Week 7 Friday Night Roundups

7A

North Gwinnett 67, Meadowcreek 41

The North Gwinnett Bulldogs improved to 3-0 in Region 7 play with a 67-41 victory over visiting Meadowcreek in a high-scoring Week 7 affair. The home team led 27-21 after the opening frame, 46-35 at halftime and 60-35 heading into the fourth quarter, and got three rushing scores and a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback Ryan Hall. Hall’s TD completions were hauled in by receivers Will Collins and Marek Briley, with Julian Walter contributing four touchdown runs as well. The final North Gwinnett touchdown came on Kenan Holmes’ kick return. For Meadowcreek, Cameron Ellis finished with four touchdown passes — two apiece to Andrè Craig and Keyshawn Singleton — and Jordan Louie scored twice on runs of 70+ yards.

Norcross 48, Duluth 0

Norcross got its fourth-straight win and second-consecutive shutout of a Region 7 opponent with a 48-0 rout of visiting Duluth. The Blue Devils built a 35-0 lead by the end of the first quarter with a pair of touchdown passes from AJ Watkins to Lawson Luckie (67 and 5 yards), two rushing scores from Michael Ammons and a 47-yard touchdown run by Zion Taylor. A 5-yard trip to the end zone from Watkins in the second quarter and Devin Hunter’s third-quarter pick-six provided the game’s final points. The Blue Devil defense only allowed 38 passing yards and 48 rushing yards throughout the night.

Buford 23, Collins Hill 3

Top-ranked Buford came out on top of its Region 8 opener against visiting Collins Hill to extend its winning streak to 17 games. Justice Haynes scored the first and last touchdowns of the night for the Wolves, who also got a rushing score from quarterback Tristan Gabrels and key sacks on defense from Eddrick Houston, Jadon Perlotte and Bryson Banks. Cannon Goldin’s interception in the third quarter set up Gabrels’ touchdown.

Class 6A

Hughes 40, Alexander 7

No. 1 ranked Hughes improved to 3-0 in Region 5-6A and 6-0 overall with its road win over Alexander and has now outscored its three region opponents by a combined 153-10. Junior quarterback Prentiss Air Noland rushed for a 20-yard touchdown and found CJ Lockhart for a 25-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter to put the Panthers up 14-0. Jakail Middlebrooks padded the lead with a 12-yard touchdown run to make it 21-0 at the half and Noland found Terrance Love for a pair of touchdown passes (33, 21 yards) in the third quarter to take a 34-0 lead before Alexander found the end zone. Hughes’ final points came in the fourth quarter on a 14-yard rushing score by Justus Savage.

Gainesville 42, Lanier 14

No. 5-ranked Gainesville improved to 2-0 in Region 8 and 6-0 overall with a comfortable 42-14 road win against host Lanier. Senior Naim Cheeks finished with over 200 yards of offense and a trio of touchdowns — including two in the second half on runs of 69 and 76 yards. Junior quarterback Baxter Wright also contributed a pair of scores for the Red Elephants, who will host Habersham Central after next week’s bye.

Class 5A

McIntosh 35, Heard County 34

McIntosh did lead until Tate Morris’ 20-yard touchdown pass to Landon Dolhancyk in overtime put the Chiefs up 35-28 and they clinched the one-point victory by stopping Heard County’s potential game-winning 2-point conversion attempt. Heard County led 28-14 with nine minutes left in the third quarter before McIntosh rallied to force overtime. Morris found Marcus Malone Jr. for a 25-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 28-21 heading into the fourth quarter and tossed a 31-yard touchdown pass to Cole Landgaard with three minutes left to force overtime. Malone Jr. also rushed for a 13-yard touchdown in the first half.

Class 4A

Sonoraville 42, Northwest Whitfield 20

Sonoraville improved to 4-2 on the season with an emphatic come-from-behind victory in its Region 7 opener against visiting Northwest Whitfield. The Bruins were first on the board with an 85-yard completion from Owen Brooker to Hudson Gray before the first of Zach Lyles’ three touchdowns and a two-point run from Phoenix quarterback Jaxon Pate put Sonoraville out front. Brooker then added touchdown runs of 70 and 91 yards in the second quarter for a 20-8 Northwest Whitfield advantage, but the Phoenix closed the game with five straight scores. Pate connected with Bryant (68 yards) and Ty Brown (5 yards) in the second quarter and Bryant again (15 yards) in the third, and Lyles added a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to seal the win.

Trinity Christian 3, Starr’s Mill 0

Host Trinity Christian (4-2, 3-0) won its fourth-straight game in a shutout victory over No. 7 ranked Starr’s Mill to improve to 3-0 in Region 4-4A. As a result, Trinity Christian sits at the top of the standings with No. 4 ranked Troup—which also improved to 3-0 in the region after its 63-0 win over North Clayton Thursday. The Lions’ game-clinching points came on a 24-yard field goal with 11:54 left in the fourth quarter and they will go on the road next week to take on Whitewater (5-1, 2-1). Starr’s Mill has lost two-straight after a 4-0 start and will host Fayette County next Friday.

Cedartown 39, Central-Carroll 7

No. 1 ranked Cedartown scored touchdowns in all three of its first half possessions and its first five scores of the game and took a 33-7 lead into the fourth quarter. Patrick Gardner ran in three of the Bulldogs’ touchdowns, Khamarion Davis ran for a 23-yard touchdown and Harlem Diamond scored on a 19-yard handoff. Cedartown’s final points came on a 42-yard Tae Harris rushing score with 4:11 left. Central-Carroll’s lone points came on a quarterback sneak early in the second quarter and the Lions fall to 4-2 and 0-1 in Region 7. Cedartown joins Heritage-Catoosa at 6-0 and 1-0 in the region and will square off next Friday. Cedartown has now outscored its first six opponents 212-44 giving them a 28-point average margin of victory. Meanwhile, Heritage-Catoosa has a 240-to-59 scoring edge through six games with a 30.17 average margin of victory heading into Friday’s home game.

Spalding 32, Griffin 0

Spalding snapped six-straight losses to Griffin and improved to 2-13 all-time against the Bears in a 32-0 shutout victory that improved its Region 2 record to 2-0. Curt Clark’s 20-yard touchdown run put the Jaguars up 12-0 at the half and he tacked on a 40-yard rushing score to open the second half. Robert Henderson’s 4-yard touchdown run put Spalding up 24-0 and Ronald Moore Jr. iced the game with an interception he returned for a 40-yard touchdown with two minutes left for the final tally.

Class 3A

Adairsville 49, LaFayette 7

Jonathan Gough passed for two touchdowns to go with two rushing touchdowns to lead Adairsville past LaFayette. He scored on a runs of nine and 24 yards and passed to Tre Winters (40 yards) and Chase Hilburn (16 yards) for touchdowns. On the ground, Kolt McCord scored on a 67-yard run and Chris Roper scored on an 18-yard run. Kicker Cooper Souders was 7-of-7 on point after tries for Adairsville.

Coahulla Creek 37, Gordon Lee 16

Coahulla Creek (5-1) moved to 3-0 in Region 6 with its home win over Gordon Lee and set a school-record for most wins in a season. The Colts took their opening drive 71 yards and capped it with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Kace Kinnamon to Manny Dominguez. Gordon Lee opened the second quarter with a 21-yard field goal and Coahulla Creek answered with a 51-yard touchdown from Kinnamon to Dominguez and a 21-yard Logan Fowler field goal at the buzzer to build a 17-3 lead. After Dominguez was crowned Homecoming King at the half, teammate Hudson Mardis forced a fumble and recovered it at the Gordon Lee 29-yard line. Kinnamon took advantage of the possession and connected with Will Douglas for a 4-yard touchdown pass. Karim Bradley padded the lead to 30-3 heading into the fourth quarter with an 18-yard touchdown run and the Colts would not punt until there was 4:15 left in the final frame. Gordon Lee’s Nate Dunfee ran in a 12-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 30-19 and Bradley returned to the endzone for his second score before Brisyn Oliver’s late Gordon Lee touchdown.

Carver-Columbus 45, Columbus 7

The Tigers led 12-7 after the first quarter but pushed the lead to 24-7 at the half in a romp of Columbus. Carver extended its lead to 39-7 entering the fourth quarter to put the game away.

North Murray 49, Murray County 0

Seth Griffin passed for three touchdowns and rushed for one to lead North Murray past Murray County. Griffin, who scored on a 28-yard run, passed to Judson Petty for touchdowns of 34 and 65 yards and to Skyler WIlliams on a 7-yard touchdown pass. Petty (2 yards) and Williams (10 yards) each scored on a touchdown run.

Ringgold 35, Bremen 14

Ringgold scored two unanswered touchdowns in the third quarter to pull away after leading 14-7 at the half. Ross Norman scored on a touchdown run with nine minutes left in the third quarter to put Ringgold up 21-7.

Class A Division I

Mt. Pisgah Christian 49, Mt. Zion, Carroll 27

The host Patriots saw visiting Mt. Zion get within a score twice during the third quarter before closing out the game on a 21-6 run to improve to 5-1 on the season. Mt. Pisgah led 14-0 after quarterback Jack Cendoya’s pass to Mikael Carter late in the first quarter, but the Eagles answered with a touchdown from QB Alex Zelaya. Zelaya kicked off the second half with a touchdown as well to bring the score to 21-14, and the teams traded touchdowns again for a margin of 28-21 before the Patriots pulled away.

Whitefield Academy 24, Brookstone 7

Whitefield led just 7-0 at the half following a rushing touchdown in the second quarter, but the Wolfpack pulled away in the second half to secure the victory. A 31-yard field goal from Diego Lopez put Whitefield up 10-0 and a 2-yard pass from Ayden Duncanson to Caleb Lavellee put Whitefield up 17-0. Lavallee returned a punt 20 yards for a touchdown with seven minutes left in the game to put it away.

Trion 39, Dade County 21

Trion opened up Region 7 with a 39-21 victory to improve to 4-1 overall. Andy Ramirez kicked two field goals in the first half and Logan Stokes helped the Bulldogs take a 20-7 lead into the half with a 41-yard touchdown run. The Bulldogs have now started 4-1 for consecutive seasons for the first time since 2002-03.

Class A Division II

Bowdon 23, St. Francis 18

No. 3 ranked Bowdon improved to 5-1 in its non-region road trip to Class A Division I No. 10 ranked St. Francis. The Knights fell to 4-2 with the loss and trailed 14-6 at the half.