No. 7 Calhoun knew it wouldn’t be easy to visit Tennessee state champion McCallie. The Yellow Jackets didn’t help matters with five turnovers, four of them interceptions, which led to a 38-22 loss.
The Yellow Jackets found success behind the prolific combination in quarterback Chris Lewis and receiver Cole Speer, who connected for three touchdown passes. They hooked up for a 99-yard touchdown in the first quarter, a 56-yarder in the second quarter, and a 70-yarder in the third quarter to take a 22-19 lead.
The McCallie defense stiffened up in the second half when Calhoun was able to rush for only 10 yards in the second half.
“Give the credit to them,” Calhoun coach Clay Stephenson told the Chattanooga Free Press. “We didn’t just hand it to them. They made some good plays on the ball to get those interceptions and that fumble. Every time the ball hit the ground, we couldn’t get on it and they could. You can’t have that many turnovers and com away with the win against a quality program like that.”
Calhoun was the only ranked team to lose on Friday, as only xx played.
No. 2 Blessed Trinity, No. 8 Woodward Academy, No. 9 Clarke Central and No. 10 St. Pius all had the week off.
No. 1 Warner Robins bounces back: The Demons didn’t have a letdown after their heartbreaking opening loss to Valdosta. The Demons (1-1) ran out to a 35-0 halftime lead over Class 7A power Archer en route to a 42-7 win. Quarterback Jalen Addie did it all, throwing for two touchdowns, catching a touchdown pass and running for another.
Cartersville outslugs West Forsyth: Devonte Ross caught 10 passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns to pace the No. 3 Purple Hurricanes. Stratton Tripp, who threw for 160 yards, connected with Ross for an 11-yard touchdown and Evan Slocum hit him for a 41-yard score. Quante Jennings rushed for 75 yards and two touchdowns.
Coffee gets in road win: The No. 4 Trojans, who had an easy win in the opener, went to Bainbridge and emerged with a 31-16 win.
Castellanos sparks No. 5 Ware County: The Gators got three running scores from Thomas Castellanos and downed Richmond Hill 36-29. Castellanos scored on runs of 40, 3 and 40 yards, the final one with six minutes left that proved to be the difference. Ware County (2-0) used it special teams well, too, with a pair of field goals and a safety that came after punting Richmond Hill dead at the 1.
Veterans gets the shutout: The No. 6 Warhawks flexed their defensive muscle and blanked West Laurens 35-0. It was their first shutout since 2017 against Statesboro. Veterans has allowed only one touchdown in two games.
In other games of interest: Jones County held a 21-9 lead over Class 7A No. 5 North Gwinnett, but gave up 35 unanswered points and lost 44-21. … Cass improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2007 with a 27-17 win over Adairsville. Quarterback Devin Henderson completed 11 of 14 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns for the Colonels. … Harris County (2-0) came up with a big stop on fourth down as time expired and beat Perry 14-10. … Khalid Cramer ran for 97 yards and one touchdown to help Dutchtown (1-1) to a 21-7 win over Wheeler. Quarterback Arendez Fedd also ran for two touchdowns for the Bulldogs. … Ola ran for a touchdown in the final minute to beat North Oconee 37-30 and improve to 2-0. … Dallas Johnson carried 23 times for 216 yards and one touchdown and Sincere Johnson rushed 24 times for 187 yards and two touchdowns and Eastside downed Winder-Barrow 27-14.
About the Author
