Week 3’s Initial Takes
The Cartersville Purple Hurricanes are making weekly statements this season and were once again unstoppable this Friday night in a 55-3 win over Luella. Cartersville outgained Luella 339-to-(-18) in first half yardage and built a 55-0 lead before the Lions’ Garrison Rippa added the only points of the second half on a 35-yard field goal in the third quarter. Cartersville quarterback Tee Webb closed the first half 12-of-14 passing for 242 yards and six touchdowns and added 49 rushing yards and a score. Kaleb Chatmon and Marcus Gary each hauled in two receiving touchdowns in the opening quarter and Gary rushed for a touchdown to open the second quarter before Harrison Allen and Amari Orr capped the scoring Webb’s fifth and sixth touchdown passes of the half.
First-year program Denmark battled past North Springs 39-32. The Danes took a 19-7 lead into the half and held on in a wild final two quarters to score the program’s first-ever road victory. Quarterback Ben Whitlock found Ze’Vian Capers to put the Danes up 7-0, but North Springs quarterback Aaron Bell found Nick Keou to even it up 7-7. Sophomore running back Devin Ducille added two Denmark touchdowns to close the half, but failed PAT’s and conversions kept the lead at 19-7. Whitock extended the lead to 25-10 with a touchdown pass to freshman Emmanuel Futner to open the third quarter. North Springs chipped back with a Bell touchdown pass to Zahir Nichols, but Ducille’s third touchdown of the game pushed the lead back to 32-17. Bell hit Keou again for a 42-yard touchdown with 9:54 left, but Whitlock’s third touchdown of the game, and second to Futner, gave the Danes a 39-25 lead minutes later. North Springs’ Kyree Green ran in the final tally on a 34-yard touchdown.
Host Flowery Branch defeated Clarke Central 28-14. The Falcons got on the board first with a 74-yard touchdown pass from Elijah Gainey to Jalin Strown. Clarke Central answered with a 50-yard touchdown pass from Isaac Ward to Jonathan Sewell to tie it 7-7 entering the second quarter, but Gainey and Strown hooked up again for a 28-yard touchdown that put Flowery Branch up 14-7 at the half. Sewell ran a 10-yard score to tie it 14-14 entering the final quarter, but the Falcons finished strong in the final frame. Gainey connected with Strown for the duo’s third touchdown on a 6-yard pass with 6:49 left. And Leading 21-14, Flowery Branch’s Aiden Lopez forced a Gladiators fumble and teammate D.J. Brown recovered it to set up a game-clinching 2-yard touchdown run by Zarian Brawner with just 4:19 to play.
After a slow start, Marist put together a 33-14 victory over Baylor School in Tennessee. Lincoln Parker scored first for the War Eagles on a 4-yard run with 1:17 left in the first, but Baylor tied it up midway through the second on a 3-yard Noah Martin rushing score. The Red Raiders appeared to gain momentum on a fumble recovery on Marist’s next possession, but Kyle Hamilton recovered a blocked Baylor field goal attempt and returned it for a 13-7 lead with 3:34 in the half. A reception by Matthew Houghton extended the first-half lead to 19-7, and Hamilton’s 99-yard kickoff return to open the third and Parker’s second touchdown of the night put the War Eagles up 33-7 with a quarter and a half to go.
Host St. Pius held a Westminster offense that entered the game averaging 39 ppg per game to only a made 52-yard field goal attempt by Charlie Ham in the opening quarter and won 35-9. St. Pius seized control in the second quarter with a Connor Egan touchdown run and a 35-yard Egan touchdown pass to Chris Miller that gave the Golden Lions a 14-3 halftime advantage. Westminster blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown in the third quarter for the Wildcats’ final points before a trio of St. Pius rushing touchdowns, including a 31-yard scamper by DJ Mitchell iced the game.
