The Walton Raiders did well enough to maintain their lead against the Brookwood Broncos for most of Saturdays’ Kell-Hunter Classic opener at The Benz, but putting them away was proving to be difficult. That was, until, Raiders senior defensive lineman Hayden Halpaus stripped-sacked Broncos quarterback CJ Franklin in the fourth quarter’s waning moments, and his teammate, junior linebacker Todd Haley, fell on the ball.
At that point, the Raiders had sealed their 30-21 victory.
Halpaus’ play came with 1:26 left, and Brookwood on the Raiders’ 17. It ended a run in which the Broncos nearly overcame a 23-7 halftime deficit, fueled by sophomore running back Brayden Tyson’s game-high 168 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.
Broncos senior quarterback CJ Franklin rushed 101 yards and a score on 16 carries and had effectively eluded several second-half sacks to keep his team moving. However, on the Broncos’ final possession, Franklin rolled right and didn’t see Halpaus, who was charging from behind to blindside him and knock the ball out.
“He got me a few times during the game but when I finally got him at the end of the game, me and my boys celebrated,” Halpaus said. “That’s what we practice for.”
The Raiders are trying to build off one of the best seasons in school history, in which they finished 14-1, champions of Region 5-7A and state finalists. This despite losing AJC all-state quarterback Jeremy Hecklinski, who threw for 3,835 yards and 50 touchdowns to six interceptions. His successor, senior Kaeden Gilstrap, was 8-for-19 passing for 142 yards and two touchdowns to an interception while rushing for 78 yards on nine carries on Saturday.
“A bunch of those guys, it’s their first time starting,” Halpaus said. “We lost 18 starters, we have four returning on defense. My boy, Todd Haley, got the fumble recovery and called game. We’re just excited to show everyone who Walton is.”
The Broncos opened the game’s scoring on Franklin’s 1-yard run with 11:53 left in the first quarter. Walton would respond less than two minutes later with senior running back Lucas Farrington’s 5-yard run to tie it at 7 with 9:56 left in the first.
That was the start of a 23-0 run for the Raiders that included Gilstrap’s 59-yard touchdown pass to Christian Ward, a safety after Brookwood’s errant snap on a punt attempt sailed out of the end zone, and a 27-yard touchdown reception by Alex Ward with 4:07 left in the second quarter.
Tyson had touchdown runs of 1 and 43 yards in the third quarter, which pulled the Broncos to within 23-21 with 1:43 left in the third quarter, but the Eagles responded with a 3-yard scoring run from Farrington, which brought the score to its final margin with 0:50 left in the third.
“I mean, No. 24 for Brookwood, he’s a good guy,” Halpaus said. “We thought we played him the best we could, and he made some plays because he’s a good player. At the end, we did what we do.”
The Raiders (1-0) are ranked No. 6 in 6A. They’ll host 6A’s Lambert next week. Ward was their leading receiver with 66 yards on two catches. Senior linebacker Jake Thorner had a team-high 10 tackles and a sack.
The Broncos (0-1), unranked in 6A, are coming off a 4-6 season, their first losing record and missed playoff appearance since 2015. They’ll travel to 5A’s Shiloh next week.
