Week 1 Friday Night Roundup

The visiting Etowah Eagles dominated host River Ridge in the second half, closing out the game with 23 unanswered points for a 37-10 win. Remington Adams provided the first points of the night on a 66-yard run, and Etowah quarterback Dalton Miller’s 4-yard pass to Stephen Palazzo put the Eagles up 14-3 before River Ridge closed the gap before the end of the half with a 41-yard rushing touchdown by Amehre Morrison. Adams found the end zone again at the start of the third quarter with an 88-yard kickoff return, and Carson Allen’s 43-yard field goal gave Etowah a 24-10 lead heading into the final frame. Miller, who finished 15-of-22 for 159 yards, provided both touchdowns in the fourth with a 21-yard completion to Jackson Manns and a 6-yard trip to the end zone for the 37-10 final.

Coffee 38, Brunswick 21

Coffee took a 21-0 lead with 2:03 left in the first half and held on for the victory. Coffee scored on a 20-yard screen pass to Jaylen Suggs early in the first quarter. Josh Killebrew added a 7-yard touchdown run with 3:05 left in the first quarter for a 14-0 lead. The Trojans added a 51-yard touchdown pass to take the 21-0 lead before Brunswick found the end zone just before the half on a Chuckobee Hill score. Coffee added an easy touchdown with 11:02 left in the third quarter to take a 28-7 lead. The Trojans took complete control after a 66-yard touchdown run with 7:59 left in the third. Coffee expanded the lead after two Brunswick punts and turned into two touchdown drives and the Trojans tacked on a 31-yard field goal to enjoy a 38-7 spread. Hill added the Pirates next score to cut into the lead and Ree Simmons brought the game to its final tally on a 38-yard touchdown run.

Hillgrove 28, Douglas County 6

T.J. Thomas scored on a 1-yard run at 9:09 in the first quarter to put Hillgrove up 7-0, and Hawks quarterback Matthew McCravy hit Jalen Royals for a touchdown in the second to give Hillgrove a 14-0 halftime lead. Hillgrove’s Tre Walker scored on a 9-yard rush in the third quarter, and Jawon Garner returned an interception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to cap the Hawks’ scoring.

South Forsyth 34, Sprayberry 20

Host South Forsyth got four rushing touchdowns from Tre’von Green and one long rushing score from Colby Cruz to outlast Sprayberry. Sprayberry pulled to within 27-20 early in the fourth quarter before Green’s final touchdown put the game out of reach. Defensively for the War Eagles, Gavin Morris had an interception and Cameron Schurr forced a fumble that was recovered by Josh Green.

North Cobb 34, Woodstock 7

Visiting North Cobb dominated on the ground in its 34-7 victory over Woodstock, including two rushing touchdowns by quarterback Trevor Lovett. His two scores (8 yards and 63 yards) bookended a 94-yard interception return by Kendall Drake in the second, and the Warriors went up 34-0 in the fourth on additional touchdown runs by Tommieo Walker and backup quarterback Malachi Singleton. Woodstock avoided the shutout when Robbie Roper found Andrew Bartolero with a 13-yard pass with 2:50 left in the game.

Class AAAAAA

Harrison 47, Lassiter 3

The Harrison Hoyas kicked off their season with an emphatic 47-3 victory over the visiting Lassiter Trojans. Lassiter’s defense looked up to the task early on, holding Harrison to its second field goal of the game after the Hoyas came up with a fresh set of downs early in the second frame at the Trojan 9-yardline, but the home team blew open the 6-0 lead with four touchdowns in the final 5:45 of the half to go up 34-0. The Hoyas put up the only points of the third quarter, and quarterback Justin Lewis capped off the impressive performance by the Hoya offense with a 57-yard pass to Daylin Rice early in the fourth. A 29-yard field goal by Braden Ralston saved Lassiter from the shutout with 1:05 left on the clock.

Class AAAAA

Class AAAA

Woodward 19, Westminster 0

Woodward dominated defensively but also racked up 302 yards of total offense in a shutout of visiting Westminster. Both of the War Eagles’ touchdowns came on passes from Mike Wright to Hunter Sellers, one from 20 yards out in the second quarter before a 28-yarder capped off the night’s scoring with 4:45 left in the game. Lee Johnson kicked a 37-yard field goal in the first quarter and James Mayfield connected from 36 yards away early in the fourth. Wright completed 11 of 24 attempts for 180 yards and two touchdowns.

Cartersville 14, Allatoona 13

Sam Phillips caught a 59-yard touchdown pass from Tee Webb to give visiting Cartersville a 14-13 lead late in the fourth quarter. On the ensuing Allatoona possession, Cartersville’s Devonte Ross forced an Allatoona receiver to fumble, and the Purple Hurricane recovered to seal the win. Allatoona led 6-0 at halftime after a 54-yard field goal and a 43-yard field from Jude Kelly. Cartersville took a 7-6 lead in the third quarter on a 98-yard run from Quante Jennings, then Allatoona regained the lead, 13-7, late in the third with a short touchdown run.

LaGrange 24, Heard County 9

Visiting LaGrange scored 24 unanswered points after Heard County built a 9-0 lead in the opening quarter. The Grangers got on the board with a Kaleb Ceja 25-yard field goal and then took a 10-9 lead with 1:45 left in the half on a Charles Crawford 20-yard touchdown pass to Logan Karcher. Kaleb Gibbs grew the lead to 17-9 with a 47-yard rushing score late in the third quarter, before Crawford added a 36-yard touchdown run in the final frame.

Gainesville 27, Mary Persons 21

Gainesville came back from a 14-3 deficit to upend visiting (and 7th-ranked) Mary Persons, 27-21. The Bulldogs opened up a 14-3 lead on the Red Elephants in the second quarter before Gainesville mounted a comeback. Gionni Williams threw two touchdown passes, one to Lenny Chatman from 67 yards out and then a 34-yard strike to DJ Miller. Rico Harden scored twice for Mary Persons, once on a 71-yard run early, and a 78-yard kickoff return to make it 27-21 in the fourth. Gainesville, who has the third-most wins in the state history, also blocked a 49-yard Mary Persons field goal.

Class AAA

Pace Academy 7, New Manchester 6

Pace Academy held on late to win a defensive struggle against host New Manchester. The Knights scored their touchdown in the first quarter after a blocked punt by Connor Husk set them up inside the Jaguars’ 10-yard line. Justin Johnson punched it in the endzone before Pearson Bates tacked on what proved to be a crucial extra point. New Manchester missed the extra point following its second-quarter touchdown and the resulting 7-6 score held up throughout the second half. The Jaguars turned the ball over on downs in Pace Academy territory with 1:03 remaining to end the night.

Hart County 39, Elbert County 7

Host Hart County jumped out to a 19-0 lead at the half. Quarterback Luke Lee threw touchdown passes to Cane Berrong and Preston Mewborn, and Quinn Moore scored off a blocked punt. The Bulldogs lead grew to 27-0 after Montae Maxwell returned the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown and then Lee found Mewborn for the duo’s second touchdown connection later in the quarter. Malachi Thomas ran in Hart County’s final touchdown to make it 39-0 in the final frame before Elbert County’s late score prevented the shutout.

Lovett 30, Greater Atlanta Christian 29

Blaine McAllister threw a 16-yard scoring strike to Ritter Windom to get overtime started and host Lovett blocked Greater Atlanta Christian’s extra point following a touchdown on the next possession to survive a wild one. The Lions dominated the fourth quarter 16-0 to erase a 23-7 deficit and force the extra frame. McAllister and fellow quarterback Jackson Hardy traded touchdown runs en route to a 7-7 halftime deadlock before the Spartans seemingly took control in the third quarter thanks in part to fumble return to the end zone by Tyler Bride.

Class AA

Screven County 44, Bluffton (SC) 41 OT

Screven County’s Gary Hawkins rushed for a pair of first-quarter touchdowns to give the Gamecocks an early 12-0 lead. Host Bluffton answered and the game was eventually tied 34-34 early in the fourth quarter. Hawkins ran in his fourth touchdown of the game to put Screven County back in front 41-34 with just a minute left in regulation, but the Bobcats forced overtime with just five seconds left on a touchdown pass from Lee Kirkland to Kylan Simmons. Screven County clinched the victory with a field goal in OT.

Class A

Wesleyan 30, Meadowcreek 19

Wesleyan used touchdowns from four different players and excelled in all three phases of the game to defeat visiting Meadowcreek. The Wolves got touchdown runs from Griffin Caldwell, J.C. French, and Wyatt Hodges in addition to a field goal by Javy Martinez. Defensively, Josh Aspinwall returned an interception for a score midway through the third quarter to extend his team’s 10-7 halftime advantage to 17-7. Quincy Bonner led the Mustangs with three touchdowns, two on the ground plus a 19-yard pass to Joe Jenkins.

Athens Academy 35, Savannah Christian 7

Visiting Athens Academy led 14-0 after the opening quarter and 35-0 with 10:36 left in the third quarter. Running back Len’Neth Whitehead took nine carries for a game-high 125 yards (13.9 yards per carry) and four touchdowns. Spartans quarterback Palmer Bush went 3-of-5 passing for 43 yards and rushed for an 18-yard touchdown that grew Athens Academy’s lead to 21-0 with 9:32 left in the first half.

Prince Avenue Christian 54, Mount Vernon Presbyterian 28

The 3rd-ranked in Class A Private School Prince Avenue Wolverines raced out to a 21-0 lead against Mount Vernon and never looked back in a 54-28 romp over the Mustangs. In the third quarter, Wolverine quarterback and Oklahoma commit Brock Vandagriff had a hand in three touchdowns, once on a keeper, and two tosses to Zac Dyer—one on a fourth down and the other right after a recovered kickoff. Vandagriff had another scoring pass early in the fourth, hitting Trey Stiles in the end zone.