Newton junior A.J. Palomino doesn’t show up on many recruiting radars, but he was able to put together a nice highlight tape after making a team-leading 11 tackles in Friday’s game against Lowndes.
Newton held Lowndes to 208 yards of offense in the 15-14 upset victory, and Palomino was a big reason why.
Here are some of Georgia’s top performers from last week:
The state’s top five
- Baldwin RB Kentavious Thomas rushed for 252 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries in a 35-21 victory against Peach County.
- Dutchtown RB Brandon Robertson rushed for 301 yards on 23 carries and scored five touchdowns (both school records) in a 53-33 victory against Henry County.
- Landmark Christian RB Stockton McGuire rushed for 178 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, threw a 16-yard TD pass and kicked a 36-yard field goal in a 37-18 victory against Wilkinson County.
- Newton MLB A.J. Palomino had 11 tackles — four for losses totaling 13 yards — in a 15-14 victory against Lowndes.
- Vidalia SS/TB Tra Hardy rushed for 185 yards on 15 carries, intercepted two passes, recovered a fumble and had 89 yards in turnover returns in a 35-7 victory against McIntosh County Academy.
Best of metro Atlanta
- Allatoona RB Josh Bettistea rushed for 189 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries in a 39-0 victory against Paulding County. Bettistea has 336 rushing yards on 24 carries in Allatoona's 2-0 start.
- Buford RB Joshua Thomas rushed for 139 yards on 13 carries, and his 77-yard TD run in the second quarter broke the game open in a 38-14 victory over Gainesville.
- Campbell DB/RB Mike Rogers rushed for 219 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries, made six solo tackles and intercepted a pass in a 37-19 victory against Osborne.
- Dunwoody RB/DB/QB Aaron Alexander rushed for 157 yards and a touchdown, caught three passes for 79 yards and a touchdown and made five tackles in a 30-12 loss to Lakeside-Atlanta.
- Etowah RB Brandon Engle rushed for 277 yards — 203 in the third quarter — on eight carries in a 44-17 victory against Centennial. He had two touchdowns, on runs of 87 and 80 yards.
- Forest Park RB Dejuann Simms rushed for 209 yards on 32 carries and scored 20 points in a 36-28 victory over Morrow that ended an 11-game losing streak.
- Hughes RB Keion Davis scored all five of his team's touchdowns in a 35-0 victory over Luella. Three were runs, one a reception and the other a 95-yard kickoff return to open the game. He rushed for 130 yards on 17 carries.
- Lakeside-Atlanta RB Kellyen Walker rushed for 244 yards and two touchdowns in a 30-12 victory against Dunwoody.
- Locust Grove LB Garrett Wallace had 20 solo tackles, and one for a loss, and eight assists in a 7-3 victory against Ola. Wallace has 34 tackles in two games.
- Milton RB Treyvon Paulk scored four touchdowns and rushed for 102 yards on 15 carries In a 56-13 victory over Johns Creek. Paulk has 330 yards rushing and seven touchdowns in Milton's 2-0 start. LB Charlie Fault had three tackles for losses in the Johns Creek game.
- M.L. King QB Roland Rivers threw five TD passes on 13-of-16 passing for 195 yards in a 48-10 victory over Southwest DeKalb.
- Riverwood QB Grant Drakeford rushed for 117 yards and was 6-for-11 passing for 138 yards and a touchdown in a 35-21 victory against Holy Innocents'. Izaiah Prouse-Lackey had 15 tackles, two for losses.
- Shiloh QB Wil Larimore threw six TD passes in a 56-0 victory over Redan. Larimore was 19-of-24 for 291 yards and no interceptions. WR Cameron Stewart had six receptions for 160 yards and three touchdowns.
- St. Pius DB/RB Nick Ruffin had nine of his team's 40 tackles, with a sack, and rushed for 72 yards on three carries in a 28-23 victory against North Oconee.
- Stephenson DE Chauncey Rivers had four sacks and another tackle for a loss in a 56-14 victory against Arabia Mountain.
- Union Grove QB Jonathan Slade was 10-of-13 passing for 267 yards and two touchdowns in a 28-14 victory against Woodland-Stockbridge.
- Walker RB/LB Gaines LaHue rushed for 117 yards on 11 carries and scored on runs of 36 and 50 yards and made three tackles on defense in a 42-7 victory over North Cobb Christian.
- Westminster DE Ross Johnston had nine tackles, three for losses totaling 18 yards, in a 24-6 victory against Laney.
- Wheeler QB Elijah Staley passed for 277 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 86 yards and two scores in less than three quarters of a 59-20 victory over Pope.
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