Week 6 Friday Night Roundups

The AJC has writers at Pebblebrook at Harrison, Parkview at Mill Creek, MIlton at North Cobb, Kell at Centennial and Norcross at South Gwinnett. Follow the link to Todd Holcomb’s Friday Night Wrap or the Prep Scoreboard powered by Score Atlanta.

See the full Friday Night Roundups below or go to the bottom of the file to see the Thursday roundups.

Class 7A

Lowndes 24, Grayson 14

No. 2-ranked Grayson traveled down to The Concrete Palace on Friday night for the Rams’ matchup against an unranked Lowndes team. The Rams have averaged nearly 39 points-per-game this season while holding opponents to just 11.5, but the Vikings’ hot start put Grayson in a deficit it would be unable to overcome as Lowndes pulled off the largest upset in the state. The key to the upset lied in the Lowndes’ playmaking quarterback Marvis Parrish. The sophomore had three first-half touchdowns that came on the ground, giving the Vikings’ a 21-0 lead near the end of the second quarter. Grayson was able to cut into the lead before the break as junior quarterback Jeff Davis II connected with sophomore Ricky Simmons on a 27-yard touchdown pass for the Rams’ first points of the game. The lone score in the third was a 43-yard field goal by Lowndes’ kicker Anthonio Dais to make it a three-score game. Senior running back Joe Taylor Jr. managed to bring Grayson within two scores with a 5-yard rushing touchdown in the middle of the fourth quarter, but the Rams would score no more and would go on to suffer their first loss of the season. Parrish finished with 54 yards on the ground and went 8-of-9 passing for 130 yards. The Vikings’ leading receiver Kevis Thomas caught three passes for 96 yards.

North Gwinnett 42, Berkmar 0

The Bulldogs improved to 4-2 on the season and 2-0 in Region 7 play with a 42-0 shutout of Berkmar. North Gwinnett led 36-0 at halftime following a trio of touchdown runs from Julian Walters, another from Samford Halcomb and a blocked punt return for a touchdown by Corey Tornese. Harbin Tinney scored from five yards out in the third for the game’s final tally.

Valdosta 24, McEachern 14

The No. 8-ranked Wildcats are 6-0 for the first time since 2014 following their 24-14 victory over visiting McEachern. The Indians entered the matchup on a three-game win streak and took an early lead on a 26-yard completion from Jaydon Kinney to Savion West. Valdosta took a 14-7 lead before the break, however, on a pair of touchdown passes from Todd Robinson to Ahman Denson and Jalen Whitehead. Both Jaylen Bentley and Khalil Mollay added interceptions for the Wildcat defense in the second, and Robinson found the end zone from 27 yards out to extend the lead in the third quarter. Kinney and West connected again in the third to make it a one-score game, but Tim Roberson’s seventh interception of the season ended a fourth-quarter McEachern drive and Antonio Zapata’s 32-yard field goal in the game’s final minutes sealed the win.

Buford 14, Marietta 0

Visiting Buford scored one touchdown in the first quarter and one in the second and only allowed Marietta to move the ball inside the 20-yard line once. The Wolves led 7-0 in the first quarter after a 57-yard rushing touchdown from Justice Haynes. In the second quarter, K.J. Bolden caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from Dylan Wittke. Marietta drove as far as the Buford 16-yard line in the fourth quarter, but the drive ended on an interception. Haynes rushed 15 times for 121 yards.

Denmark 28, Dacula 25

After trailing 18-0 in the second quarter and 25-7 heading into the fourth, Denmark completed the successful comeback victory against host Dacula for a fourth-straight win. All four victories were by four or fewer points, and the Danes are now 13-3 in one-score games going back to 2017. Denmark’s final points came on a punt return for a touchdown and a successful two-point conversion with 2:02 remaining. The Danes will open Region 6 play next week at home against West Forsyth, which will be coming off its bye.

Carrollton 56, Hillgrove 28

Carrollton led 28-7 after the first quarter, 35-14 at the half and 42-21 entering the fourth quarter to beat Hillgrove. Julian Lewis passed for four touchdowns in the victory. Bryce Hicks scores on runs of 48, 29 and two yards for Carrollton. Takare Lipscomb returned a kickoff 92 yards for Carrollton. Jordan White caught a 42-yard touchdown pass, Seth Childers caught a 22-yard touchdown pass and Kiyun Cofer caught a 38-yard touchdown pass.

Brookwood 41, South Forsyth 24

With three straight losses for the Broncos, Brookwood bounced back with a sound victory over visiting South Forsyth. Up 13-10 at the half, Brookwood outscored South Forsyth 28-14 through the second half en route to the victory. Alabama-commit quarterback Dylan Lonergan went 30-of-38 for 395 yards and four touchdowns. On the receiving end of Lonergan’s passes were a trio of receivers that shined throughout the game. Senior Miles Massengill led the team in receiving with 10 catches for 127 yards. Senior Bryce Dopson finished the night with four catches for 101 yards and three touchdowns, while Lee Niles snagged six catches for 94 yards and a touchdown.

Kennesaw Mountain 60, South Cobb 6

Quarterback Cayman Prangley threw four touchdown passes and rushed for a score in the visiting Mustangs’ win. Prangley opened the scoring with a QB sneak for a score and threw touchdown passes to Nalin Scott and Connor Lew to give Kennesaw Mountain a 20-0 lead after the first. In the second quarter, Prangley found Earl Kyle and Cayden Lee for scores, and Ethan Voltaire recovered a South Cobb fumble in the end zone for a touchdown to give the Mustangs a 40-6 halftime lead. In the second half, Tyshon Jenkins and Tyson Harmon rushed for touchdowns and David Attaochu had an interception return for a touchdown for Kennesaw Mountain.

Colquitt County 39, Cedar Grove 17

Host Colquitt County took its first lead (8-3) in the second quarter after a 7-yard swing pass from Neko Fann to Charlie Pace for a touchdown and then a two-point rush from Kamal Bonner on a direct snap. The Packers scored on their next possession on a 2-yard rush from tight end Landen Thomas on another direct snap. Later in the quarter, Fann rushed for a 1-yard score to make it 22-10, although Cedar Grove scored a touchdown before half to cut the Colquitt lead to 22-17. In the third quarter, Thomas took another direct snap for a 2-yard touchdown rush and Brett Fitzgerald made a 28-yard yard field goal. Pace capped the scoring late in the fourth quarter with a 1-yard scoring run.

In other 7A games – Camden County improved to 4-2 on the season with its fourth-consecutive win and second-consecutive win over a Florida program with a 47-6 victory over visiting Atlantic Coast. … Osborne remains undefeated on the season with its fifth-consecutive win coming against Woodland-Cartersville, 38-14. The Cardinals held the Woodland offense to just a field goal in the first half while tacking on 31 points. … After dropping two losses to start the season, Wheeler picked up its third consecutive victory with a 28-17 win over Campbell who fell to 1-5. … With three straight losses, Forsyth Central got on the right track and shutout Seckinger 35-0. … Meadowcreek led Peachtree Ridge 21-19 at the half, and the Mustang defense went on to shutout the Lions offense in the second half en route to a 42-19 victory.

Class 6A

Hughes 48, Douglas County 3

No. 1 ranked Hughes outscored Douglas County 34-0 in the second half and improved to 2-0 in Region 5-6A and 5-0 overall. Jekail Middlebrook gave Hughes a 7-0 lead with a 17-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter and quarterback Printess Air Noland found Jaden Barnes in the redzone later in the opening frame for a touchdown pass to make it 14-0. Douglas County’s Monte Gooden returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards, but was tackled by junior Tory Arnold at the 1-yard line in what turned out to be one of the most impactful plays of the game. Douglas County had to settle for a field goal and starting quarterback Sire Hardaway suffered a dislocated elbow and left the game. Douglas County remained in striking distance in large part to a pair of interceptions by Wake Forest-commit Hilton Deuce Alexander and came out in the second half with a successful onside kick. Douglas County also converted a fake punt on the opening drive, but fumbled on the play and Hughes closed out the win with 34 unanswered points. Noland scored on a 9-yard quarterback keeper to make it 21-3 heading into the fourth quarter and then connected with Barnes for an 86-yard touchdown in the opening minute of the final frame to grow the lead to 27-3.

Blessed Trinity 27, Sprayberry 14

Blessed Trinity got two rushing scores from Kieran Davis and two touchdown passes from Brooks Goodman to hold off Sprayberry at home. Davis rushed for a 9-yard touchdown with under a minute left in the first quarter and had a 28-yard touchdown midway through the second quarter to give the Titans a 14-0 halftime lead. Sprayberry scored a touchdown in the third quarter to cut the deficit to seven points, but Goodman found Zyon McKenzie for a 46-yard touchdown pass later in the third. Goodman threw a 30-yard scoring pass to Cole Weaver in the fourth quarter.

Rome 42, Allatoona 19

Reece Fountain passed for touchdowns to Josh Ellard (42 yards), DeKaylon Daniel (29, 15 yards) and Martel Hight (28 yards, 16 yards) in the victory. Rome led 14-7 after the first quarter and pushed the lead to 28-7 at the half. Chance Arthur had a 2-yard rushing touchdown for Rome.

Houston County 28, Warner Robins 8

No. 8-ranked Houston County has improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2016 with a 28-8 victory over reigning Class 5A champion Warner Robins, handing the Demons (1-4) their third-straight loss. The Bears led 7-0 after a first-quarter touchdown run by Nick Jordan and 14-0 at the break following Antwann Hill Jr’s 80-yard touchdown pass to Kale Woodburn in the second. Warner Robins got on the board in the third quarter with a 56-yard rushing score from Elijah Antonio before Houston County added another pair of touchdowns — a 12-yard run by Ryan Taleb and a 35-yard connection from Hill to Ricky Johnson — for the final points of the night.

Woodward Academy 42, Alcovy 0

Jalen Woods passed for three touchdowns and Lucas Farrington rushed for two to move Woodward past Alcovy. Griffin Marshall passed to Jeffrey Woodson late in the third quarter to bring the game to its final tally. Josiah Abdullah, Andrew Hines and MIchael Butler caught passes from Woods for touchdowns. Woods was 15-of-17 passing for 166 yards.

In other 6A games – South Paulding led 21-0 after the first quarter and expanded the lead in the third quarter when it scored two unanswered touchdowns to beat Newnan 42-14. …

Class 5A

Greater Atlanta Christian 56, Northview 0

The Spartans led 27-0 at the end of the first quarter and pushed the lead to 51-0 at the half in a romp of Northview. Gianlucca Tiberia and Cardell Robinson each scored a rushing touchdown for GAC in the victory. Denzell Watkins completed a 50-yard pass to Jaden Henry to bring the game to its final tally late in the third quarter.

Ware County 22, Bainbridge 16

Host Ware County used 22 unanswered points to rally past the Bearcats. Bainbridge used all three phases to build its early 16-0 lead, including a touchdown, a field goal and an interception that was returned for a touchdown. Ware County quarterback Niko Smith found Jarvis Hayes for a 17-yard touchdown and ran in the 2-point conversion to cut the deficit to 16-8 at the half. Smith connected with DJ Dennis in the third for a 62-yard touchdown, but the Gators failed the potential game-tying 2-point conversion and trailed 16-14. Ware County’s game-winning touchdown came after a Jaden Jones fumble recovery at the Bainbridge 3-yard line that teammate CJ Johnson later punched in to put the Gators up 22-16 with 8:39 left.

Jefferson 17, Clarke Central 7

A first-quarter rushing touchdown from senior quarterback Max Aldridge capped off an 11-play drive to give Jefferson the early lead. After a scoreless second quarter, Aldridge connected with junior Bryant Cox in the end zone for the Dragons’ second and last touchdown of the night. Clarke Central would find the end zone, but in a one-score game gave the ball away in the fourth quarter when senior Chase Johnson grabbed an interception and returned the ball 43 yards followed by an Owen Botts field goal to seal the victory.

In other 5A games – Cass quarterback Brodie McWhorter threw five touchdown passes, two each to Sacovie White and Devin Henderson, as the visiting Colonels routed M.L. King, 63-7. … Johnny Crowe threw three touchdowns and Mason Lawson rushed for two as Loganville defeated Heritage-Conyers on the road, 64-8. … Northside-Columbus shut out Westover on the road, 35-0, thanks to 204 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries from star running back Malachi Hosley, who also threw a 21-yard touchdown pass and had three receptions for 47 yards.

Class 4A

Wayne County 17, Jenkins 14

Wayne County rallied back from a 14-6 deficit in the final frame to score a road victory over Class 5A Jenkins. Matt Fuller tied up the game with 6:40 left on an 80-yard touchdown run and a successful direct snap on the 2-point conversion. Wayne’s game-winning points came with a 19-yard field goal with just seven seconds left.

North Oconee 52, Chestatee 7

No. 2-ranked North Oconee improves to 4-0 on the season and 2-0 in Region 8 play with a 52-7 rout of Chestatee (1-4). After scoring a total of 23 points in their first two games, the Titans have outscored their last two opponents (Madison County and Chestatee) by a combined margin of 94-7 and are off to their best start since 2019.

Benedictine 26, Bolles, FL. 7

The Cadets went down to Jacksonville and emerged victorious, making Benedictine 3-2 on the season. Two field goals from Asher Sigmon — one in the first and second quarters — gave the Cadets a 6-0 lead before quarterback Luke Kromenhoek hit Thomas Blackshear for an 8-yard touchdown at the end of the second to go up 13-0 at the half. Another Sigmon field goal in the third followed by a 46-yard touchdown pass from Kromenhoek to Ack Edwards put Benedictine up 23-0. Bolles found the end zone in the fourth before Sigmon completed a 27-yard field goal for his fourth of the night. On defense, senior Cody Brinson had two interceptions.

Troup 44, Starr’s Mill 17

No. 4 ranked Troup toppled No. 5 ranked Starr’s Mill on the road in an overwhelming performance by quarterback Taeo Todd and the Tigers. Troup went into the half with a 15-3 lead and then Todd found Malikih Poythreess for a touchdown to push the lead to 23-3. Starr’s Mill answered with a touchdown to make it a two-score game, but Todd returned the ensuing kickoff 55 yards and then cashed in a 45-yard touchdown run to make it a 30-10 game heading into the final frame. Todd added a 50-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter before Tray Blackmon Jr. scored a 32-yard touchdown run that pushed Troup’s lead to 44-17.

Cairo 62, Salem 0

Cairo blocked back-to-back Salem punts to start the game. Terrance Peoples recovered the first blocked punt for a touchdown and then quarterback Braylon Robinson threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Tyree Kelly on what was the Syrupmakers’ first offensive snap. Amarion Byrden added a 5-yard touchdown and then Kelly intercepted Salem and hauled in a 38-yard touchdown pass from Robinson to push the lead to 27-0 at the end of the first quarter. Robinson added a 12-yard rushing touchdown and 9-yard touchdown pass to Amari Powell in the second quarter and then backup quarterback Bryce Wilson handed off a 3-yard Byden touchdown run to make it 48-0 at the break. Wilson found Kam Cromartie for a 18-yard touchdown on a 4th-and-4 in the third quarter and Curtis Hollingsworth threw a 13-yard touchdown to Gavin Mango in the fourth quarter for the final tally—giving Cairo their first 60-plus point game since 2011.

Perry 49, Howard 0

Perry opened up Region 2-4A with a dominant Homecoming win and jumped out to a 42-0 halftime lead. Demetrious Carter (36 yards) and Dakarai Anderson (22) rushed for touchdowns before a pair of Jamari Stone rushing scores gave the Panthers a 28-0 lead. Quarterback Armar Gordon found Kiel Sparks and Kory Pettigrew for touchdowns to push the lead to 42-0 and the final points came when Tavares Simmons returned the opening kickoff of the second half for an 85-yard touchdown.

In other 4A games – In Region 1, Cairo improved to 4-2 and scored more the 60 points for the first time since 2011 with its 62-0 win over Salem. Shaw had a 45-6 win over a winless Jordan team, No. 9 ranked Bainbridge dropped a 22-16 loss to Class 5A No. 2 Ware County after leading 16-0, Hardaway fell 43-14 to Peach County and Westover dropped a 35-0 loss to a 5-1 Northside-Columbus team. … In Region 2, No. 3 ranked Perry won its fourth-straight game after a 57-56 loss to Houston County in its season opener in a 49-42 win over Howard, which entered the matchup 4-0. Griffin earned its first win of the season and also improved to 1-0 in region play with its 28-16 triumph over West Laurens and Spalding opened up region play with a massive 40-14 win over rival Baldwin. In Region 3, Burke County improved to 5-0 with a 35-32 win over Class 5A Statesboro, Wayne County earned a 17-14 comeback win over Jenkins to improve to 4-1 and Benedictine defeated Bolles (FL) 26-7. Southeast Bulloch almost completed the Region 3 sweep this week, but fell 38-33 in overtime to Hephzibah. .. Riverdale bounced back from last week’s 20-15 loss to Trinity Christian and scored a 22-14 win over Fayette County Thursday night to improve to 2-1 in Region 4. Trinity Christian moved to 2-0 in the region with a 53-12 win over North Clayton and No. 4 Troup also moved to 2-0 in region play with a massive 44-17 road win over No. 5 Starr’s Mill. Whitewater, which fell to Troup last week bounced back with a 29-21 win over LaGrange—which fell to Starr’s Mill in overtime last week. …Just two of the eight teams in Region 5 were active this week and went 0-2—Lovett fell 21-10 to Fellowship Christian and Mt. Zion-Jonesboro dropped a 56-0 loss to Upson-Lee. …In Region 6, Hapeville Charter fell to 0-5 with a tough 28-6 loss to Carver-Columbus and Stone Mountain (1-4) earned its first win of the year against Drew (35-7) on Thursday. Clarkston dropped a 57-14 road loss to Heard County and Druid Hills fell 30-17 to Region 7′s Southeast Whitfield. Stephenson impressed in a dominant 28-3 win over rival Tucker and Westminster picked up a 37-7 road win at Riverwood. …Region 7 remains the lone region in Class 4A with all of its teams owning winning records and the three teams that took the field on Friday added to the success with large margins of victory. Top-ranked Cedartown cruised past Dalton 57-14 to improve to 5-0, Heritage-Catoosa dominated Chattanooga Prep (TN) 47-0 to improve to 5-0 and Southeast Whitfield’s win over Druid Hills improved its record to 4-1. Central-Carroll (4-1), Northwest Whitfield (4-1) and Sonoraville (3-2) were off on their bye. …Region 8 had four region matchups and two non-region showdowns. Cedar Shoals defeated East Hall 49-21, No. 2 ranked North Oconee improved to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in region play with a 52-7 win over Chestatee, East Forsyth lost a 7-6 heartbreaker to Walnut Grove and North Hall earned a huge 14-12 win over Cherokee Bluff. Johnson-Gainesville dropped to 0-5 with a 45-0 loss to East Jackson and Seckinger got shutout 35-0 by Forsyth Central.

Class 3A

Gilmer 35, Wesleyan 20

Host Gilmer overcame an early 14-7 deficit before securing the victory in its Region 7-3A opener and improving to 4-1 on the year. Hunter Watkins rushed for two first half touchdowns and Will Kiker broke loose for a 40-yard rushing score before the half to give the Bobcats a 21-14 lead. Broke Titus and Kiker grew the lead to 35-14 with touchdown runs before the Wolves’ late score.

In other 3A games – Lumpkin County moved to 5-0 after beating Pickens 42-7. …

Class 2A

Callaway 44, Redan 12

Host Callaway led 30-0 with 9:01 left in the first half and cruised to victory in its Region 5-2A opener. The Cavaliers got on the board with a safety and 1-yard touchdown run by Quay Wright. Abreon Ford intercepted Redan in the endzone for a Callaway touchdown and Deshun Coleman’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Treyonn Tucker put the Cavaliers up comfortably 30-0.

Model 44, Murray County 0

Model won its third straight game Friday against Murray County. Tailback Daniel Jolly had touchdown runs of 20 and 35 yards, quarterback Jake Sanders had touchdown passes to Amir Pinkard and Jakenes Heard, and Model also scored two defensive touchdowns on interceptions by Joey Samples and Brant Pace.

In other 2A games – Vidalia jumped to a 29-6 lead over Windsor Forest at halftime to improve to 5-0 on the year. …Callaway scored 44 points in the first half against Redan to win its second game of the season. …North Cobb Christian quarterback Matty Go threw two touchdown passes to lead the Warriors over Washington. ...Commerce kicker Ivy Tolbert hit a 25-yard field goal with a minute remaining in the fourth quarter to give the Tigers the 17-14 win over previously-undefeated Banks County.

Class A Division I

Oglethorpe County 62, Riverside Military 12

Visiting Oglethorpe County capped a 42-point first half with a Will Sampson touchdown run and improved to 4-1 for the first time since 1998. The Patriots’ 62 points scored are the most in the school’s 60-year history.

In other Division I games – A field goal with one minute left in the game pulled Commerce past Banks County 17-14. …Jenkins County held Claxton scoreless for the first three quarters to win 23-8 and move to 4-2 on the season. … Coosa took a 20-7 lead at the end of the first quarter and held on for a 27-17 victory. …

Class A Division II

Aquinas 40, Greenbrier 20

Host Aquinas led Class 5A Greenbrier 20-0 at the half following a 65-yard touchdown pass from Jim Franklin to Buddyrow Garrer and a pair of Clark Jackson 2-yard touchdown runs. Franklin added a 26-yard touchdown to Kevin Douglas in the third quarter to push the lead to 27-0 before Greenbrier got on the board to make it 27-7 heading into the fourth. Franklin found Josh Tyre for a 20-yard touchdown and Walker Mobley ran in a 25-yard touchdown that put the Irish up 40-14 late in the fourth.

In other Division II games – Lake Oconee Academy needed a 2-point conversion in the fourth quarter to defeat Loganville Christian 15-14 and move to 2-4 on the season. … Taylor County defeated Central-Talbotton 49-0 after leading 41-0 at the half. … Atkinson County outlasted Seminole County 30-29 in overtime and a rushing touchdown from MJ McKinon and ensuing 2-point conversion proved the difference.

Thursday Roundups below.

Class 5A

Eastside 34, Flowery Branch 14

Eastside senior Kenai Grier had 15 carries for 200 yards and three rushing touchdowns to lead the Eagles past Flowery Branch. Senior Dontorrie Henderson had 12 carries for 63 yards and one touchdown in the victory.

Class 3A

Carver-Columbus 28, Hapeville Charter 6

Carver led 7-6 and held the Hornets scoreless in the second half to secure the victory. The Tigers led 13-6 entering the fourth quarter before expanding the lead to put the game away.

Class 2A

KIPP 32, BEST Academy 0

KIPP got its first win of the season after taking a 12-0 halftime lead and expanding the advantage in the second half to pull away. The Warriors led 25-0 entering the fourth quarter.