Running through tackles like they were air, South Gwinnett’s offense wasn’t going to be stopped.

The Comets, ranked No. 10 in Class AAAAA, tied a school record for points and scored touchdowns on eight of nine possessions during one stretch to rout Central Gwinnett 62-27.

It all started out innocently enough for the Black Knights, who were up 7-6 late in the first quarter and kept pace through most of the first half with a series of long plays and some lucky bounces that went their way.

But they couldn’t defend the Comets. Particularly, Aaron Wimberly.

The senior finished with 350 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns, including one on a 97-yard kickoff return, to open the second half and effectively break the Black Knights’ back.

Between that and holding Central Gwinnett to minus-25 yards of total offense in the second half — 17 of which came with a running clock — the Comets (3-1, 2-0 in Region 8-AAAAA) left little doubt who was going to take the 50th meeting between the rivals.

“I thought it did in the second half,” South Gwinnett coach John Small said, when asked if Wimberly’s kickoff return sparked the team. “I thought our defense did a tremendous job in the second half. We gave up some plays in the first half, and we’re trying to improve upon that. But he definitely did get us kick-started with that big return.”

Wimberly was most of the offense once it really got going, though Darius Jones-Craven chipped in 102 yards and two touchdowns on three first-half catches.

Quarterback Kent Rollins finished 9-for-22 passing for 219 yards and four touchdowns, and scored another touchdown on a run in the second half.

It was Wimberly, though, who was electric, ripping off runs of 76 and 40 yards, along with catches for 44 and 37 to go with what Small said was a school-record kickoff return.

“He’s just a special player,” Small said. “He’s a guy that when he touches the ball and the ball hits his hands, he can go to the house every time. He showed that tonight. He’s just an unselfish kid; he plays hard. He doesn’t say much. I’m glad he plays for South Gwinnett.”

The game was close for a half.

While South Gwinnett was starting to put major points on the board, the Comets couldn’t seem to shake Central Gwinnett (2-2, 0-2) for awhile.

During that first half, as the teams were trading touchdown for touchdown in a 47-point second quarter, Black Knights quarterback Eman Westmoreland amassed 235 yards on 14-for-26 passing with four touchdowns, knifing through the South Gwinnett secondary.

In the second half, though, he only had 9 yards through the air.

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