Friday football roundup

Better late than never is what McEachern’s offense must have been thinking throughout a highly-anticipated Class AAAAAA showdown against host Lovejoy at Twelve Oaks Stadium. What turned into a defensive battle ended in a thrilling 7-3 victory for the visiting Indians.
The teams were deadlocked in 0-0 tie until late in the third quarter when Jose Perez of the Wildcats kicked a field goal. McEachern had blocked two Perez attempts in the opening 12 minutes but could not thwart the kicker’s third try. The Indians did not answer until only 1:09 remained in the game, at which point T.J. Rahming made a juggling catch in the endzone on a 26-yard pass from Bailey Hockman.
Dylan Hamilton iced the game with an interception on the Wildcats’ final drive.

Here are more recaps of Friday night football action from around the state:

AAAAAA

Alpharetta 31, Lambert 17: Alpharetta’s Miles Smith followed up a scoreless opening quarter with two of his three touchdown runs and the visiting Raiders took a 14-3 lead at the half. Alpharetta’s Austin King found Nesean Crawford on a 79-yard touchdown pass and Lambert answered with a Trevor O’Brien touchdown run and a successful 2-point conversion. Smith’s third rushing touchdown from 45 yards out to made it 28-11. Jarrett Wright ran in a Lambert touchdown but Lem Cobbs iced the game for the Raiders with a rushing score with 7:04 left.

Brookwood 35, Berkmar 7: Jesse Brown rushed 16 times for 66 yards and two touchdowns to pace Brookwood to an easy win over visiting Berkmar. Brown scored bookend touchdowns for the Broncos in the first quarter and the fourth quarter en route to a 35-0 lead. The Patriots finally got on the scoreboard with 49 seconds remaining when Isaac Fuentes caught a 70-yard touchdown pass from Jaydee Warner. Brookwood was also led by new quarterback Mason LeBlanc, who carried seven times for 102 yards and one score while also throwing two touchdowns to Ricky Sharma and Zack Lee.

Dacula 27, South Gwinnett 13: Jakob Brashear rushed for a clinching fourth-quarter touchdown and had an interception on defense to lead Dacula past visiting South Gwinnett. The Falcons got off to a fast start, with two touchdowns in the first two minutes of the game. Bijan Sirleaf opened it with a scoring run before C.J. Mayes took his second interception of the night to the endzone. Sirleaf had two touchdown runs, the second of which put Dacula ahead 20-6 early in the final quarter.

Grayson 13, Parkview 7: Grayson held visiting Parkview to zero yards in the opening quarter and took a 7-0 lead after sophomore quarterback Chase Brice’s 33-yard touchdown pass to Cedric Asseh. Austin Hoyt made a pair of Grayson field goals to increase the lead to 13-0. Parkview quarterback Jack Chambers found Tyler Fleetwood for a 2-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 13-7 with nine minutes left. Georgia-commitment Justin Young recorded his fourth sack on Parkview’s last-second hail mary attempt.

Lowndes 17, Newton 13: Newton’s 15-14 win over Lowndes last year was considered one of the biggest surprises of 2013. This year, the two teams used all four quarters before Lowndes held on for a 17-13 victory. Nick Hart kicked a 27-yard field goal to put the Vikings up 3-0 and Lowndes extended the lead to 10-0 lead with a 53-yard touchdown pass from Austin Dixon to Desmon Copeland before the half. Newton scored its first touchdown with 1:59 left in the third quarter on a 3-yard Kurk Taylor run, but Lowndes answered with a 47-yard touchdown from Dixon to Xavier Jenkins to push it to a 17-7 lead. Romario Johnson found DeAndre Huff for a 9-yard Newton touchdown pass with 5:43 left to cut Lowndes lead to 17-13.

Mill Creek 42, Duluth 0: Daniel David amassed 210 yards of total offense while throwing two touchdown passes and rushing for one more in Mill Creek’s rout of host Duluth. David connected with Joe Hull from 48 yards out to begin the scoring in the first quarter and tossed a 28-yard scoring strike to Micah Pulley in the fourth. Johnathan Hawkins, who finished with 125 yards on nine carries, scored on a 54-yard run two plays into the second half. The Hawks also got touchdown jaunts from Brian Efianayi in the third quarter and Malik Turner to cap off the night’s scoring late in the fourth.

Norcross 19, Mountain View 7: Nick Harris gave host Mountain View a 7-0 lead with a 42-yard touchdown run in the opening quarter but Norcross used 19 unanswered points to move to 5-0 all-time against the Bears. The Blue Devils were led by a two-touchdown performance from Jamir Billings that included a 74-yard touchdown run to give Norcross a 12-7 lead at the half and first lead.

Northview 50, Johns Creek 7: The battle of Johns Creek went in favor of the host Northview Titans. Josh Maran caught two touchdown passes from D.J. Pearson who threw three scoring passes. Jair Anderson was on the receiving end of Pearson’s other touchdown pass. The Titans scored two defensive touchdowns thanks to interceptions by linebackers Malcolm Conn and Devan Johnson. Nathan Phillips also scored for the Titans offense. Northview is now 4-0 and has outscored their opponents 182-14.

Peachtree Ridge 70, Meadowcreek 0: Peachtree Ridge scored on every possession but one and racked up 326 rushing yards off 31 carries. Quarterback Chance Thrasher sparked the offense early with two touchdown passes in the first quarter to Connor Heyward that gave the visiting Lions a 14-0 lead. Na’Ceem Antenor had 10 carries for 107 yards and two touchdowns and Marquez Jackson ran for 102 yards and two scores off nine handoffs. Tyler Campbell ran for a 46-yard touchdown and Malik Staples accumulated 37 yards off three carries and a touchdown. Sophomore Zane Ashley threw a touchdown pass to Alan Suarez in the fourth quarter and Joe Smith scored added a defensive touchdown with an interception return.

Roswell 33, Milton 31: Roswell scored the game-winning touchdown with 23 second left in the fourth quarter on a 13-yard pass from quarterback James Whitaker to Mechane Slade. Slade had eight receptions for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Visiting Roswell got 139 yards of rushing and two scores from Sheldon Evans as the team totaled 381 yards of offense. Milton got 99 yards of rushing from Micco Brisker, including a 65-yard touchdown run.

South Forsyth 55, North Forsyth 3: Tyler LaFlamme and Sam Outlaw ran for two touchdowns a piece as South Forsyth defended its homefield against rival North Forsyth. The War Eagles jumped out to a 28-0 lead. Matthew White found Curtis Roach twice for touchdowns. Jaziah Jordan and Joey Johnson added late scores. South Forsyth moves to 3-1 while North Forsyth remains winless at 0-4.

AAAAA

Dunwoody 21, Lakeside-DeKalb 17: Kaseem Duke rushed for two second-half touchdowns to help visiting Dunwoody win a back-and-forth affair against Lakeside-DeKalb. Tylor Scales started and ended the game with key plays for the Wildcats. He put his team on the scoreboard in the second quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run and he stopped Lakeside-DeKalb’s final drive with an interception after Duke had scored with 1:37 left in the game. The Vikings got touchdowns on a 43-yard pass from Will Jernigan to Damon Davis and a 46-yard run by Kellyen Walker, the latter which put them ahead with 4:46 remaining.

Houston County 62, Warner Robins 30: Kenny Gant scored touchdowns on runs of 4, 3, 2, and 4 yards to lead Houston County past county-rival Warner Robins. Two of Gant’s touchdowns came in the third quarter when Houston County outscored Warner Robins by 20 points to put the game out of reach. Houston County quarterback Jake Fromm completed touchdown passes of 63 and 27 yards to Darion Anderson. Fromm also caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Daffron.

Jones County 45, Northside-Warner Robins 37: Jones County defeated top-ranked Northside-Warner as the Greyhounds’ Chandler Ramage scored on runs of 71 and 8 yards. But the backbreaker came in the fourth quarter when Jones County’s Terrell Solomon scored on a 63-yard run, answering Northside’s Chris Haughton’s 82-yard kickoff return. Solomon also scored on a 2-yard run in the first quarter. Willie Jordan had three touchdown runs for Northside. Jones County’s 45 points are the most Northside has allowed since 1993 when Tift County scored 46.

Kell 28, Forsyth Central 14: Cameron Rosendahl threw two touchdown passes and also rushed for a score as host Kell held off Forsyth Central. The Longhorns opened the scoring with a 5-yard fumble return by Corey Robinson and they tacked on seven more points on a strike from Rosendahl to Evan Carnes. Forsyth Central tied the game at 14-14 in the third quarter, but Rosendahl soon found Josh Blancato with a 73-yard touchdown pass to regain the lead.

Miller Grove 30, Banneker 0: Miller Grove senior running back Meco Jackson led the visiting Wolverines to victory with three touchdowns. Jackson took the opening kickoff back 85 yards for a score, and rushed for two more. Jackson rushed for 105 yards. Jarett Campbell secured an interception for the Wolverines, who recorded their first shutout on the season. Miller Grove moved to 3-1 while Banneker dropped to 0-4.

Northgate 28, Morrow 20: Northgate’s Tyler Rowland threw two touchdown passes to Quinn Franklin to help lead the Vikings past Morrow. Turnovers played a key factor in the second quarter. With the game tied at 7, Northgate fumbled at the 1-yard line, but scored moments later when Cameron Ramsey intercepted a pass at the 6-yard line and ran it in. Northgate’s final touchdown came with less than three minutes left in the game to give the Vikings a 28-14 lead.

Riverwood 55, North Atlanta 0: Marcus Rosser and Brennan Suttle did the majority of the damage for the host Riverwood Raiders in their shutout victory. Rosser scored on a 10-yard touchdown run and also on a 20-yard interception return. Suttle punched in three rushing scores with runs of 20, 1 and 18 yards. Jelani Reid, Marvin Kinsey Jr. and Reginald Prince all added scores via the ground.

Sequoyah 27, River Ridge 0: Derrion Rakestraw scored on a 60-yard touchdown pass from Austin Tracy and helped pace the visiting Chiefs in their win against Cherokee County-foe River Ridge. Sequoyah’s Billy Lummus picked off a Marcus Spears pass and freshman Cameron Gales found the end zone on a 40-yard touchdown reception. Sequoyah picked up its first win of the season while the Knights dropped to 2-2.

Starr’s Mill 56, Forest Park 6: Starr’s Mill led the host Forest Park Panthers 28-0 after one quarter after scoring on two defensive touchdowns and one special teams touchdown. Satchel Goodrich returned two interceptions for touchdowns. Nick Brown had an 85-yard interception return. Dion Munnerlyn tacked on a 20-yard touchdown. Quarterback Stone Kasten also managed rush for a score.

AAAA

Buford 42, White County 10: Buford scored on a 33-second drive to begin the game and never looked back while cruising past host White County. Josh Thomas rushed for an 8-yard touchdown, Xavier Gantt scored on the ground from 39 yards out and Luke Humphrey hit Evyn Cooper with a 22-yard screen pass as the Wolves led 21-0 after one quarter. They extended the lead to 28-0 at the half and 35-3 going into the fourth. Jordan Perlotte, Conner Tarleton and Elijah Bryant also had touchdown runs for Buford.

Carrollton 46, North Hall 10: Carrollton exploded for 226 yards and a 25-0 lead at the half. The Trojans scored touchdowns on their first three possessions. Conrad Jackson opened the scoring with an 8-yard run midway through the first quarter. Jett Driver then returned a blocked punt three yards for another score and Osorio Angalo ran for a 4-yard touchdown early in the second quarter.

Columbia 48, Redan 13: Columbia ran away from Redan thanks to four touchdown passes Eagles quarterback Andre Brown. Brown dazzled on the ground as well, rushing for 108 yards. His favorite receiving target of the night was Amar Davis, who had 160 receiving yards. On defense, Columbia’s Reshaun Johnson had two sacks and Devante Love picked off Redan twice. Columbia improved to 3-1 while Redan slipped to 0-4.

Eagle’s Landing 26, Spalding 16: Naricuss Driver opened the scoring for the visiting Spalding Jaguars and A.J. Moses converted a two-point conversion to lead 8-0. George McDonald answered on a quarterback keeper from seven yards to close the gap to 8-6. Lunderek Craig scored on a 3-yard pitch for Eagle’s Landing to go ahead 12-6. McDonald hit Brandon Clark for a score to make it 18-8. Moses pulled Spalding back to 18-16 on a direct snap, but a McDonald touchdown to Aaron Dore sealed the game.

Locust Grove 52, Mt. Zion, Jonesboro 46: Locust Grove trailed early in the fourth quarter by a 32-14 score before capping a miraculous rally. Champ Leddon started with a 33-yard rushing touchdown to cut the deficit to 11 points. Less than two minutes later, Locust Grove’s Demontea Smith scored from four yards out to make it 32-29. A turnover on the following Mt. Zion drive put Locust Grove in the opposing red-zone and tied it up at 32 apiece on a field goal from Voshon Ramcharan. The host Wildcats would take their first lead of the game on a Demontea Smith three-yard touchdown to lead 39-32. Mt. Zion would tie it up on an eight-yard run to send it into overtime 39-39. Both teams reached the end zone in the first overtime, but it was in double-overtime when Wildcat running back Caleb Huntley punching in the winning score on an eight-yard run.

Marist 56, Stone Mountain 0: The visiting War Eagles scored 29 first-quarter points and led 43-0 at the half. Seven Marist players scored, including junior running back Spencer Taylor, who ran for the first two scores of the game. His 21-yard touchdown on the second play of the game opened the scoring. He scored a second time on a 59-yard jaunt and left the game with two carries for 80 yards, scoring both times. Marist rushed for 313 yards and passed for 103.

Woodward Academy 57, Clarkston 0: Woodward Academy was off to the races with a 99-yard opening kickoff return for a touchdown by Elijah Holyfield, sparking a rout of the host Angoras. Holyfield also rushed eight times for 124 yards and scored a pair of second-quarter touchdowns. The War Eagles led Clarkston 23-0 after the opening quarter and took a 44-0 advantage into halftime. Their defense delivered a safety by Matthew Clopton and an 85-yard interception return by Marcus Hyatt.

AAA

Blessed Trinity 42, Jackson-Atlanta 0: Blessed Trinity posted its second consecutive shutout and remained undefeated by overwhelming visiting Jackson-Atlanta. The Titans’ dominant defense limited the Jaguars to 89 yards of total offense and it also returned two interceptions for touchdowns, one by Patrick Jasinski and the second courtesy of Garrett Dupuis. Blessed Trinity got two rushing scores from Elijah Hamilton and one from Jake Rudolph and Conor Davis threw a touchdown pass to Matt Higgins.

Central-Carroll 10, Fayette County 0: Central-Carroll posted its third shutout of the season. Kicker Scott Anderson starting the scoring with  a field goal from 24 yards out to five the host Lions a 3-0 lead. The score would stand until late in the third quarter when Jayleen Terry punched it into the end zone from three yards out for what became a final score of 10-0. Fayette County held Central to just 166 yards of offense. Central’s Kyle Terrell led all offensive players in yardage with 61 rushing. Fayette County was sacked four times in the contest, including twice by Lions senior Kirey Thompson.

Decatur 16, North Clayton 7: North Clayton took a 7-0 lead after an interception return for a touchdown. Visiting Decatur tied it at 7-7 before the half with the game’s second non-offensive touchdown as Jarrett Ford housed a kickoff  for a Bulldogs touchdown.  Sophomore Grant Walker opened the second half with a 5-yard touchdown and senior North Wilkins added a 30-yard field goal in the third quarter to make it a two-score game at 16-7.

AA

Greater Atlanta Christian 41, Hapeville Charter 0: Greater Atlanta Christian improved to 4-0 on the year as the Spartans’ offense posted 296 total yards, including 279 on 38 rushing attempts. Micah Abernathy led GAC with 110 yards and three touchdowns while Berkley Boglin had 65 yards and a score. On defense, Darius Slayton stood out by intercepting a pass in GAC’s own endzone and returning it 100 yards for a touchdown.

Lamar County 41, Ola 27: Juan Tucker scored late in the game to give Lamar County a two touchdown lead, and the visiting Trojans held on to win. Lamar County’s Noah Eure scored on the first play of the game from 51 yards. The Trojans led the entire game. Ola got touchdowns from Joseph Rushin, Larry Smith and Tyler Pippens.

Wesleyan 24, KIPP Atlanta 0: Wesleyan steadily pulled away from visiting KIPP Atlanta before coasting through the fourth quarter en route to its third victory of the season. The Wolves led 3-0 after one quarter, 17-0 at the half and 24-0 after the third. Jordan Weaver began the scoring with a 41-yard field goal and Banks Ramsey found Tucker Cannon with a touchdown strike just prior to the intermission. Jordan Argilagos tacked on a touchdown run to put the finishing touches on Wesleyan’s shutout win.

Westminster 40, Towers 14: Trey Blasingame kicked a 27-yard field goal and Rankin Woley threw touchdown passes to Zay Malcome and Tyler Gillikin to give host Westminster a 19-0 lead after the opening quarter. Malcome ran in a Wildcats touchdown to make it a 26-0 halftime advantage. Westminster’s Woley and Ian Ude each added 1-yard touchdown runs in the third quarter that gave the Wildcats a 40-6 lead.

A

Christian Heritage 13, Fellowship Christian 12: Christian Heritage held on to defeat Fellowship in part to a 95-yard romp by sophomore running back Ahmaad Tanner. Fellowship junior kicker Jake Williamson converted two field goals early in the contest. With three minutes left in the game, the Lions took the lead on a 17-yard run. Christian Heritage moved to 2-2 overall while Fellowship dropped to 1-3.

Landmark Christian 55, Josey 20: The visiting Landmark Christian War Eagles came away with a victory behind quarterback Stockton McGuire, who tossed three touchdown passes. The War Eagles opened up the game with a kick return touchdown, but Josey quickly answered with a touchdown through the air. Josey managed to keep the game in reach at 28-14 at the half, but Landmark Christian used a 20-point third quarter to pull away. Landmark Christian remained perfect on the season and moved to 4-0.

Pinecrest Academy 21, Trion 14: With the teams tied at seven in the third quarter, Adam Guard caught a 13-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Milton McCarthy to give Pinecrest a 14-7 lead. Running back Gabe Howell tied things up for Trion with a 6-yard run to make the score 14-14 in the fourth. Guard scored his second touchdown on a 4-yard run to seal the win for visiting Pinecrest. McCarthy ran for a game-high 124 yards and a touchdown.

Whitefield Academy 13, Walker 0: Whitefield Academy scored 13 points in the fourth quarter to pull away late in a defensive struggle against the visiting Walker Wolverines. Sky Dupree scored on a 64-yard run to break the scoreless drought. Dupree finished with 77 yards rushing. Nile Ball iced the game on an 18-yard rushing touchdown and finished with 102 yards. Walker was held to just 90 yards of total offense.

Stephen Black, Matt Cason, Ricky Dimon, Craig Sager II, Kyle Sandy, and Patrick Tighe contributed to this report.