Ben Noland's sophomore season was ruined in the first quarter of the first game last year when he tore an ACL. The Oconee County wide receiver and strong safety has been waiting 12 months for Friday night, and he made the most of it in the Warriors' 20-13 upset victory over Class AAA No. 6 Jefferson.
With his team trailing 13-7 in the fourth quarter, Noland intercepted a pass in the end zone and ran it to the 21-yard line. On the next play, he ran a post pattern and scored on a 79-yard pass from Max Johnson, a four-star recruit with a big arm.
"I was just excited after the interception," Noland told GHSF Daily. "I got back to the sideline and my dad [head coach Travis Noland] said, 'Are you ready to go?' I said, 'Yes sir,' and went back out. The play is called an X post. I just fake like I'm blocking and take off. He [Johnson] can launch it pretty good."
Noland, cleared for full contact only this month, said he treated his return like any other game. His efforts on offense and defense and especially in the clutch are among the Top Performances of the first week of the Georgia high school football season.
Top five
*Colquitt County PK/P Ryan Fitzgerald made field goals of 53 and 51 yards, was 4-for-4 on extra points, kicked eight of eight kickoffs into the end zone and hit a 53-yard punt that was downed at the 4-yard line in a 41-7 victory over McEachern.
*Haralson County RB Treylon Sheppard rushed for a school-record 279 yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries in a 35-7 victory over Gordon Central. Sheppard also scored two conversions.
*Marietta QB Harrison Bailey was 36-of-51 passing for 443 yards and six touchdowns in a 51-41 loss to defending Class AAAAA champion Rome. WR Ramel Keyton had 14 catches for 191 yards and four touchdowns. TE Arik Gilbert had 14 receptions for 170 yards and a touchdown.
*North Hall RB/DB Daniel Jackson rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns on four carries, had two receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown and returned a kickoff 90 yards for a score - giving him 308 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns on seven touches - in a 63-7 victory over Chestatee. Jackson also forced and recovered a fumble on defense.
*Oconee County WR/DB Ben Noland, coming off a torn ACL suffered in the first quarter of the first game in 2017, had five receptions for 112 yards, three tackles, a pass breakup and an interception in a 20-13 victory over Jefferson. Noland returned his interception from the end zone to the 21-yard line, then caught a 79-yard TD pass from Max Johnson for a 14-13 lead in the fourth quarter.
Best of the rest
*Baconton Charter LB Hunter Bowles had 14 solo tackles and five stops for losses in a 54-14 victory over Pataula Charter.
*Campbell RB Tavion Jackson rushed for 162 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries in a 34-20 victory over Villa Rica.
*Cartersville RB Marcus Gary rushed for 144 yards on 19 carries and added 94 yards on three catches in a 35-0 victory over Allatoona. He scored two touchdowns.
*Centennial QB Max Brosmer was 23-of-31 passing for 394 yards in a 38-14 loss to Northside of Warner Robins.
*Cherokee DB Grant Mogelnicki had six tackles, three interceptions and two pass breakups - one to save a touchdown - in an 18-16 victory over North Forsyth.
*Coffee DB Azi Johnson had 12 solo tackles and intercepted two passes in a 20-7 victory over Brunswick.
*Columbus QB Donovan Carter was 18-of-21 passing for 167 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-6 victory over Spencer. Tre Peterson rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.
*Creekside DL Deontae Bass had 13 tackles - four for losses - in a 49-13 loss to Westlake.
*Douglass RB Juan Powell rushed for 230 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries in a 22-12 victory over Washington.
*Eastside QB Noah Cook passed for 255 yards and rushed for 103 in a 42-17 victory over Ola.
*Heard County DL Zaylin Wood had 11 tackles, three for losses, and a sack in a 10-3 victory over LaGrange. He played 29 snaps on defense.
*Hebron Christian WR Jeffrey Saturday had eight receptions for 156 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-17 loss to Class A public-school No. 1 Clinch County.
*Heritage (Ringgold) RB/LB Jeffrey Curtis rushed for 174 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries in a 41-27 victory over Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe. Curtis also had four solo tackles and two sacks and punted twice for a 41.5-yard average.
*Jackson County DB/RB Tyler Wester rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries, threw an 11-yard TD pass and had 10 tackles in a 23-0 victory over Banks County.
*Jones County QB Hunter Costlow was 12-of-21 passing for 294 yards and five touchdowns in a 34-28 victory over Howard. WR Maleek Wooten had five receptions for 162 yards and three touchdowns, and Caden Mutchler had two receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns.
*Marion County QB Trice McCannon rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries and was 8-of-14 passing for 126 yards and a touchdown in a 28-7 victory over Schley County.
*McIntosh LB Ryan Sanders had 10 solo tackles, seven assists and a fumble recovery in a 32-18 loss to Mundy's Mill.
*Monroe QB David Dilliard passed for 178 yards and rushed for 110 in a 47-14 victory over Jordan.
*Mount Zion (Jonesboro) DL Kameron Wilson had 14 solo tackles, four sacks, six tackles behind the line and one fumble recovery in a 14-13 loss to Jonesboro.
*Norcross DE Tyler Moore and LB Chris Wright had three tackles for losses each in a 42-26 victory over Mays. DT Jaylin Carter and DB Tysen Long had two TFL apiece.
*North Cobb PK/P Will Aldridge, who came out for football for the first time this season and had only 10 days of practice, kicked two field goals, three extra points and six touchbacks and punted once for 40 yards in a 35-21 victory over Woodstock.
*Northside (Warner Robins) RB Eric Smith rushed for 185 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries and had 46 yards receiving in a 38-14 victory over Centennial.
*Northwest Whitfield WR Seth Henderson had three receptions, all for touchdowns totaling 149 yards, in a 34-6 victory over Coahulla Creek.
*Prince Avenue Christian WR/DB Christian Parrish scored five touchdowns - three rushing, two passing - in a 55-27 victory over Mount Vernon Presbyterian. He had 139 yards on eight receptions and 47 yards on six rushes.
*Rockmart WR Juke Boozer had three receptions for 122 yards and two touchdowns, the second a 54-yarder with 20 seconds to go, in a 20-14 victory over Class AAAA No. 10 Cedartown.
*Rome WR Xavier Roberts had seven receptions for 144 yards and two touchdowns, scored on an 11-yard run and threw a 23-yard pass in a 51-41 victory over Marietta.
*Savannah Christian RB/DB Nate Moon rushed for 152 yards on 18 carries on offense and had 10 tackles - three for losses - and a fumble recovery on defense in a 20-7 loss to Athens Academy.
*South Forsyth RB Jordan Brunson rushed for 194 yards and four touchdowns on 26 carries in a 26-6 victory over Sprayberry.
*South Gwinnett LB Lexington Stocker had 14 tackles - four for losses - a sack, a forced fumble and an interception in a 14-7 victory over Central Gwinnett.
*Southeast Whitfield RB Christian Gillespie rushed for 151 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-22 loss to Woodland (Cartersville).
*Stephens County CB/HB Hudson Spurlock rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown on eight carries, intercepted two passes and had two tackles in a 13-3 victory over Franklin County.
*Stephenson RB Deondre Jackson rushed for 226 yards and three touchdowns, one an 80-yarder, on 11 carries in a 39-12 victory over Columbia.
*Therrell QB Qundarius Sterling was 11-of-17 passing for 216 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries in a 38-34 victory over Osborne. Jamontae Dean had 129 yards receiving, and Jauvoric Griffin had 149 yards rushing.
*Thomasville RB Tan Gelin rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries in a 15-14 victory over Cairo.
*Treutlen WR/DB Kam Jordan had three receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns and seven tackles, one for a loss, in a 35-21 victory over ACE Charter.
*Valdosta QB Tate Rodemaker was 17-of-30 passing for 331 yards and four touchdowns in a 45-27 victory over Jackson of Atlanta.
*Walton QB Aaron Kirksey was 18-of-25 passing for 344 yards and three touchdowns. All the TD passes went to Dominick Blaylock, who had six catches for 132 yards in a 48-27 victory over Mill Creek.
*Warner Robins QB Dylan Fromm was 22-of-44 passing for 441 yards and three touchdowns in a 40-29 victory over Tift County. Marcayll Jones had seven catches for 153 yards.
*Warren County RB A.J. Stanford rushed for 257 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries in a 40-6 victory over Portal.
Lines of distinction
*Brooks County's line of tackles Jakobee Mitchell and Cam Wright, guards Zach Gardner and Anthony Daniels, center Chris Mickens and tight ends Tae'aviion Gray and Travis Wright helped the Trojans rush for 320 yards in a 43-6 victory over Mitchell County. The linemen average 260 pounds in weight, and all bench press more than 300 pounds.
*Dawson County's line of Clay Martinez, Justin Butler, Mathew McCracken, Chandler Cates and Ethan Smith paved the way for 432 yards of total offense in a 32-28 victory over Habersham Central. SeVaughn Clark rushed for 194 yards, and Ahmad Kmara rushed for 130.
*Walton's offensive line of tackles David Sobek and Jared Jones, guards Evan May, Tanner Daniels and Tal Brill and center Walker Hurst were instrumental in the Raiders' 454 total yards and six touchdowns in a 48-27 victory over Mill Creek.
*Westminster’s offensive line of LT Banks Platford, LG Charlie Wickliffe, C Badger Warner, RG Matthew Schmaland RT Halim Labi, along with tight end Grant Matzigkeit and backups Warren Seeds and Mason Poje paved the way for nearly 600 yards of total offense and did not allow a sack in a 56-31 victory over Woodward Academy. Westminster had two 150-yard rushers and threw five TD passes.
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