No. 1 North Gwinnett looked very much like the team to beat in a convincing 34-10 win over Milton on Friday in the first round of the AAAAAA playoffs.
C.J. Leggett scored two touchdowns and senior quarterback Hayden Sphire returned to the starting lineup to lead the Bulldogs past the host Eagles. But it was a guest offensive performance from defensive end Dante Sawyer that got things rolling for North Gwinnett.
Milton dominated the first quarter and took a 3-0 lead on Jordan Genovese’s 31-yard field goal. With a steady rain falling, North Gwinnett couldn’t get anything going in its first two possessions. Coach Bob Sphire moved Sawyer into the offensive backfield on the next series. Sawyer, a heavily recruited 6-3, 250-pound senior, gave the Bulldogs the lead with a 9-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter.
“We were out of sync early, a little out of rhythm,” Bob Sphire said. “So we put the big boys in with Dante and C.J. and got the run game rolling.”
Leggett took over from there. The senior tailback scored on runs of 54 and 2 yards, giving North Gwinnett a 20-3 lead at halftime. Leggett finished with 138 yards.
Hayden Sphire, the son of the Bulldogs’ coach and one of the state’s top passers, was injured three weeks ago in a loss to Collins Hill. He missed the past two games and got off to a slow start Friday but found his rhythm as the game progressed. Sphire finished 8-of-19 for 99 yards, 80 of them coming on a quick screen pass to Nate Brown that extended the Bulldogs’ lead to 27-3 late in the third quarter.
“As the game went on, he got more and more comfortable,” Coach Sphire said of his quarterback. “He started making the throws over the middle and to the spots. (His leg) is going to be sore.”
The Bulldogs (10-1), who lost a coin flip and entered the playoffs as the third seed in Region 7, will play at Region 8 champion Archer in the second round.
North Gwinnett outgained Milton 338 yards to 114.
Milton (8-3) overcame the loss of top playmaker Treyvon Paulk to a torn ACL in Week 2 and rallied behind Micco Brisker and Chad Toliver and a physical defense to earn its first home playoff game. The Eagles could return as many as 19 starters next season, coach Howie DeCristofaro said.
“This was a rebuilding year and we went 8-2,” he said. “We’ve got almost everybody back next year, so I’m excited.”
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