It was a proud weekend for the Alpharetta Raiders as the football team closed out the regular season with its eighth-straight postseason berth on Friday night. On Saturday, the Raiders swept past rival Pope for the Class 6A volleyball state championship and moved into the top 20 national rankings with the win. Then on Sunday, former Alpharetta quarterback Joshua Dobbs made history and became the first quarterback in NFL history to record consecutive three-touchdown games for different teams.
Alpharetta head football coach Jason Kervin was in the stands to watch the Minnesota Vikings take on the Atlanta Falcons Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and witnessed the former Raiders standout lead the Vikings to victory. “Josh Dobbs gets traded to Minnesota days ago. Backup gets knocked down. Dobb’s comes in and wills his team to victory! You can’t make this up!”
Dobbs entered the game after an injury to Jaren Hall just days after being traded from Arizona—where he quarterbacked the team to their first win of the season. He finished the game 20-of-30 passing for two touchdowns and added 66 yards and a rushing score off seven carries. Making the victory even more exciting was Dobbs earning the victory over former Collins Hill standout Taylor Heinicke—who started his first game for the Falcons.
929 The Game’s Mike Conti recognized the homegrown battle when Dobbs went into the game and said Collins Hill versus Alpharetta in the Benz. A volleyball state title and a former Raider earning a thrilling victory caps a great weekend for Alpharetta and the Raiders community.
Here’s a recap of Alpharetta’s 3-0 win over Pope for the volleyball state title:
Alpharetta closed out the final championship match with a sweep over Area 7 rival Pope to win its second all-time title since its first in 2020. The Raiders had their 32-match win-streak, which included a 3-0 win over the Greyhounds, snapped in the region championship where Pope scored a 3-1 victory. Alpharetta responded by dropping just one set in the first four rounds of the playoffs and then outclassed Pope in straight sets for the title. Class 6A Player of the Year and Georgia Tech-commit Logan Wiley established her presence with kills in four of the Raiders’ five points to stretch their lead to 21-15 in the first set. The Raiders’ other senior captain, Brooke Boyles had to tend to a scratch on her chin that momentarily stopped play and then closed out the 25-21 victory with a kill down the middle. Jala Drayton and Abigail Li provided defense throughout the match and used craftiness and athleticism to score well-placed winners.
“The pace and momentum is so important in this sport and our girls just remained locked in all match,” said Alpharetta head coach Grace Fossier. “This is such a talented team. Brooke and Logan are our captains, but we had so many girls play fantastic and girls that didn’t get a chance to play a lot tonight that have been outstanding all season.”
In the second set, Li helped push Alpharetta’s lead to 22-15 with a block, a no-look winner and an assist to Drayton. Sophomore Kennedi White closed out the second set with a winner to give the Raiders a 25-16 victory. The third set remained tight with Alpharetta clinging to an 18-16 lead before the Raiders secured a 25-21 victory. Drayton ended one of the longest rallies of the match with an over-the head diving winner to push the lead to 23-18. Pope closed the gap to 23-21 and then Boyles set up match point with a winner. The final point was won when junior Madison McLin blocked the Greyhounds at the net and found open court. The Raiders finish the year 38-3, while defending state champion Pope falls to 39-4.
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