The East Cobb rivalry game between Walton and Wheeler has been a close one in recent years, regardless of what was at stake.
This time the prize was sole possession of first place in Region 5-AAAAAA, and, as usual, the teams played another tight battle.
Walton overcame five turnovers and a 12-0 first-quarter deficit to defeat the Wildcats 22-19 at home Friday to move to the top spot in the standings, ahead of No. 3 Roswell (3-0, 1-0), which was idle. The Raiders are off next week and then travel to Roswell on Oct. 2.
The victory was the ninth straight and 17th in 18 meetings for Walton in a series it leads 25-18. The last four games have all been decided by a touchdown or less.
Wheeler, which was looking to start the season 4-1 for the first time since 1997, fell to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the region.
“That coaching staff has done such a great job; those kids are legit,” Walton coach Maurice Dixon said of Wheeler. “They beat Milton like they did last week, and they are so legit. We’re beat up right now. That game was just brutal. It’s what you see in a rivalry game like that. We didn’t give in and they didn’t give in. It was a war. I’m just glad we’ve got an open date next week.”
Walton scored 22 consecutive points in the middle two quarters to take control, then withstood a late Wheeler touchdown to hold on for the victory.
Walton quarterback Addison Shoup threw two touchdown passes, including a 17-yarder to K.K. Brooks in the third quarter that gave the Raiders the lead for good at 15-12 after a successful two-point conversion. Brooks also had a 1-yard touchdown run in the quarter and finished the night with 146 yards rushing on 29 carries. Shoup was 15-for-23 passing for 171 yards, with three interceptions. Walton had a 404-272 advantage in total offense.
Wheeler opened the game with two time-consuming touchdown drives to take a 12-0 lead. The Wildcats took the opening kickoff and drove 65 yards on 14 plays, scoring on a 1-yard run by Michael Bryant with 5:28 to play in the quarter.
Wheeler’s Bennett Bay intercepted Shoup on the Raiders’ first possession, and the Wildcats took advantage, driving 80 yards on 10 plays and scoring on Xevier Morton’s 1-yard run on the final play of the quarter. Walton ran four plays and had just 14 yards of offense in the quarter.
Wheeler finished the quarter with 139 yards of offense, roughly half of its total for the night. Morton led the Wildcats with 18 carries for 94 yards, 75 of which came in the first half.
Walton had a long drive of its own in the second quarter to get back in the game. The Raiders drove 79 yards in 17 plays, taking more than seven minutes off the clock, scoring on a 2-yard pass from Shoup to Dominick Blaylock.
Wheeler – 12-0-0-7 – 19
Walton – 0-7-15-0 – 22
Wh – Michael Bryant 1 run (kick failed)
Wh – Xevier Morton 1 run (kick failed)
Wa – Dominick Blaylock 2 pass from Addison Shoup (Johnny Randle kick)
Wa – K.K. Brooks 17 pass from Shoup (Shoup run)
Wa – Brooks 1 run (Randle kick)
Wh – Benaiah Franklin 16 pass from Gabe Magerkurth (Jacob Pereira kick)
