The best-kept secret in Georgia high school football may be the Collins Hill defense.
Long known for the big yardage totals amassed by quarterback Sam Horn and the big plays by receiver Travis Hunter, it has been the team’s defense that has been most steady all season.
The No. 1-ranked Eagles did it again on Friday, forcing five turnovers and taking down No. 2 Mill Creek 40-10. The win gave Collins Hill its second straight region champion and the first 10-0 regular season in school history.
“I’m just so proud of them for how hard they play and how much pride they take in playing for this defense and for the culture we’ve built here at Collins Hill,” Eagles coach Lenny Gregory said. “It’s so sweet to be able to do this. When we took the program over, we were at the bottom of the barrel. Now we’re back-to-back region champions. It’s a little surreal, really.”
The Eagles (10-0, 4-0) entered the game having shut out five of its last six opponents and having allowed no more than 22 points in a game, that coming against highly regarded Greenville Christian of Mississippi. Mill Creek (8-1, 2-1) did little to put a dent in that reputation.
“Our offense scores, but on the other side of the ball we shut people down every week,” said junior linebacker Dion Crawford. “We try our best to get a shutout every week and we’re going to stand by that.”
The Collins Hill defense set up two touchdowns in the first quarter that led to a 17-0 lead and essentially put the game away early.
The Eagles settled for a 33-yard field goal from Isaac Bonacci after Horn was sacked for a big loss on third down.
But Horn atoned on the next possession when he punted Mill Creek deep at the 2. On third down the Hawks tried a trick play, but Makhail Wood dropped the exchange on the reverse and Crawford recovered for Collins Hill. The touchdown came when Horn flipped the ball to Spencer Anderson, who ran it in from the 4, diving for the pylon to score.
Another takeaway set up the next score. Mill Creek’s Hayden Clark threw a completion in the right flat to Trajen Greco, but he was stripped by Aaron Horton, who recovered at the 18. Two plays later Horn found Anderson for a touchdown pass with 1:08 left in the first quarter.
“Those plays made the defense really hyped and made everybody lock in and play together,” Crawford said. “Once we played together, as you saw, Mill Creek folded and wanted to go home.”
Collins Hill had to work hard for its next score. The Eagles drove 90 yards and scored on fourth-and-goal from the 2 on an option pass. Cameron Pedro took the ball on what looked like a reverse, but he threw to Horn, who caught the ball as he sprawled in the end zone for the score with 6:43 left in the half.
Collins Hill got its third takeaway midway in the second half on an interception by Christian Harris. But the Eagles couldn’t score and wound up turning it over when Horn’s pass went off the hands of his receiver and into the arms of Mill Creek’s Gaven Voyles.
That led to a 32-yard field goal by Trace Butcher with 12 seconds left in the half, cutting Collins Hills’ margin to 24-3.
Mill Creek made it a two-score game after taking advantage of Cameron Pedro’s fumbled punt, which was recovered by Naseem Triplett. The Hawks scored on an 18-yard pass from Clark to Caleb Downs, who made a nice spin move at the 7 to elude the defenders and get a touchdown to make it 24-10.
Collins Hill answered by driving 76 yards to the 4, but settling for Bonacci’s 21-yard field goal. The defense then closed with a pair of pick-six interception returns, one from Richard Ransom and another in the final minute by Jayden Davis.
“We were lights out, our effort was intense, we were pursuing the ball,” said Collins Hills lineman Jaylen George. “We do it in practice every day and it really showed out on Friday.”
Collins Hill has next week off, while Mill Creek closes the season on the road at Peachtree Ridge.
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