The Brookwood Broncos took another step toward recovering from a disappointing 1-3 start to the 2019 season with their third-straight win (all against Region 7-AAAAAAA opponents), overcoming a 39-30 fourth-quarter deficit with four unanswered touchdowns for a 58-39 victory against visiting Central Gwinnett. Brookwood answered an early Black Knight score with a 20-yard completion from Jack Spyke to Conley Davis, and Alexander Diggs’ interception of Central Gwinnett quarterback Skylar Adams in the end zone kept the score tied heading into the second quarter. Adams responded with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Justin Wilkins to reclaim the lead before Spyke found Tyler Knight with a 55-yarder. A missed extra point kept the Black Knights ahead 14-13, a lead they expanded to 20-13 on the following drive with another rushing score and a missed extra point of their own. The half closed with a 4-yard Brookwood touchdown by Dylan Lonergan, a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff return for Central Gwinnett, and a 17-yard field goal by Jake Cartmill for the Broncos for a 27-23 Central Gwinnett lead at the break.
The third quarter began with another Central Gwinnett score and another missed extra point and ended with a 57-yard touchdown pass from Adams to Daejon Reynolds, with a 3-yard rushing score by Brookwood’s Eli Kohl in between. The Black Knights were unsuccessful on a 2-point conversion attempt, and took a 39-30 lead into the final frame.
Kohl scored again on the Broncos’ first drive of the quarter, and Knight took a 50-yard trip to the end zone to give Brookwood its first lead (44-39) after the Broncos defense held Central Gwinnett to a three-and-out. The defense came up big again on the following drive with a fumble recovery at the Central Gwinnett 43-yard line, which Lonergan capitalized on with another rushing touchdown. The defense then forced a turnover on downs for the Black Knights in their own territory before Kohl’s third touchdown of the night—this time on a 33-yard run—sealed the comeback.
Class AAAAAAA
North Gwinnett 23, Collins Hill 8
North Gwinnett got two rushing touchdowns from Devin Crosby in its home win over visiting Collins Hill. The Bulldogs saw their lead cut to 16-8 in the third quarter, but a 34-yard J.R. Martin touchdown pass to D.J. Hart capped the scoring. Crosby rushed for a 13-yard touchdown in the first quarter to put the Bulldogs up 7-0 and had a 3-yard touchdown at 9:10 in the third to make it 16-0. North Gwinnett picked up a safety in the second quarter when Collins Hill quarterback Sam Horn fell in his own end zone. Horn found Travis Hunter for a 14-yard touchdown at 4:47 in the third and caught the two-point conversion on a pass from Jalen Johnson.
Milton 24, South Forsyth 7
Milton defended home field with a 24-7 win over South Forsyth. Milton quarterback Devin Ferrell got the scoring started for Milton with a 45-yard rushing touchdown, and a 40-yard field goal from Milton’s Jason Aussin put the Eagles up 10-0. South Forsyth’s Joe Slott connected with Colby Cruz for a 78-yard touchdown with 0:07 remaining in the opening frame, cutting Milton’s lead to three. The second quarter began with a second rushing touchdown from Ferrell for 52 yards. Milton’s Jordan McDonald scored off a 1-yard rush in the final seconds of the half, and neither team would score for the rest of the game. Milton had a total of 210 rushing yards to South Forsyth’s 21. Ferrell had 10 rushes for 157 yards and went 7-of-14 for 101 passing yards, and Milton running back Ahmad Junearick added 14 carries for 31 yards. Slott went 10-of-22 for 167 yards and one touchdown. Cruz had 6 catches for 120 yards and one touchdown.
Roswell 42, Lassiter 6
The Roswell Hornets picked up their first region win of the year with a 42-6 victory over Lassiter. Roswell’s defense keyed the victory, with the Hornets converting touchdowns off two Lassiter fumbles before John-Michael RiRoberto and Doneiko Slaughter both brought interceptions of Brayden Lind to the end zone. The Trojans avoided the shutout when Lind lobbed a late 75-yard scoring strike to Matthew Grachen. Lassiter drops to 0-2 in Region 4-AAAAAAA and will travel to Woodstock next week, while Roswell hosts Walton.
Walton 34, Etowah 20
Walton trailed Etowah 13-10 early in the second quarter but scored 24 straight points in a road victory. The Raiders got three rushing touchdowns from running back Kendall Stokes, who rushed for a 27-yard touchdown in the first quarter, a 1-yard score in the second and a 12-yarder in the third. Walton quarterback Zak Rozsman found Pearce Spurlin for a 4-yard touchdown in the second quarter, and kicker Conor Cummins hit a 31-yard field goal in the first quarter and a 24-yarder in the fourth.
North Forsyth 49, Lambert 21
North Forsyth got off to a strong start, outscoring Lambert 28-7 in the first quarter. The Raiders scored 21 unanswered points—a rushing touchdown from Jared Lucero, a 3-yard reception by Anthony Herock, and 47-yard reception by Nicky Dalmolin. Lambert’s Jack Stewart scored with 1:00 left in the frame before Dalmolin scored his second touchdown of the night. At the 9:47 mark in the second, Lambert’s Kojo Antwi had a 60-yard touchdown reception and North Forsyth soon answered with a 2- yard rushing score from Patrick Corrigan, bringing the score 35-14 in favor of the Raiders. The third quarter belonged to North Forsyth as they outscored Lambert 14-0 with a touchdown by quarterback Brady Meitz and Lucero’s second touchdown of the evening. Anthony Newton scored Lambert’s final touchdown in the fourth. Meitz went 13-23 for 243 yards and three touchdown passes. Lucero had 15 carries for a total of 84 yards and two touchdowns. Anthony Herock had four catches for 80 yards, and Nicky Dalmolin had five catches and 73 yards.
Hillgrove 37, Kennesaw Mountain 14
The Hillgrove Hawks picked up their sixth win of the season following a strong defensive performance against Kennesaw Mountain. After a slow start left the Hawks up just 9-6 at the break, a four-touchdown third quarter put the game away. Hillgrove was able to snag three interceptions that set up three of the scores, and the fourth came on a long touchdown rush from Issaiah McCray. The three interceptions were snagged by Jawon Garner, Andrew Worthy and senior Jabreel Salam, who returned his interception straight to the end zone for the score. James Maddox led the team with 78 yards on the ground and three touchdowns.
North Cobb 35, North Paulding 21
North Cobb quarterback Trevor Lovett accounted for four touchdowns, passing for 143 yards and rushing for 120 in the Warriors’ home win. Lovett found Tommieo Walker for a 45-yard touchdown pass and Jevon Johnson for a 55-yard score and rushed for two scores. Cobe Singleton also rushed for a touchdown for North Cobb, which led 28-0 late in the second quarter before North Paulding scored its first touchdown.
West Forsyth 22, Forsyth Central 17
West Forsyth got on the board first with a rushing touchdown from Wesley Clark, and Forsyth Central scored a touchdown on the following kickoff return. Clark scored his second touchdown with 4:16 left in the first to put West Forsyth up 14-7. Alex Wilson added two field goals for West Forsyth in the second, and a touchdown by Forsyth Central’s Eli Ruis made it a 20-14 game at the half. Forsyth Central scored off a field goal in the third before West Forsyth tacked on a fourth-quarter safety on a punt attempt by Central.
Mill Creek 63, Discovery 0
The Mill Creek Hawks improved to 6-2 with a decisive 63-0 road victory over fellow Region 6-AAAAAAA opponent Discovery. The Hawks led 28-0 at the end of the opening frame after a 26-yard interception return for a touchdown by Noah Faircloth, a 10-yard rushing score by Chancellor Lee-Parker, a 28-yard completion from Thurman Harris to Tim Page and a 20-yard run by Parker Wroble. Lee-Parker followed a blocked Discovery field goal attempt with a 23-yard touchdown for a 35-0 lead at the break. MJ Patterson added two touchdowns to start the second half—a 14-yard run and a 43-yard pass to Travis Williams—before Malik Rice capitalized on an interception with a 17-yard rushing score, and Brycen Williams gave Mill Creek its final points on a fourth-quarter touchdown run.
Class AAAAAA
Lanier 27, Winder-Barrow 7
Andrew Blackford and Taj Barnes accounted for two touchdowns apiece as Lanier took care of visiting Winder-Barrow. The Longhorns led 6-0 after one quarter on Barnes’ 26-yard touchdown run and eventually by a 20-0 margin before Winder-Barrow cut its deficit to 20-7 going into the fourth. Lanier iced the game when Marcelo Trevino returned a fumble for a touchdown with eight minutes remaining. Barnes hauled in a scoring strike from Blackford in the second quarter, while Cole Thornton also had a touchdown reception to lead the Longhorns.
Dunwoody 32, Centennial 30
Dunwoody took advantage of a wild finish to edge out the Centennial Knights, 32-30. Centennial went ahead on the second touchdown of the night from Richard Shaw, which made the score 30-25. Dunwoody got the ball with :45 seconds remaining in the game, and the Wildcats executed a perfect hook-and-ladder—Davis Ledoyen pitched it to Tyler Eith, who found David Julian for a pick-up of 50 yards. Ledoyen later threw a 14-yard scoring strike to Walt Anders with six seconds on the clock. Dunwoody reversed a three-game losing streak, while Centennial remains winless on the year.
Sprayberry 20, Dalton 17
Sprayberry kept star Dalton running back Jahmyr Gibbs, the state’s leading rusher and leader in touchdowns with 33, out of the end zone to pick up an upset win at home. Dalton took a 17-7 lead at halftime after scoring two touchdowns in the final minute of the second quarter. With 22 seconds remaining in the half, Dalton quarterback Parker Adams threw a 13-yard touchdown pass, set up by an interception. Sprayberry fumbled the ensuing kickoff deep in its own territory, then Maurice Howard had a short rushing score with eight seconds left in the half. Sprayberry pulled to within four points, 17-13, in the third quarter after a short touchdown run by quarterback Kyle Brown. With 2:04 remaining in the game, Brown found Deji Thomas on fourth down for a short touchdown pass to make it 20-17 Yellow Jackets. Dalton’s final drive ended on an incompletion on a long pass into the end zone.
Sequoyah 35, South Cobb 16
The Sequoyah Chiefs improved to 4-3 (3-2 in Region 6-AAAAAA) with a 35-16 victory at South Cobb. The Eagles took their only lead of the game with an early safety before quarterback Colin Koprowski put the Chiefs ahead for good with a 28-yard pass to Damien Deassandro. Avery Born added a 10-yard scoop-and-score and Myles McGee took an 8-yard trip to the end zone, giving Sequoyah a 21-9 advantage at the break. South Cobb cut into the Chiefs lead with a touchdown early in the final frame following another Sequoyah score from Jayden Mitchell, but a 28-yard touchdown from Riley Gutmann sealed the win for the Chiefs.
Alpharetta 45, Chattahoochee 15
Alpharetta quarterback Will Gerdes tossed four touchdowns to four different receivers to lead the Raiders to a 45-15 road win over Chattahoochee. Dylan Merrell rushed for a 40-yard touchdown in addition to his 79-yard touchdown reception, and Tylan Johnson scored on a 25-yard run with 4:59 left to bring the game to its final tally. Alpharetta opened the year 0-2 and has since won five straight games, all of which have come against Region 7-AAAAAA opponents.
Allatoona 21, Hapeville Charter 21
The makeup of Week 2’s matchup between the Allatoona Buccaneers and Hapeville Charter Hornets ended in a 21-21 tie after a hard-fought battle throughout regulation. The Hornets, who have allowed a total of 52 points through six games and took the field with a five-game winning streak, scored first for an early 7-0 lead before Allatoona senior Alex Wilson capped off a long drive with a touchdown to tie the game late in the opening frame. Hapeville reclaimed the lead midway through the second quarter, and the 14-7 advantage stood until the Buccaneers added a field goal with 3:41 left in the third. Hapeville responded with a long touchdown to extend its lead to 21-10 just moments later, but Allatoona marched downfield to make it a three-point game with a score and a pass from Wilson to senior Asante Das for the successful 2-point conversion. Brett Blomquist’s block of a Hapeville field goal attempt on the following drive kept the Buccaneers within a field goal, and they got it with 2:43 left to play. Calvin Rucker forced another Hornets turnover, giving Allatoona the ball near midfield with 0:48 left on the clock, but the drive (and game) ended with a Hapeville interception.
Class AAAAA
Rome 51, Paulding County 14
The Rome Wolves scored early and often in a 51-14 win over Paulding County. EJ Burns and Ahijah Blackwell paced the Wolves with two touchdowns each. Blackwell had scoring runs of 44 and 63 yards, while Burks contributed jaunts of 34 and 11 yards. Paulding County’s Brayden Mauldin threw scoring strikes to Kaleem Turman and Keishon Jackson. The victory sets up a big game next week with Hiram, where a Rome win would put the Wolves in second place in Region 7-AAAAAA.
Carrollton 34, Kell 14
After taking a 10-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, Carrollton held Kell scoreless through the second and third quarters while adding two touchdowns and a field goal to put the game out of reach. Quarterback Myles Morris was 14-of-24 for 248 yards and one touchdown, a 26-yarder to Brandon Marenco in the second quarter. Mecose Todd rushed for touchdowns of 12 yards and 1 yard and finished the game with six carries for 19 yards. Kodee Brewer added Carrollton’s final touchdown on a short run and had six carries for 8 yards. Damean Dominquez kicked field goals of 42 and 21 yards. Kell quarterback Corbin LaFrance passed to Jamal Hill for a 19-yard touchdown pass and BJ Abson scored on a short run for the Longhorns.
Buford 30, Loganville 7
Gabe Ervin rushed 23 times for 167 yards and two touchdowns and Elijah Turner rushed 19 times for 154 yards and one score for host Buford. Turner gave the Wolves a 6-0 lead on an 8-yard run in the first quarter, and Jarvis Evans rushed for a 1-yard touchdown on the last play of the first quarter to make it 13-0. After a scoreless second quarter, Loganville made it 13-7 on a long touchdown pass in the third. Buford’s Hayden Olsen made a 44-yard field goal with five seconds left in the period, and Ervin scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Ervin scored on runs of 6 and 27 yards. Buford held Loganville to 15 yards rushing, one in the first half and 14 in the second.
Class AAAA
Blessed Trinity 20, Flowery Branch 17
The Titans picked up a region win in overtime against Flowery Branch, holding the Falcons to a field goal to set up the game-winning drive. Junior quarterback Duncan Reavis connected with junior Carson Harof on a 48-yard touchdown pass early in the first quarter to give the Titans the lead. Flowery Branch finally got on the board in the third quarter with a rushing touchdown to tie the game. Blessed Trinity responded with a long rush from freshman Justice Haynes that set up his own 4-yard touchdown rush to regain the lead. With just over nine minutes left in the game, the Falcons managed to rush in another score to force overtime and scored a field goal on their first drive. However, the Titans’ Elijah Green was able to punch through to the end zone on a 1-yard run to win the game.
Marist 37, Denmark 14
Top-ranked Marist (7-0) kept its perfect season alive with an impressive road victory over ninth-ranked Denmark (5-2). The War Eagles used three Richard Bowen field goals and a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Connor Cigelske to take a 16-7 lead at the half. Bowen was unable to connect on a field goal attempt on Marist’s opening drive of the second half, but Denmark turned it over on downs on its following possession and the teams each went scoreless in the frame. Marist opened the fourth quarter with a three-touchdown scoring burst, getting a pair of touchdown runs by Lincoln Parker and a Tyler Hare fumble recovery touchdown with 6:32 left to play that made it 37-7. Denmark quarterback Aaron McLaughlin scored on a 31-yard touchdown run in the opening half, and he connected with Casey Gunn on a 13-yard touchdown pass with 2:41 to play.
Cartersville 52, Sandy Creek 42
Cartersville held off visiting Sandy Creek in a thrilling shootout at home to record its 56th-straight regular-season victory and 51st-straight region victory. Sandy Creek’s Rashad Amos rushed for two touchdowns and caught a 69-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Williams in the first quarter, but Cartersville kept it tied 21-21 at the end of the frame with a 38-yard touchdown pass from Tee Webb to Sam Phillips and two rushing touchdowns from Evan Slocum. Cartersville grabbed its first lead of the game (28-21) with a 43-yard touchdown pass from Webb to Devonte Ross before Sandy Creek tied it back with Williams’ 43-yard touchdown pass to Ahmad Jackson. Webb hit Phillips on a screen that went for a 71-yard touchdown to put the Canes up 35-28, and Sandy Creek turned it over on its next possession, allowing Cartersville to sneak in an Oscar Hernandez field goal before the half to grow the lead to 38-28. Possession went to Cartersville to open the second half and Harrison Allen capped off a long drive with a 4-yard touchdown. Allen returned to the end zone with 4:35 left in the period to make it 52-28. Williams ran in a 7-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 52-36 early in the fourth quarter and found Miles Thornton for a 21-yard touchdown pass with 8:15 left to make it a 10-point game.
North Oconee 44, St. Pius 0
North Oconee built on a 14-0 halftime lead with an explosive 30-point effort in the third quarter to defeat visiting St. Pius for the first time in school history and improve its record to a perfect 8-0. Titans quarterback Bubba Chandler threw six total touchdown passes—two each to Bennett Toci and Eli Warrington, one to Max Tumblin and another to Gavin Bloom. North Oconee also registered a safety midway through the third quarter that increased the lead to 30-0. Chandler finished the game 17-of-25 passing for 318 yards to go with his six touchdown passes.
Class AAA
Cedar Grove 21, Westminster 0
Chavon Wright scored both of Cedar Grove’s offensive touchdowns to support a dominant defensive performance during a shutout of visiting Westminster. The Wildcats hung around in the form of a scoreless tie after one quarter and a 7-0 deficit going in the fourth following Wright’s 7-yard run in the second. Wright added a 12-yard touchdown scamper to all but ice the game before Jordan Grier tacked on a 36-yard interception return to the end zone with four minutes remaining. Westminster picked up some brief momentum when Connor Weselman recovered his own onside kickoff coming out of halftime, but the offense could not capitalize.
Lovett 21, Pace Academy 14
Blaine McAllister threw one touchdown pass and rushed for another score, leading Lovett to a road win over Pace Academy. Quantaves Gaskins gave Pace Academy a 7-0 lead in the first quarter with a 2-yard touchdown run before McAllister answered prior to halftime with a 2-yard scoring plunge of his own. The two teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter—first, a 60-yard jaunt by Lovett’s Henry Beery, followed by a 47-yarder for the Knights from Jordan Sloan. The Lions scored what proved to be the game-winner on a 62-yard pass from McAllister to Charlie Hoke with eight minutes left. Baird Daniel intercepted a Pace Academy pass in the final minute to clinch victory.
Calhoun 35, Murray County 0
Jerrian Hames rushed for three touchdowns on the night to lead Calhoun over Murray County. The Yellow Jackets took a two-touchdown lead after the first quarter and scored three touchdowns in the fourth to put the game out of reach. Calhoun set the tone early, scoring on a short rushing touchdown from Hames just three minutes into the game. Hames’ score was set up by an interception by Jake Prather on Murray County’s opening drive. Cole Speer found the end zone on a 16-yard scamper at the end of the first quarter to put the Jackets up 14-0. Hames scored on a 5-yard run with 11 minutes left in the final frame, and on the next Murray County possession, Riley Watson returned an interception for a touchdown to give Calhoun a 27-0 lead. Hames’ 22-yard touchdown run with five minutes left sealed the win.
Jefferson 47, Morgan County 12
Jefferson led 14-6 at the break before adding 33 points in the second half to put the game far out of reach. Quarterback Colby Clark rushed for four touchdowns and passed for one to lead Jefferson. Clark finished the game with 24 carries for 193 yards and was 1-of-2 passing for 24 yards and a touchdown to Dawson Crawley. The Dragons rushed 59 times for 435 yards and had 459 yards of total offense while holding Morgan County to just 184 yards.
Class AA
Harlem 40, Screven County 21
Harlem outscored visiting Screven County 28-8 in the second half and used a monster 212-yard, four-touchdown rushing performance by Cam Garnett to improve to 5-3 overall and 5-1 in Region 4-AA. Screven County got on the board first with a Gary Hawkins 5-yard rushing touchdown to take a 7-0 lead. Harlem answered with Garnett’s first trip to the end zone, but a failed PAT kept the Bulldogs behind 7-6 heading into the second quarter. Garnett put Harlem in front with a 7-yard touchdown, but the 2-point conversion was failed and Screven County reclaimed a 13-12 lead at the half following a Austin Markovic touchdown pass to Aaron Bazemore. Harlem’s dominant second half included a 21-0 scoring advantage in the third quarter—Cooper Thigpin ran in a 21-yard touchdown, Garnett added a 91-yard touchdown run and quarterback Chris Newsome threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Cedric Cullars with 2:02 left in the frame to push the lead to 33-13. Hawkins found the end zone for a Screven County touchdown just 28 second into the fourth quarter and converted the 2-point try to cut the deficit to 33-21, but Garnett’s final touchdown run iced the game with 7:19 left.
Class A
Irwin County 41, Lanier County 0
Irwin County improved to 6-0 with a dominant road win over Lanier County. The Indians have now outscored their opponents 233-22 this season (35.2 ppg). DJ Lundy ran in two first-half touchdowns, Garland Benyard returned an interception for a touchdown and Zach Smith threw a touchdown pass to Jamorri Coleson to put Irwin County up 27-0 at the half. Kam Ward rushed for a touchdown in the opening minutes of the third quarter and Smith found Coleson for the duo’s second score to increase the lead to 41-0.
Fellowship Christian 49, King’s Ridge 0
Fellowship Christian outgained King’s Ridge 348-to-9 in total yardage and improved to 7-0 with a massive road win over the Tigers. Murphy Reeves rushed for three touchdowns in the first half (8, 55, 10 yards) and finished with 79 yards off of eight carries. Eli Hildebrandt rushed for a 3-yard touchdown and also completed a 69-yard touchdown pass to Jayven Hall, who added a 2-yard touchdown in the opening half. The Paladins’ 42-0 halftime lead held until Nick Persiano’s 86-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Walker 21, Mt. Paran Christian 20
Walker treated its home crowd to a thrilling win over Mt. Paran Christian in a game during which neither team ever led by more than seven points. It was tied 7-7 after one quarter and 14-14 at halftime, and remained 14-14 heading into a dramatic final frame. Niko Vangarelli gave Mt. Paran Christian a 20-14 lead with his second touchdown run, but the extra point was missed. The Wolverines promptly answered with a 30-yard scoring strike from Charlie London to Jake Tasman, followed by what proved to be a game-winning extra point. Tasman finished with two touchdown receptions, while Omar Cooper had the other for Walker. Matt Moore added a touchdown run for the Eagles.
Athens Academy 58, Athens Christian 0
The Athens Academy Spartans scored 30 points in the first quarter and 21 in the second to lead 51-0 at the break. By halftime, Athens Academy quarterback Palmer Bush had thrown four touchdown passes—two Len’neth Whitehead, one to Hugh Laughlin and one to Trey Willis. Bush also had one rushing touchdown. Kurt Knisely scored two rushing touchdowns, both of which came in the first quarter. Giovanni Newsome scored the Spartans’ final touchdown in the fourth on a 26-yard rush.
Allatoona 21, Hapeville Charter 21
The makeup of Week 2’s matchup between the Allatoona Buccaneers and Hapeville Charter Hornets ended in a 21-21 tie after a hard-fought battle throughout regulation. The Hornets, who have allowed a total of 52 points through six games and took the field with a five-game winning streak, scored first for an early 7-0 lead before Allatoona senior Alex Wilson capped off a long drive with a touchdown to tie the game late in the opening frame. Hapeville reclaimed the lead midway through the second quarter, and the 14-7 advantage stood until the Buccaneers added a field goal with 3:41 left in the third. Hapeville responded with a long touchdown to extend its lead to 21-10 just moments later, but Allatoona marched downfield to make it a three-point game with a score and a pass from Wilson to senior Asante Das for the successful 2-point conversion. Brett Blomquist’s block of a Hapeville field goal attempt on the following drive kept the Buccaneers within a field goal, and they got it with 2:43 left to play. Calvin Rucker forced another Hornets turnover, giving Allatoona the ball near midfield with 0:48 left on the clock, but the drive (and game) ended with a Hapeville interception.
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