Khiari McCoy, a senior running back at Carver of Columbus, is the GHSF Daily State Player of the Week for his performance Friday in a 52-46 victory over Cairo in a Region 1-AAAA game.
McCoy rushed for 309 yards and scored five touchdowns in the game that put Carver (6-1, 5-0) in first place as the sole unbeaten team in region play. Carver is chasing its first region title since 2015.
McCoy scored on a 15-yard run to give his team the lead in overtime, and Carver then clinched the game with a defensive stop. Though McCoy now has rushed for more than 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons, he has only one scholarship offer, that coming from Western Michigan in the spring. McCoy was a GHSF Daily preseason all-state pick.
“Size-wise, he’s only about 5-8, 170, but he did most of his damage [against Cairo] between the tackles,” Carver coach Corey Joyner said. “Once he gets on the second or third level, he outruns people. Every big game we’ve had, he’s had over 200 yards of total offense and three or four touchdowns. He’s a very important part of our offense. He makes it run.”
Top five
• Carver (Columbus) RB Khiari McCoy rushed for 309 yards and five touchdowns on 27 carries in a 52-46 victory over Cairo.
• North Murray QB/DB Ladd McConkey passed for two touchdowns (32 and 2 yards), rushed for two touchdowns (14 and 10 yards), returned two punts for touchdowns (84 and 76 yards) and returned an interception for a touchdown (30 yards) in a 49-6 victory over Coahulla Creek.
• Kell DL Bill McCritty had 13 tackles, six for losses, 4.5 sacks and a forced fumble in a 39-9 victory over Villa Rica.
• Emanuel County Institute RB Ja’Rell Jordan rushed for 339 and three touchdowns on 23 carries in a 42-35 victory over Treutlen.
• North Gwinnett DE Jared Ivey had seven tackles, two for losses, two sacks, two forced fumbles and two QB hurries in a 45-3 victory over Mill Creek.
Best of the rest
• Bleckley County RB Bryce Bailey rushed for 193 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries, and his 5-yard run in the fourth quarter was the winning touchdown in a 21-18 victory over Washington County.
• Bradwell Institute ATH Corrie Walker rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, had three receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown, broke up a pass and intercepted a pass in a 31-28 victory over Effingham County.
• Cartersville WR Kyler Johnson has six receptions for 116 yards and two touchdowns in a 45-2 victory over LaGrange.
• Cedar Grove DL Demarius Jackson had five tackles for losses and forced a fumble in a 60-0 victory over Towers.
• Central Gwinnett WR/DB Daejon Reynolds had five receptions for 130 yards and three touchdowns, scored on a 22-yard run and made six tackles - all in the first half - of 57-16 victory over Berkmar.
• Cherokee LB Brandon Byrd had 20 tackles, one for a loss, broke up two passes and intercepted a pass in a 21-14 victory over Roswell.
• Cherokee Bluff sophomore RB Jaquan Smith rushed for 244 yards on 12 carries and scored on runs of 56, 61, and 54 yards in a 45-14 victory over Lumpkin County.
• Collins Hill QB Sam Horn was 27-of-32 passing for 239 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-0 victory over Peachtree Ridge.
• Dalton RB Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 170 yards and five touchdowns on 19 carries in a 62-7 victory over South Cobb.
• Dublin RB JaQues Evans rushed for 201 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries and caught a 19-yard TD pass in a 35-6 victory over Dodge County.
• East Hall WR D.J. Gray caught three passes, all for touchdowns, in a 49-26 loss to Fannin County. They covered 82, 54, and 97 yards.
• Fannin County RB Treylyn Owensby rushed for 191 yards and three touchdowns on 32 carries in a 49-26 victory over East Hall.
• Fellowship Christian RB Murphy Reeves rushed for 198 yards and four touchdowns on 21 carries in a 48-21 victory over St. Francis.
• Fitzgerald WR Chance Gamble had seven receptions for 104 yards in a 54-20 victory over Berrien.
• Forsyth Central MLB Brandon Redecker had 10 solo tackles and six assists in a 29-28 loss to North Forsyth.
• Grayson QB C.J. Dixon was 14-of-19 passing for 300 yards and four touchdowns in a 45-7 victory over Shiloh.
• Greater Atlanta Christian LB Choe Bryant-Strother had two sacks as part of 15 tackles in a 20-7 victory over Dawson County.
• Greenville RB Demarcus Alford rushed for 179 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries in a 34-6 victory over Central of Talbotton.
• Griffin RB Aalijah "Mo" King rushed for 219 yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries in a 34-9 victory over Jonesboro.
• Harlem RB Cameron Garnett rushed for 281 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries in a 45-20 victory over Hephzibah.
• Hughes RB Antonio Martin rushed for 202 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries in a 43-28 loss to South Paulding.
• Heard County RB/DB Alex Boyd rushed for 224 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries and had two receptions for 72 yards and a score in a 41-13 victory over Temple. Boyd also had seven tackles.
• Jefferson sophomore RB/LB Jordan Perry rushed 86 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries, caught an 18-yard pass and had three solo tackles in a 28-23 victory over Hart County.
• Johns Creek QB Ben Whitlock was 31-of-44 passing for 363 yards and five touchdowns in a 38-0 victory over Pope.
• M.L. King DL Keion Cush had 10 total tackles, two sacks and five tackles for losses in an 18-12 victory over Lovejoy.
• McEachern Carlos Del Rio-Wilson was 13-of-20 passing for 132 yards and rushed for 115 yards on 22 carries in a 19-14 victory over Hillgrove.
• McIntosh LB Ben Anderson had 13 tackles, three for losses, and a sack in a 21-20 victory over Fayette County.
• Mitchell County sophomore Willie Williams returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown and a kickoff 90 yards for a score in a 61-0 victory over Calhoun County.
• Mount Zion (Jonesboro) RB Derionte Kemp rushed for 260 yards and two touchdowns in a 50-7 victory over Drew.
• North Cobb QB Trevor Lovett was 9-of-11 passing for 220 yards and two touchdowns and scored on a 37-yard run in a 40-0 victory over Kennesaw Mountain.
• North Forsyth LB/RB Patrick Corrigan had seven solo tackles, one for a loss, one QB hurry, a touchdown and the game-winning two-point conversion in the second overtime of a 29-28 victory over Forsyth Central.
• Ola DE Devin Lee had three of his team's eight sacks in a 38-13 victory over Woodland of Cartersville. Ola allowed minus-34 yards rushing.
• Parkview LB Caleb Grant had two solo tackles, two assists, two QB hurries, one forced fumble and recovery and a touchdown in a 69-0 victory over Lakeside of Atlanta.
• Prince Avenue Christian ATH Landon Owens had 245 all-purpose yards and scored touchdowns rushing (two), receiving and returning in a 56-20 victory over Athens Christian.
• Salem RB Willis Sheppard rushed for a school-record 237 yards and four touchdowns on 32 carries in a 44-42 victory over Druid Hills.
• Sandy Creek QB Matt Williams was 20-of-27 passing for 302 yards and two touchdowns in a 45-24 victory over Chapel Hill.
• Savannah Christian RB Marquell Brown had 261 all-purpose yards - 145 rushing, 41 receiving, 75 returning - in a 43-36 victory over Calvary Day.
*Shaw RB Amir Harper rushed for 201 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries in a 27-6 loss to Westover.
• South Effingham RB Rocko Griffin rushed for 192 yards and three touchdowns on 32 carries and had three kickoff returns for 135 yards in a 48-47 victory over New Hampstead.
• South Paulding QB Austin Seymour was 24-of-38 passing for 325 yards and five touchdowns - four to Parker Self - in a 43-28 victory over Hughes.
• Thomas County Central QB Kalique Guyton was 15-of-21 passing for 261 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 46 yards and a touchdown in a 40-12 victory over Worth County.
• Thomasville LB Ty Anderson had 10 solo tackles and a sack and returned a fumble 38 yards for a touchdown in a 31-20 victory over Brooks County.
• Toombs County CB Tyler Heather intercepted two passes and returned one for a touchdown in a 62-0 victory over Bryan County.
• Treutlen QB Sabo Mitchell rushed for 169 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 185 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-35 loss to Emanuel County Institute.
• Vidalia sophomore QB Bryce Davis rushed for 252 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries and threw a 36-yard TD pass in a 35-17 victory over Jeff Davis.
• West Laurens WR Brent Carr had 13 catches for 131 yards in a 49-6 victory over Spalding.
• Westminster QB Will Hallmark rushed for 159 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries and was 5-of-6 passing for 72 yards and two touchdowns in 36-21 victory over Pace Academy.
• Woodward Academy QB Mike Wright was 15-of-20 passing for 274 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 94 yards on eight carries in a 49-7 victory over Eastside.
Lines of distinction
• Appling County’s offensive line of Trace Schuman, Toby Taylor, Lane Hutchinson, J.J. Wasden, Garrison Coleman and tight ends Keon Williams, Dawson Griffis and Jeremiah Polk helped the Pirates pound out 318 rushing yards and 20 first downs in a 45-0 victory over Long County.
• The Central (Macon) offensive line of Takevion Smith, Chandler Booze, Martin Caines, Tijuan Dixon, Rashad Clonts and Carlios Flowers paved the way to a 346-yard rushing performance in a 41-21 victory over Kendrick.
• Gainesville’s offensive line of Jordan Williams, Lemuel Gayle, Dorean Whitehead, Elijah Ruiz, Michael Gosa and Cedrick Nicely led the way for 446 total yards of total offense (312 rushing, 134 passing) while allowing no negative plays in a 48-21 victory over Habersham Central. Gainesville averaged 10.1 yards per play and scored touchdowns on its first seven possessions.
• Harlem’s offensive line of Jordan Grant, Antonio Henderson, Alex Litchford, Ean Dunkle and Lane Logue bulldozed the way for 441 yards rushing in a 45-20 victory over Hephzibah. Benefiting most were Cam Garnett (23 carries, 281 yards) and Jeremiah Ellis (16 carries, 103 yards). The victory put Harlem in second place in Region 4-AA.
• Haralson County’s offensive line of Daniel Hartley, Zach Owens, Jaden Walker, Ell Salmon, Damon Blankenship, Beau Chaffin, Lance Singletary and Caleb Hardeman directed TD drives of 75 yards on nine plays, 75 yards on 14 plays, 86 yards on 12 plays and 75 yards on 12 plays in a 32-20 victory over Sonoraville. Haralson County had 24 pancake blocks.
• Loganville’s offensive line of Micah Cordle, Chase Ransom, T.J. Taylor, Andrew Still, Will Akin and Wayne Lewis blocked for 507 yards of total offense - 304 rushing, 203 passing - and allowed no sacks in a 38-21 victory over Clarke Central, which entered as a 25-point favorite. RB J.B. Seay rushed for 205 yards. After an 0-5 start, Loganville now stands tied for first place with No. 1-ranked Buford in Region 8-AAAAA with a 2-0 region record.
• South Forsyth’s offensive line of Bryce Cockfield, Mason Cooper, Bryce Myers, James Fehr, Bradley Hutcheson and Ethan Patrick recorded 62 pancake blocks, graded out 90 percent overall and allowed no sacks in a 42-17 victory over Lambert. South had 193 yards rushing, 198 passing.
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