The Clemson Tigers are going to enjoy having Barrett Carter for four seasons. But North Gwinnett wants to hold onto him for just a few more weeks.
Carter, a four-star linebacker, was the key player on defense and offense on Friday night as North Gwinnett defeated Cherokee 29-16 in the first round of the Class 7A playoffs at Tom Robinson Stadium in Suwannee.
North Gwinnett (7-2) will travel to West Forsyth for the next round. Cherokee finished 8-3.
Carter had three sacks, another tackle for loss and recovered a fumble. He was also the team’s offensive star, rushing 16 times for 202 yards and four touchdowns from the Wildcat position. He scored on runs of 1, 1, 9 and 55 yards.
“I always expect that from Barrett because he’s a great player,” North Gwinnett coach Bill Stewart said. “He prepares himself. Barrett’s not only a special player on the field, he’s a special player off the field, which makes him a great talent. Some guys who are talented can’t connect those dots, but he does. So proud of what he did tonight. He was a warrior.”
Carter said, “Coach Stewart said they had a really good quarterback and it was going to be a defensive game. We take that seriously and we take that pridefully. Knowing that it’s a defensive game, we step up to the plate for that.”
North Gwinnett also got a nice boost from sophomore quarterback Ethan Washington, one of three signal callers used by the Bulldogs. He completed 2 of 4 passes for 25 yards – which was the extent of the team’s passing yardage – and rushed eight times for 91 yards.
North Gwinnett limited Cherokee to minus-64 yards rushing, thanks largely to five sacks. The Bulldogs limited Keith Adams, who entered the game with 1,313 yards rushing, to 7 yards on 12 carries. Cherokee quarterback A.J. Swann held his own when given a chance; he completed 21 of 36 passes for 284 yards and two touchdowns. Hayden Shockley had four receptions for 79 yards and two touchdowns and Brady Bocherer caught four passes for 92 yards.
“We knew they were going to come after me,” Swann said. “Barrett is just a great player.”
Carter set up North Gwinnett’s first score by recovering a loose ball that came from a bad snap at the 2. Carter powered his way through the offensive line for a touchdown run on the next play. A bad snap led to a missed extra point and North led 6-0 with 9:30 left in the half.
The North Gwinnett defense had one slip-up in the first half and it cost the Bulldogs a touchdown, Cherokee’s Hayden Shockley found a open pocket on a first-down play action and hauled in a 42-yard touchdown pass from Swann with 1:33 remaining.
But Carter wasn’t finished. Working from the Wildcat, Carter ran for a 25-yard game on a second-and-25 and had another 25-yard run to set up a 47-yard field goal from Cody Leach as the half expired. Carter rushed for 92 yards on that drive, which gave North Gwinnett a 9-6 halftime lead.
“That field goal was huge for us,” Stewart said. “Scoring right before the half was a huge momentum deal. You score before the half and you go in with a little something and their team goes in with a little something, too.”
North Gwinnett padded its lead with a 1-yard Carter touchdown run on fourth-and-goal, a play set up by Washington’s 50-yard keeper. Cherokee made it 16-9 on Evan Bieger’s 27-yard field goal.
But the Bulldogs scored two touchdowns set up by turnovers and put the game away. A fumble, which was recovered by Kayden McDonald, set up Carter’s 9-yard touchdown. Carter scored on a 55-yard run one play after an interception for a 29-9 lead.
“Their quarterback is so talented,” Stewart said. “When he escaped and the receivers did a great job catching balls. They did that a couple times tonight.”
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