Kennesaw Mountain got its first 3-0 start in program history in a hard-fought, emotional battle with host Allatoona, thanks in large part to the stellar play of two-way player Savion Riley. The matchup was aired on Peachtree TV after COVID-19 protocols within Rabun County’s football program led to the cancellation of its game against Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy, and points were tough to come by for both the Mustangs and the Buccaneers from the start. After a failed 4th-down conversion attempt by Kennesaw Mountain on its opening drive, the Allatoona offense faced the same decision. Defensive pass interference gave the Buccaneers a fresh set of downs, on which Jayden Ponder capitalized with a short jaunt to the end zone to put Allatoona on the board. Gray Kelley’s 29-yard field goal attempt extended the Buccaneers’ lead before freshman RB Chance Arthur dragged four Allatoona defenders into the end zone with him to answer for the Mustangs. Quarterback Cayman Prangley successfully converted for two points for a 10-8 score, but Kelley bounced a 46.5-yarder off the crossbar and through the uprights as the half came to an end for a 13-8 Allatoona advantage at the break.
The Mustangs started strong in the third, with Riley picking up a huge first down to set up Prangley’s touchdown completion to Jailen Taylor for a 15-13 lead. The next Kennesaw Mountain drive appeared promising as well before Bryan Simpkins negated (and then some) his own big run with a 15-yard penalty for shoving a defender. Vinnie Canosa then blocked the ensuing Mustang punt, which was recovered by the Buccaneers at the Kennesaw Mountain 33-yard line, and both Marcus Taylor’s touchdown run and the following two-point conversion were aided by a pair of personal fouls on the Mustangs’ Evan Duke.
Kennesaw Mountain’s miscues continued into the final frame, and after an illegal substitution brought up 3rd-and-6, Allatoona’s DeVonte Foster forced and recovered a fumble with a sack on Prangle. The Buccaneers’ offense failed to take advantage, however, and Riley reclaimed the lead for the Mustangs with a 56-yard touchdown run with four minutes remaining. Allatoona had a couple of long-shot opportunities in the final minutes, but the Kennesaw Mountain defense stood strong to seal the win. It was the Mustangs’ first-ever win against the Buccaneers, who will look to bounce back from their 0-3 start next week against South Cobb.
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See the rest of the roundups below.
Class 7A
North Gwinnett 34, Parkview 27
Lowndes 58, Lake Gibson FL 47
Host Lowndes defeated Lake Gibson in a nationally-televised shootout and trailed 47-44 late in the fourth quarter before closing out the victory. Miami-commit and Lowndes quarterback Jacurri Brown finished 13-of-19 passing for 198 yards and three touchdowns and also rushed for a Vikings touchdown. Lake Gibson’s Jaylon Glover finished with 224 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
Mill Creek 35, Dacula 7
The Mill Creek Hawks improved to 3-0 on the season with a dominant road win over host Dacula. Trace Butcher kicked things off for the Hawks with a trio of first-quarter field goals before Caleb Downs set a Mill Creek record with his fourth career pick-six. Donovan Journey accounted for the rest of Mill Creek’s scoring with three trips to the end zone, and the Falcons finally got on the board with a late touchdown to avoid the shutout. The Hawks defense forced a slew of three-and-outs, and—in addition to a pair of turnovers by Downs—got fumble recoveries from Jamal Anderson, Jonathan Torres and Garrett Zalewski.
North Forsyth 42, Dalton 10
North Forsyth bounced back after a 19-6 loss to Harrison last week with a commanding victory over Dalton. The Raiders’ rushing game was on full display as the team totaled 438 yards on the ground. Senior quarterback Drew Aucion rushed the ball 22 times for 161 yards and two touchdowns, while Senior Patrick Corrigan carried the ball 20 times for 130 yards and two scores. Dalton managed to put 10 points on the board in the second quarter, but the Raiders defense held the Catamounts to just 44 yards with no scores throughout the second half.
East Coweta 24, Norcross 0
East Coweta shut out visiting Norcross 24-0 to improve to 3-0 and hand the Blue Devils their second-straight loss. Indians quarterback Daniel Shoch led an 80-yard, nine-play opening drive that ended with a touchdown on the QB keeper, and East Coweta extended its lead with a rushing score from Trey Bowles and a 69-yard pick-six from Kaleb Harris before the break. Star kicker Lucca Labattaglia, who earlier pinned the Norcross offense at its own 1-yard line with a 71-yard quick kick on a punt, provided the final points of the night with a 20-yard field goal late in the third quarter.
Lambert 38, Meadowcreek 7
Lambert built a 21-7 lead at the half and closed out host Meadowcreek to improve to 2-0. The Longhorns got on the board with a James Tyre interception touchdown return, but Meadowcreek’s Kojo Antwi returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to give the Mustangs their lone score. Quarterback James Tyre found tight end Luke Logan on a fourth and goal to put Lambert back up 14-7 and ran in a touchdown on another fourth and goal to increase the lead to 21-7. Tyre added a 28-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter Alex Mitchell made a 32-yard field goal and Ethan Terry provided the final touchdown on a 26-yard run.
Class 6A
Carrollton 48, Jonesboro 7
Carrollton quarterback M.J. Morris threw four touchdowns and rushed for one score for the host Trojans. Morris threw three touchdown passes in the first half, including one to Takara Lipscomb in the first quarter and two to Ace Williamson in the second quarter. Morris threw his fourth touchdown in the third quarter to Terrell Carmichael, and he also rushed for a 10-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Bryce Hicks scored the Trojans’ first touchdown of the game in the first quarter on a 55-yard touchdown run, and Jamun Evans capped the scoring for Carrollton with a short touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Hughes 38, Harrison 14
Hughes running back Antonio Martin rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns for the host Panthers. Quarterbacks Xavier Smith and Prentiss Noland also rushed for touchdowns, and Noland threw a touchdown pass to Armani Tookes. Terrance Love had a short fumble recovery and return for a touchdown for the Panthers.
Rome 27, Cherokee 7
Rome came away with a comfortable 27-7 victory over 7A opponent Cherokee to improve to 2-0 on the season. The Wolves got rushing touchdowns from Darius Smith and CJ Flemister in the first and second quarters, respectively, along with a 35-yard field goal by Gary Gonzalez to build a 17-0 lead. Cherokee quarterback AJ Swann connected with Caleb Richardson before the half ended for a 72-yard scoring strike, but a 27-yarder from Gonzalez in the third and Smith’s second TD of the night in the fourth kept the game out of the Warriors’ reach.
Creekview 48, Woodstock 0
Creekview scored on six of its first seven drives in a dominant home win Friday night, putting up all 48 of its points before halftime. Senior RB Tyler Stevens had three rushing touchdowns of 3, 12 and 2 yards on the night plus a 20-yard completion as well. Senior wideout AJ Vaccaro added another 1-yard rushing touchdown on the evening, and dual-threat junior defenseman and running back Isaac Hubert contributed an 11-yard touchdown on the ground as well. Creekview senior LB also added a fumble recovery for a touchdown on the night as well.
Cambridge 21, North Oconee 19
North Oconee missed a potential game-winning field goal from a short distance with less than a minute remaining in regulation, giving the Cambridge Bears their first win of the season at home. Bears junior RB Christian Isibor scored the game’s first touchdown on a 6-yard run in the first quarter, then Bears senior QB Zach Harris completed a 2-yard touchdown pass to Carson Kent in the second to put Cambridge up 14-0. North Oconee responded with two rushing touchdowns, but a missed extra point put them behind 14-13 at the break. Harris added a rushing touchdown for the Bears in the third quarter, and North Oconee again answered with another rushing score of its own to make the score 21-19 (missed 2-point conversion) going into the final period. Both defenses held strong throughout the fourth, and a clutch stand from Cambridge at the end forced North Oconee to settle for an unsuccessful FG attempt in the final minute. North Oconee dropped to 1-2 after the loss.
Class 5A
St Pius X 24, Blessed Trinity 17
St Pius X’s senior RB Cameron Debose broke a 7-7 tie with a 10-yard rushing touchdown early in the third. Then a 20-yard field goal from Jack Galvez and a 12-yard rushing touchdown from senior RB Shug Bentley extended the Golden Lions’ lead to 24-10 midway through the fourth quarter. The Titans responded with a 6-yard rushing touchdown from senior quarterback JC French on Blessed Trinity’s next possession to make it a one-score game with two minutes left, but the St Pius defense held on to seal the win.
McIntosh 34, Fayette County 28
Fayette County’s Keion Bryant returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, but McIntosh answered with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Tate Morris to Theo Elwell on their opening drive. Morris finished the game with four touchdown passes and also rushed for a 1-yard touchdown that gave the Chiefs a 27-14 lead in the third quarter. Fayette County’s Javon Graham rushed for two touchdowns and also hauled in a 59-yard touchdown pass from Nick Taylor in the defeat.
Woodward Academy 14, Marist 9
Woodward Academy remains undefeated on the season following its victory over Marist. After a scoreless first quarter, senior running back Damari Alston scored on a 3-yard run to put the War Eagles up 7-0. Marist tied the game with just over seven minutes remaining with a 1-yard touchdown rush by Champ Davis, then took the lead shortly after with a safety. With just 43 seconds left on the clock, however, junior quarterback Jalen Woods connected with Senior Christian Harrison for a 48-yard touchdown to secure the win for Woodward Academy.
Class 4A
Jefferson 45, Southside (SC) 7
Jefferson scored 42 points in the first quarter in its home win over visiting Southside. Sophomore Sammy Brown had a return for a touchdown on the opening kickoff, rushed for a touchdown and recovered a fumble. Malaki Starks, Reese Anderson and Isaiah Copeland also rushed for scores for the Dragons.
Class 3A
Oconee County 21, Clarke Central 2
The Oconee County defense forced four turnovers in a romp of Clarke Central. The Warriors led 6-0 after two field goals from senior kicker Gabe Valdez. A 14-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Jacob Wright to senior Darius Johnson put Oconee County up 14-0 entering the half. CJ Jones put the Warriors ahead 21-2 with a fourth quarter touchdown, putting the game out of reach.
Hart County 48, North Hall 37
While trailing 37-28 with 3:40 left in the third quarter, Nori Moore scored on a 99-yard kickoff return to ignite the spark that Hart County needed to pull even and ahead of North Hall while moving to 3-0 on the season. Hart County trailed 24-21 at the half and 31-28 in the third quarter. North Hall expanded its lead to 37-28 before the Bulldogs could respond with Moore’s kickoff return. Moore struck again with 7:17 left in the game to put Hart ahead 41-37. A 22-yard pass from Austen Whitworth to Malachi Kelley with 4:10 remaining sealed the victory for the Bulldogs.
North Murray 31, Northwest Whitfield 30
North Murray took a 31-30 lead with 1:26 left in the third before holding on for the road victory. Quarterback Seth Griffin threw a touchdown pass to Judson Pettty and connected with Jadyn Rice for a pair of scores—including the go-ahead touchdown that provided the final margin. Griffin also rushed for a 1-yard touchdown and kicker Owen Hannah made a 27-yard field goal to lift North Murray to victory. Northwest Whitfield quarterback Owen Brooker finished with two touchdown passes and a 9-yard touchdown run that put the Bruins up 30-24 with 4:05 left in the third quarter.
Class 2A
Bremen 39, Pepperell 32
Host Bremen trailed Pepperrell 32-31 with just over five minutes left in the game. Blue Devils quarterback Christian Blake found Nick Richardson for the go-ahead score and Blake Matthews converted the two-point attempt to provide the final margin.
Thomasville 26, Cairo 21
Thomasville rallied from a 21-0 deficit with 26 unanswered points to improve to 3-0. The Bulldogs got on the board with a 44-yard touchdown pass from Shannon White to Joe Williams that cut the score to 21-6 at the half. The Bulldogs stopped Cairo’s opening drive and scored three plays later to make it 21-12 and then Malik Harper added an 18-yard rushing score to cut the deficit to 21-19 with 9:52 left in the game. Thomasville recovered a Cairo fumble for a touchdown with 4:51 left and stopped Cairo on the 14-yard line to complete the comeback.
Class A Private
Mt. Vernon 35, Mt. Paran Christian 14
The Mustangs snagged their first win of the season with a commanding victory over Mt. Paran Christian. Senior Luke Barnes hit Jonathan Gallinaro on a 24-yard touchdown pass early in the first, and the two struck again in the second on an 85-yard score before Barnes connected with Parker Logue for his third TD pass. A 13-yard touchdown rush by Spencer Corley grew the Mustangs’ lead to 28-0 heading into the second half. Mt. Paran managed to find the end zone in the third, but Mt. Vernon responded with another Barnes-to-Logue touchdown to put the game out of reach.
Class A Public
Irwin County 52, Monroe 26
Host Irwin County outgained Monroe 494-to-370 in total yardage and racked up 399 yards on the ground. Quarterback Cody Soliday completed 6-of-13 passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns and also took five carries for 80 yards and a score. Irwin County’s Demarkus Lundy took 19 carries for 183 yards and a touchdown and Shane Marshall added 92 yards off seven carries to go with his rushing score. Bo Payne also had a big performance and helped Irwin County take control of the game in the second half—returning the kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown, intercepting Monroe on their next possession and then hauling in a 29-yard touchdown reception. Monroe quarterback Corey Randle finished 19-of-43 passing for 343 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
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