Donovan Pickett rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown on four carries, led his team in tackles with 10.5 (two for losses) and returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown in a 29-26 loss to Athens Christian.
*Lanier County QB Rashad Brockington passed for five touchdowns, two each to Josh Sirmans and Tyquan Baker, in a 60-40 loss to Frederica Academy. Brockington was 26-of-49 passing for 381 yards. Sirmans had seven catches for 134 yards. Baker had seven for 116.
*Loganville sophomore WR Jackson Daniel had eight receptions for 125 yards and two touchdowns in a 20-14 victory over North Oconee.
*Lowndes RB Travis Tisdale rushed for 238 yards, had 88 yards receiving and scored two touchdowns in a 39-27 loss to Parkview.
*Marietta RB Kimani Vidal rushed for 154 yards on 20 carries and scored two touchdowns in a 38-13 victory over Collins Hill.
*Marist DB/WR Kyle Hamilton blocked a field goal and returned the recovery 67 yards for a touchdown, returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown, returned three punts for 43 yards and had two receptions for 30 yards in a 33-14 victory over Baylor School of Chattanooga.
*McIntosh sophomore LB Ben Anderson had nine solo tackles, six assists, a sack and an interception returned for a touchdown in a 7-0 victory over Henry County. Another sophomore, Jaden Nelson, had five tackles for losses and a sack. McIntosh earned its first shutout since 1995, when the Chiefs beat Alexander 26-0.
*Mill Creek RB Chancellor Lee-Parker rushed for 228 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries in a 39-24 victory over Norcross.
*Milton QB Jordan Yates was 16-of-21 passing for 243 yards and a touchdown in a 42-17 victory over Cardinal Gibbons, the No. 1-ranked Class 5A team in Florida. The victory boosted Milton to No. 3 in Georgia's Class AAAAAAA.
*Newnan WR Woody Waters had six receptions for 169 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-20 victory over Alexander. He caught a 70-yard TD pass on the first play from scrimmage.
*Ola DL Clay Sumner had two sacks and two other tackles for losses, and LB Braylen Sanders had four tackles for losses and a sack in a 35-13 victory over Whitewater.
*Pelham QB/DB Darrell Starling rushed for 98 yards and two touchdowns on two carries, was 3-of-4 passing for 71 yards and two touchdowns, made four tackles, one for a loss, broke up a pass and forced a fumble in a 63-0 victory over Baconton Charter.
*Roswell TE John Copenhaver had six receptions for 203 yards and two touchdowns in a 40-21 victory over Centennial. His touchdowns covered 86 and 70 yards.
*Savannah Christian DB Omar Burroughs intercepted two passes and returned them 61 yards and 21 yards for touchdowns in a 49-21 victory over Toombs County. Burroughs had nine solo tackles, one for a loss.
*South Cobb QB Aeneas Dennis rushed for 184 yards and three touchdowns and passed for 201 yards and a touchdown in a 28-27 loss to Sprayberry.
*Southeast Whitfield RB Christian Gillespie rushed for 147 yards on 24 carries in a 9-6 victory over Coahulla Creek.
*St. Pius DB Zach Ranson had 10 tackles (eight solo), broke up three passes and intercepted one in a 35-9 victory over Westminster.
*Statesboro DE Dake Williams had four tackles for losses, one sack, four QB hurries and one safety in a 23-6 victory over Liberty County. Statesboro held Liberty to 117 total yards.
*Stewart County got 10 tackles for losses combined from linebackersKahleel Latimer and Demarkus Warren in a 33-0 victory over Randolph-Clay that marked the first shutout since the program became independent of Stewart-Quitman in 2008. Latimer had three sacks, and Warren forced a fumble. The victory also was the first for a Stewart County team over Randolph-Clay since Stewart-Quitman did it in 1991.
*Stockbridge DE John Prince had three sacks and another tackle for a loss in a 41-0 victory over Carver of Atlanta.
*Tattnall Square freshman LB Brant Gibson had 14 tackles and returned an interception 72 yards for a touchdown in a 45-27 loss to Trinity Christian.
*Trinity Christian RB/DB Zach Jones had 314 all-purpose yards - 213 rushing, 80 returning and 21 receiving - in a 45-27 victory over Tattnall Square.
*Upson-Lee RB Daymon Thomas rushed for 175 yards and three touchdowns, and sophomore QB Jake Davis, making his first start, was 15-of-24 passing for 212 yards and a touchdown in a 33-28 victory over Harris County.
*Valdosta QB Tate Rodemaker was 16-of-18 passing for 222 yards in a 50-0 victory over Bradwell Institute.
Lines of distinction
*Brookstone's offensive line of Pepper Miller, William Neal, Blake Foster, Coleman Galbraith, Wesley Brown, Hap Perkins and D.J. Jones helped the Cougars put up 501 yards of total offense - 431 rushing, 70 passing - in a 61-25 victory over Jordan, a team that defeated Brookstone last season.
*Camden County's offensive line of Micah Morris, Micah Ballard, Hayden Malson, Davon Baker and Chris Hunt helped the Wildcats accumulate 461 yards of total offense - 164 rushing, 297 passing - on 59 plays in a 51-13 victory over Locust Grove.
*Johnson County's offensive line of P.J. Wright, Isaiah Thomas, Ty Snead, Landry Thompson, Demetrius Devero, Will Thomas Helton and Avery Thompson opened holes for a 479-yard rushing effort in a 36-18 victory over Warren County. The main beneficiary was RB Jef'Corrice Davis, who ran for 232 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries.
*The Johnson (Gainesville) offensive line of Gabriel Quinton, Platinum Thompson, Brayden Carr, Chewie Nguyen and Andrew Scharmer cleared the way for 429 yards rushing in the triple-option offense in a 34-13 victory over Cherokee Bluff. The Knights are 2-1 for the first time since 2012.
*Parkview’s offensive line of tackles Tyler Wagner and Jackson Walls, guards Zach Zerbonne, Garrett West and Eddy Beato and center Arbab Elsayed helped the Panthers produce 497 yards of total offense in a 39-27 victory over Lowndes. Jordan Williams had 291 yards passing. Cody Brown had 164 yards rushing. Malik Washington had 154 yards receiving in the victory, Parkview's first over a ranked opponent since 2012.
*The St. Pius offensive line of Joe Miller, Steven Hudson, Connor Brown, Ryan Carney, Trent Gavron, Chris Miller and Patrick Kremer was the catalyst for the Lions' 301 yards rushing in a 35-9 victory over Westminster.
*West Forsyth's offensive line of Zack Tryon, David Bowman, Will Kneiper, J.R. Reis and Arad Yabarian helped the Wolverines put up 336 rushing yards and three touchdowns against nationally ranked Hewitt-Trussville of Alabama in a 38-30 loss.
Produced by Georgia High School Football Daily, a free e-mail newsletter. To join the mailing list, click here.
About the Author