Last-second field goal helps Roswell survive Walton’s second-half rally

Balint Vorosmarty kicked a 26-yard field goal on the final play to help Roswell salvage a 30-28 victory over Walton in a game that the Hornets controlled for the better part of three quarters but almost let slip through their fingers Friday night in Marietta.

Class 5A No. 6 Roswell (2-0), which led 24-7 at halftime, trailed 28-27 when it got the ball for its final possession at the Walton 46-yard line with 2:02 remaining. The Hornets moved to the Walton 9 in seven plays, including a key 18-yard pass from Trey Smith to Wills Campbell, before calling a timeout with two seconds left, setting the stage for Vorosmarty’s game-winner.

Vorosmarty, a preseason all-state selection who committed to Georgia State, showed off a strong leg all night, putting all of his kickoffs deep into the end zone and just missing a 49-yard field-goal attempt wide left on Roswell’s next-to-last possession.

The victory was Roswell’s eighth in the past 10 meetings with Walton in a series that Roswell leads 19-17.

“They do a phenomenal job at Walton of just being prepared,” first-year Roswell coach Jonathan Thompson said. “We knew it was going to be a four-quarter game. We told our kids that from the moment they walked in Monday morning for meetings, and that this was not a team that was going to lay down late. We told them at halftime if you think these guys are going to just give it to you, you’re sadly mistaken.”

Smith, committed to Furman, got Roswell off to a hot start, engineering a six-play, 58-yard touchdown drive on the game’s first possession, capping it off with a 1-yard scoring run. The Hornets got points on four of their five first-half possessions, including two more touchdown runs by Smith (11 and 29 yards) and a 24-yard field goal by Vorosmarty for a 24-7 lead.

Smith finished the game with 191 yards passing and 113 yards rushing. Last year, he passed for 2,493 yards and rushed for 875 yards with 41 total touchdowns.

“It’s hard to put into words how special (Smith) is for us, and it’s not just as a football player, it’s what you see in all aspects,” Thompson said. “It’s in the classroom, it’s in the weight room, it’s in the film room, it’s on the field. He’s just a guy that uplifts everybody around him. When you’ve got a quarterback who’s that selfless of an individual, you’ve got a chance offensively and as a team to be really special. He’s really the DNA of what we are.”

Nick Peal added 94 yards rushing for the Hornets.

Walton opened the second half with one of its better drives of the game but one that appeared to come up empty when sophomore quarterback Christion Peacock threw incomplete on fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line. However, a penalty on Roswell gave the Raiders another opportunity, and Christian Andrews scored on a 1-yard run to cut the lead to 24-14.

The second chance ignited the Raiders (1-2), who went on to score on their next two possessions, on a 48-yard pass from Peacock to his freshman brother, Jordan Peacock, that cut the lead to 27-21 and 24-yard pass to Noriega Thompson that gave Walton its only lead of the game.

Christion Peacock passed for 236 yards and ran for 43. Thompson rushed for 91 yards on 25 carries and had 82 receiving yards on five catches.

Next week, the Hornets will travel to Class 6A No. 2 Buford, which handed them a 52-17 loss last season.

“We’ve got a tough opponent next week, and we’re excited about the challenge,” Roswell’s Thompson said. “We’re going to enjoy this one for the next 24 hours, and then get to work on Buford.”

Roswell - 10-14-3-3 - 30

Walton - 7-0-14-7 - 28

First quarter

R - Trey Smith 1 run (Balint Vorosmarty kick), 10:31

W - Noriega Thompson 1 run (Daniel Stricklin kick), 6:18

R - Vorosmarty 24 field goal, 2:11

Second quarter

R - Smith 11 run (Reilly Chambers kick), 6:19

R - Smith 29 run (Chambers kick), 3:32

Third quarter

W - Christian Andrews 1 run (Stricklin kick), 7:34

R - Vorosmarty 20 field goal, 3:40

W - Jordan Peacock 48 pass from Christion Peacock (Stricklin kick), 3:09