Week 3 Friday Night roundup

Roswell’s first touchdown came with 5:13 left in the first half, as Savion McCrary rushed for a 2-yard score. Ethan Roberts hit Jacob Jarrett on a 33-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-3 Hornets with 1:32 in the second quarter, then two quick Centennial turnovers gave Roswell a big lead before halftime. Doneiko Slaughter intercepted a pass (just 12 seconds after Jarrett’s reception) and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown to make it 21-3, and Khaleed Mosley forced a Centennial fumble with 21 seconds remaining in the half and covered it at the Knights 13. Roberts then found Jarrett for their second touchdown to give Roswell a 28-3 lead at the half. Tajari Singleton rushed for a 1-yard score on the Hornets’ opening drive of the second half, and McCrary scored on a 4-yard run later in the third quarter after another Centennial turnover. Ryan Hill scored on a 2-yard rush early in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring for the Hornets.

Lowndes 38, Parkview 7

Lowndes jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter before cruising to a 38-7 home win over Parkview. The Vikings got three rushing touchdowns from sophomore quarterback Jacurri Brown, who scored on runs of 30, 7 and 5 yards. Lowndes also got a 3-yard rushing score from Gary Osby, a 52-yard rushing score from Israel Mitchell and a 20-yard field goal from Brian Palacios. Parkview’s lone touchdown came in the second quarter on a 14-yard pass from Jordan Williams to Derrick Brown.

Marietta 28, Collins Hill 9

The visiting Marietta Blue Devils led host Collins Hill 7-0 after the first quarter after quarterback Harrison Bailey capped a 12-play, 60-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown run. Marietta running back Kimani Vidal answered an Eagles field goal with a 5-yard run with 39 seconds remaining in the half to put Marietta up 14-3. Bailey found Ricky White for a 5-yard touchdown pass early in the third quarter, and he capped the scoring with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Taji Johnson in the final frame.

South Forsyth 32, Etowah 31

The visiting South Forsyth War Eagles came out on top in a thrilling back-and-forth match-up with the Etowah Eagles. South Forsyth’s first-quarter scoring came courtesy of two touchdown passes from Kyle Durham—one to Cameron Schurr and the other to Devin McGlockton— and Etowah’s Nick Maddox scored on a 2-yard rush. The second quarter belonged to Etowah, outscoring South Forsyth 21-6 with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Dalton Miller to Jackson Manns and a 22-yard rushing score from Maddox. South Forsyth’s Durham connected with Schurr to bring the tally to 21-19, and the half ended with Etowah ahead 28-19 after Miller found Brock Rechsteiner for another score. After a scoreless third quarter, a rushing touchdown from South Forsyth’s Tre Green cut Etowah’s lead to 28-26. Carson Allen kicked a 31-yard field goal to give the Eagles a 31-26 edge with four minutes to play, but South Forsyth’s Joe Slott connected with Schurr for a 61-yard touchdown, a 32-31 lead and the win. Kyle Durham went a perfect 6-of-6 for 133 yards and two touchdowns.

Cherokee 24, North Hall 7

Following a Week 2 shutout over Sequoyah, the Cherokee defense held visiting North Hall scoreless on offense in the Warriors’ 24-7 victory at home. Luke Gunter gave North Hall its only points of the game by returning a blocked Cherokee field goal attempt to the end zone, but linebacker Nate Muse recovered and ran a North Hall fumble to the Trojans 2-yard line midway through the second quarter to set up a Keith Adams Jr touchdown. A 20-yard field goal by Luis Mijangos capped off a 12-play, 66-yard Cherokee drive for a 10-7 halftime advantage, and the two second-half Warriors touchdowns came on a 43-yarder from quarterback AJ Swann to Landon Ergle and Adams’ second rushing score. Cherokee starts its season 3-0 for the first time since 2007.

Archer 49, Spartanburg (SC) 10

The Spartanburg Vikings scored the first touchdown of the game against host Archer, but senior Trey Messer snagged himself a 22-yard touchdown from senior quarterback Carter Peevy to tie it late in the opening frame. Junior running back Schmari Campbell got hot in the second, reaching the end zone on a 5-yard run for Archer’s first lead and adding another score with 5:19 left in the half after a fumble recovery by the Tiger defense. Peevy then connected with Jordon Swain on a 31-yard pass for a 28-7 score at the half. Campbell’s success continued in the third quarter, expanding Archer’s lead with touchdown runs of 32 and 16 yards. Peevy’s completion to Stevon Porcha gave Archer its final points of the night.

North Cobb 44, Campbell 7

Campbell took an early lead on a 42-yard touchdown run from junior Emon Padgett, but would fail to put points on the board for the remainder of the game. Langdon Parker returned the following kickoff 78 yards to tie the game, and the Warriors scored again shortly after when a Campbell snap soared over the center for a safety. Parker then expanded North Cobb’s lead to 16-7 lead by hauling in a 17-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Trevor Lovett. Two more first-half scores from Cam Cunningham on runs of 8 and 9 yards put the Warriors up 30-7, and an 11-yard touchdown pass from Lovett to Kalen Carver ended the first-half scoring spree. The last score of the game came in the third quarter when Iverson Harris rushed 41 yards into the end zone.

Walton 33, Pope 10

Host Walton trailed 7-0 in the first quarter but took control of the game on the ground behind a strong performance by the offensive line and five rushing touchdowns. Kendall Stokes scored three times, and Julian Bumper scored twice for the Raiders, who led 20-10 at halftime and improved to 2-1 to bounce back from a last-second loss to Collins Hill last week.

North Forsyth 15, Northview 14

North Forsyth excelled in all three phases of the game to escape with a road win against Northview on Friday night. Titans quarterback Beau Lark gave the home team an early lead with a 7-yard touchdown run to cap off a drive in which he completed all three of his passes. North Forsyth turned the ball over on its first offensive possession, but the defense stood stout. The Raiders were able to get on the board on their second possession with a 35-yard touchdown pass from Brady Meitz to wide receiver Nicky Dalmolin, but missed the extra point. Lark threw his only touchdown pass of the night on a 13-yard fade to Patrick Hester late in the second quarter for a 14-9 Northview advantage at halftime. North Forsyth capitalized on a Titans turnover in their own territory late in the third quarter with a 7-yard touchdown run by Patrick Corrigan for a 15-14 lead that held throughout the remainder of the game.

Class AAAAAA

Gainesville 55, Lambert 7

Gainesville quarterback Gionni Williams led the Red Elephants to a commanding victory over the Lambert Longhorns, adding to the 14-0 first-quarter lead with three touchdown passes in the second—two to Walter Dixon, and the other to D.J. Miller. Lamberts’ only points came on a touchdown pass from Peyton Rich to Kojo Antwi in the second quarter, and Gainesville led 34-7 at the half. The Red Elephants scored twice in the third, with touchdowns by Dez Brown and Jaylon Rhodes, and once more in the final frame.

Harrison 49, River Ridge 0

The Harrison Hoyas blew out the River Ridge Knights with a stifling defensive performance and a well-rounded attack on offense. After compiling a 28-0 lead in the first half, the Hoyas kept rolling with a 21-point third quarter. Quarterback Gavin Hall threw three touchdowns and finished the game 8-of-14, and Harrison’s fourth touchdown pass came courtesy of backup quarterback Justin Lewis. Wide receivers Maques Owens and Mason Babay each had two touchdown receptions, David Roberts scored twice on the ground and James Ziglor also contributed a rushing touchdown.

Class AAAAA

Kell 27, Lassiter 0

Kell led 8-0 at halftime at Lassiter after a touchdown pass from Corbin LaFrance to Jamal Hill and a two-point conversion on a swinging-gate play that was run in by Camron Ball. The Longhorns got another LaFrance-to-Hill touchdown in the second half, as well as a punt return for a score by Miykayah Vinson. Colby Kerns added two second-half field goals for the Longhorns.

Rome 63, North Clayton 6

Rome outgained North Clayton 275-to-18 in first-half yardage on the way to a 49-0 lead at the break. Trey Lawrence and EJ Burks each had two first-half touchdowns, and teammates Ahijah Blackwell, Nick Burge and Caleb Ellard added scores as well. Burkes ran in his third touchdown midway through the third to increase the lead to 56-0 before North Clayton’s Courtney Colbert found Onuma Dieke for a 42-yard touchdown to put the Eagles on the board with 0:15 left in the frame. Lawrence ran in his third touchdown of the game on a 7-yard carry with 8:37 remaining on the fourth quarter’s running clock.

Class AAAA

Flowery Branch 38, Clarke Central 0 

Flowery Branch followed up its 50-0 win over East Hall in its season opener with a dominating 38-0 win over the host Gladiators to improve to 2-0 . Alex Trujillo connected on a field goal with 6:08 left in the opening quarter to put Flowery Branch on the board and a 6-yard touchdown run by senior Chandler White grew the lead to 10-0 heading into the second frame. White added touchdown runs in each of the next three quarters and closed the game with 225 yards to go with his four scores.

Cartersville 47, Luella 0

Host Cartersville led 40-0 at the half before closing out Luella 47-0 for the program’s 50th straight regular season victory. Devonte Ross returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and closed out the first-half scoring barrage with a 57-yard touchdown reception with 8:20 left in the second quarter. Quante Jennings rushed for two touchdowns (7, 5) in the opening quarter in between a 7-yard touchdown run by quarterback Tee Webb. Marquail Coaxum hauled in a 69-yard touchdown pass from Webb early in the second quarter before Webb’s touchdown pass to Ross. Webb finished the first half 10-of-11 passing for 189 yards and two touchdowns in addition to his touchdown run. Junior Jalen Thomas ran in a 36-yard touchdown in the third quarter to make it 47-0.

Marist 45, Canyon Springs (NV) 8

Connor Cigelske threw two touchdown passes to Josh Moore and rushed for another score as Marist took care of Canyon Springs, which was visiting from Nevada. The War Eagles led 14-0 after one quarter and 28-0 midway through the second following two touchdown runs by Lincoln Parker, one from Brett Zoeller, and the first Cigelske-Moore connection. Canyon Springs got on the scoreboard with a run by Martin Blake before a 65-yard strike from Cigelske to Moore made the halftime margin 35-8. Marist coasted the rest of the way, getting its final points via a 27-yard field goal by Richard Bowen in the fourth quarter.

Class AAA

Westminster 42, St. Pius X 14

Westminster strung together 42 unanswered points to overwhelm visiting St. Pius X. The Golden Lions got an interception return for a touchdown from Jack Tchienchou on the second play of the game before Westminster began its surge. Will Hallmark led the Wildcats with touchdown runs of 24, 3, and 16 yards to go along with a 6-yard strike to Denton Shamburger. Paul Weathington took over in the third quarter by scampering 46 yards for a score and 69 yards for another one less than three minutes later. Westminster broke a 7-7 first-quarter tie to lead 14-7 at halftime and 28-7 going into the fourth, eventually extending its advantage to as many as 35 points.

Calhoun 30, Therrell 0

After leading 7-0 at the break, the Calhoun Yellow Jackets added two touchdowns in the third quarter to pull away from Therrell. Quarterback Jake Morrow threw two touchdown passes—a 5-yard strike to David Braden in the second quarter and an 8-yard screen pass to Grant Gilmer late in the third. Jerrian Hames led Calhoun with two rushing touchdowns.

Greater Atlanta Christian 34, Prestonwood Christian (TX) 27

Greater Atlanta Christian scored 20 unanswered points—including 14 in the fourth quarter—to overcome Prestonwood Christian, which was visiting from Texas. Prestonwood Christian led 14-0 in the second quarter on touchdown runs by Randell Holmes before Tyler Bride of the Spartans scampered 77 yards to slice their deficit in half. This was the beginning of a huge night for Bride, who scored all five of Greater Atlanta Christian’s touchdowns—including one from 80 yards out in the fourth quarter. Riley Wilson also came up big for the Lions with a 39-yard interception return to the end zone and a seven-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Jacob Switzer.

Pace Academy 25, Monroe Area 0

Pace Academy’s Jayden Thomas had two touchdowns—one on the ground and one through the air—in the Knights’ 25-0 road win over Monroe Area. Pace compiled a 5-0 lead in the last 2:26 of the opening frame with a 27-yard field goal and a safety off Monroe Area’s Zay Williams fumble in the end zone. Thomas’ first score came on a 65-yard sweep with 9:06 left in the first half, and Pace pushed the lead with a 38-yard field goal midway through the third quarter. Thomas found the end zone for the second time on an 18-yard pass from Evan Smith with 11:16 left in the game. A 34-yard field goal with 12 seconds left brought the game to its final tally.

Class AA

Callaway 56, LaGrange 10

Callaway led 21-3 after the opening quarter and took a comfortable 49-10 lead into the final frame. The Cavaliers opened the scoring on a 5-yard touchdown run before Auburn-commit Cartavious “Tank” Bigsby made the first of his four trips to the end zone on a 5-yard carry with 8:13 left in the first. Callaway quarterback Demetrius Coleman found Jacob Freeman for a 98-yard touchdown that made it 21-0 and LaGrange kicker Kaleb Ceja connected on a 30-yard field goal to get the Grangers on the board. Bigsby’s 50-yard touchdown run put Callaway ahead 28-3 at the half and he set up his 2-yard touchdown run early into the third quarter with a 55-yard carry. LaGrange found the end zone for the first time on a 32-yard run by Caleb Ross to cut it to 35-10 with seven minutes left in the third quarter. Bigsby’s fourth touchdown of the game came on a 27-yard carry and teammate Charlie Dixon took Callaway’s next possession into the end zone for a 92-yard touchdown to make it 49-10 heading into the fourth. Cameron Smith returned an interception 70 yards for the game’s final score.

Class A

Wesleyan 24, Prince Avenue Christian 14

Wesleyan overcame a 14-0 halftime deficit to race past Prince Avenue Christian. The visiting Wolves scored all three of their touchdowns thanks to the arm of quarterback J.C. French, who connected with J.D. Chipman, Micah Smith, and Andrew Van Wie. French’s strike to Van Wie from 15 yards out on the first play of the fourth quarter broke a 14-14 tie. Javy Martinez tacked on a 41-yard field goal to make it a two-possession game while providing for the final 24-14 margin. Both of Prince Avenue Christian’s scores were passes from Brock Vandagriff to Jack Johnston, one for 27 yards and the second for 32 yards.

Mt. Vernon Presbyterian 30, First Presbyterian Day 7

Host Mt. Vernon erased First Presbyterian Day’s 7-0 halftime lead and scored 23 of its 30 second-half points in the third quarter. Parker Ingram’s 25-yard touchdown pass to Harrison Aulds put First Presbyterian Day on the board with 2:07 left in the opening half. Mt. Vernon’s junior quarterback Blake Kytle answered with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Douglas with 8:08 left in the third quarter to even it 7-7. The Mustangs gained the lead less than a minute later when a botched Vikings snap following a three-and-out went into the end zone for a safety. Kytle added a 35-yard touchdown pass to Alex Holliday and found Douglas for a 29-yard score to put the Mustangs up 23-7 entering the final quarter. Douglas, who finished the game with seven catches for 147 yards and three touchdowns, iced the game with a 65-yard interception return for a touchdown with 8:40 left in the game. Kytle finished 19-of-24 passing for 292 yards and three touchdowns.

Eagle’s Landing Christian 42, Heritage-Conyers 0

Eagle’s Landing Christian had no trouble taking care of visiting Heritage-Conyers in the 42-0 shutout. Keaton Mitchell scored the Chargers’ first four touchdowns on the ground—including scoring runs of 32 and 50 yards—to pace them to leads of 14-0 after one quarter and 21-0 at halftime. They extended the advantage to 28-0 going into the fourth quarter, then tacked on two more touchdowns in the final frame. Gabe Wright threw a 5-yard touchdown pass and Josh Rogers capped off the night’s scoring with a 4-yard trip to the end zone.