Friday football roundup

Milton routed visiting Etowah 37-12 in a matchup between 1-loss Region 5-AAAAAA teams. Micco Brisker accounted for three touchdowns for Milton (4-1, 2-1), all in the first half, catching a 46-yard scoring pass from Austin McLeod in the first quarter and rushing for scores of 46 and 8 yards in the second quarter. The Eagles led 31-0 at halftime.

Etowah (4-2, 2-2) struck first in the second half with a touchdown, but up-man Kris Franklin countered with a 65-yard touchdown return on a high kickoff. McLeod also threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to Obe Fortune in the first quarter, and Ethan Suda made a 31-yard field goal for Milton.

AAAAAA

Archer 42, Berkmar 3: Gabe Tiller was 6-of-8 passing for 135 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for two short scores in Archer’s home rout. Jamyest Williams also had two touchdowns on the ground, and Randy Nails led the team in rushing with 102 yards on 12 carries. Tiller found Kyle Davis for a touchdown in the first half, and his final pass was a 58-yard touchdown to Aramis Bryant early in the third quarter to make it 35-3. Archer led 28-0 after the first quarter.

Cherokee 42, Woodstock 21: Spencer Ashley had 430 yards passing and four touchdowns, including two to Andrew Harris, who led host Cherokee with 10 receptions for 203 yards receiving. Brittain Brown had 97 yards rushing and a touchdown to go along with 80 yards receiving and a score, and Montrell Washington had a receiving touchdown as well. Vance Taylor added a 25-yard rushing score for the Warriors, who led just 21-14 at the half.

Colquitt County 45, Lowndes 27: Colquitt County rushed for 156 yards and five touchdowns and passed for 164 while causing three Lowndes turnovers. Packers running back Sihiem King has three rushing scores and totaled 148 yards on 23 carries. Quarterback Chase Parrish completed 14 of 23 passes for 151 yards. Zay Lewis had two interceptions for Colquitt. The Vikings rushed for 192 yards led by Dezmon Copeland’s 92.

Dacula 20, Central Gwinnett 10: C.J. Mayes rushed for 125 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown, and he returned an interception 55 yards for a score to build host Dacula’s early lead. The undefeated Falcons took a 7-0 edge on a Azeem Cooper 48-yard interception return for a touchdown. Mayes’ interception return and 65-yard touchdown run also came in the opening quarter and gave Dacula its 20-3 lead. Central Gwinnett connected on a 22-yard field goal by Ricky Ortiz in the first quarter and scored its touchdown on a 1-yard run by Eric Forrest in the fourth quarter.

Douglas County 46, Newnan 30: Host Douglas County survived a career night from Newnan’s J.K. Britt and came away with its second win of the season. Britt scored the first of his five touchdowns on a 61-yard run. The Tigers took the lead on a 45-yard trick play to go up 11-6. A punt return helped put Douglas County up 26-6. Britt then scored three times to close the gap to 26-24 at the half. The Cougars could not solve Douglas County’s offense in the second half. Malik Oliver and Emrik Foster helped lead the way on the ground for the Tigers. Britt’s final score of the night cut the lead to 39-30 with 10:15 remaining, but the Cougars were unable to get any closer.

Hillgrove 28, North Cobb 7: Host Hillgrove held North Cobb to just 59 total yards of offense through the first three quarters and outgained the Warriors 545-290. Matt Wilson threw two touchdown passes on 12-of-25 passing for 252 yards. Bingo Long hauled in a 65-yard Wilson touchdown pass that gave Hillgrove a 7-0 lead and Marcus Bowens caught the second touchdown from 14 yards out to put the Hawks up 14-0 at the half. Hillgrove rushed for 293 yards and was led by Sonny Harris, who accounted for a game-high 156 rushing yards on 21 carries. Eric Montgomery punched in two Hawks touchdowns. North Cobb scored with 5:12 left on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Queen to Devin Granville.

Lee County 24, Tift County 21: Quarterback Garet Morrell completed two touchdown passes of 51 and 88 yards to sophomore Tray Eafford to lift Lee County past Tift County. Lee County had 319 yards of offense, 129 rushing and 190 passing. Tift County had 292 yards offense, 86 yards rushing and 206 yards passing. Tift County quarterback Tajhea Chambers completed touchdown passes of 19 yards to Tyberus Polk and 27 yards to R.J. Merriweather. Lee County’s Jamal Gardner carried the ball 13 times for 59 yards, and Willie Kelly ran seven times for 70 yards.

Lovejoy 43, Rockdale County 21: Delvin Williams’ first of two touchdown runs gave host Rockdale County a 7-0 lead before Lovejoy closed the half with five touchdowns to take a 36-14 lead. Quintarius Neely threw three touchdown passes and Kevin Morris ran for two scores to lead the Lovejoy offense. Tennessee-commit Preston Williams caught two touchdown passes and defensive tackle Jashawn Grant intercepted Kemani Pittman and ran it back for a 74-yard Lovejoy touchdown.

McEachern 37, Marietta 23: Indians quarterback Bailey Hockman threw for four touchdowns and 302 yards in host McEachern’s Region 4-AAAAAA win. Wide receiver T.J. Rahming had a 54-yard touchdown catch while Tyler Smith had 185 receiving yards and three touchdown catches. Michael Nwagbara also scored for McEachern.

Mill Creek 63, Meadowcreek 7: The visiting Hawks scored eight times on the ground, with two touchdowns each from Malik Turner (22, 27) and Johnathan Hawkins (5, 63). Hawkins led in rushing yards with 108 and Brian Efianayi added 104 rushing yards and a 5-yard touchdown. Quarterback Daniel David rushed for a 25-yard score and threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to David Curry, and Daniel Leconte rushed for 75 yards and a 9-yard score. Bryson King was 9-for-9 on extra points.

Norcross 17, North Gwinnett 10: After a scoreless first quarter, Jacob Gassert found Jared Pinkney for a 86-yard touchdown reception to put visiting Norcross up 7-0. North Gwinnett answered with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Imatorbhebhe to even it up at 7-7 at the half. Gassert extended the Norcross lead to 14-7 with a 3-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and Blake Bingham added a Blue Devils field goal with 7:43 left to make it 17-7.

North Paulding 49, Harrison 35: The Wolfpack traveled into Hoyas territory and never trailed. North Paulding raced out to a quick 7-0 lead, but Harrison answered quickly to knot it at 7. The Wolfpack scored on a Kyle Banks 92-yard bomb to regain the lead 14-7. Harrison struggled to stop the explosive offense led by Banks in the first half, limping into the break down 35-14. The Hoyas managed to rally and make it a 1-score game heading into the fourth quarter at 35-28. After another North Paulding score, Harrison cut the lead back to 42-35 with six minutes remaining. The Wolfpack iced the game with four minutes left to seal it 49-35.

Peachtree Ridge 49, Duluth 6: The Lions rolled in Duluth behind quarterback Chance Thrasher, Na’ceem Antenor and Malik Staples. Peachtree Ridge led 28-0 at the half.  Duluth scored its only points late in the fourth quarter. In the last three games, Peachtree Ridge has outscored its opponents 168-12.

Pope 44, Walton 36: A Carson Day touchdown run and Brendon Johnson field goal gave Pope a 10-7 lead over host Walton after the opening quarter. Two Ben Cohen touchdown runs and a Day touchdown catch fueled Pope’s 31-21 halftime lead. Josh White ran for a Walton touchdown and threw four touchdown passes to Sam Letton. A Joshua Lowe touchdown reception extended Pope’s lead to 38-21 in the third quarter and Day’s third touchdown pushed it to 44-28.

South Cobb 42, Pebblebrook 21: Visiting South Cobb led 35-21 in the third after quarterback Malik Carter tossed a 14-yard strike to Kalil Shaw. Host Pebblebrook responded by driving down to the Eagles’ 5-yard line until an interception at the goal line by South Cobb’s Terry Davis was returned to midfield. The Eagles would take advantage when Carter passed for his third touchdown of the game on a 20-yard pass to Dorquincy Jordan increase their lead to 42-21, which became the final. Carter recorded 444 yards of total offense, included 234 on the ground, and five total touchdowns. South Cobb’s leading receiver was Kalil Shaw, who caught four passes for 59 yards and two scores.

Valdosta 13, Camden County 10: Kevon Brewington gave visiting Camden County a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 42-yard touchdown run. Valdosta connected on two Brendan Goodson field goals before Camden County extended the lead to 10-6 with a field goal right before the half. Tim McClain ran for a 2-yard touchdown to give Valdosta a 13-10 lead. Camden County had the ball past midfield with 38 seconds left and two timeouts but Valdosta’s defense held.

Westlake 35, East Coweta 0: Visiting East Coweta was handed its first loss of the season. Westlake’s Jorden Thomas kicked off the scoring on a 1-yard run with 5:25 left in the first. The Lions got their second score on a Nigel Warrior 25-yard punt block return. Ronnie Blackmon returned a fumble 44 yards for a score to go up 21-0. Thomas added on two more 1-yard scores and totaled three on the night.

Wheeler 28, Roswell 13: Visiting Wheeler took a 14-7 lead on an Elijah Brown fumble recovery for a touchdown, one of six turnovers forced by the Wildcats. Roswell cut the lead to 14-13 with James Whitaker’s touchdown pass to Mechane Slade and a missed extra point. Wheeler’s Jacoby Green tallied a 65-yard interception return for a touchdown and a 50-yard rushing touchdown to ice the game.

AAAAA

Creekside 13, Mays 7: Bricen Terry carried the ball 40 times for 176 yards to pace the host Seminoles past Mays. Creekside took a 3-0 with 3:02 left in the opening quarter with a 38-yard field goal by Francisco Alejandre. The Seminoles’ touchdown drive came with 5:26 left in the half when Felix Harper found Myles Clay for a 15-yard touchdown pass. Mays was held to just 42 yards of offense in the first half and finally got on the board with 7:55 left in the game on a Randercous Davis 4-yard touchdown pass to Carey Wimberly.

Druid Hills 28, Dunwoody 7: Druid Hills senior running back Hasaan Enis rushed for three scores and caught another as the visiting Red Devils pulled away from Dunwoody in the second half. The Wildcats led 7-6 at the half after a 19-yard pass from quarterback Kaseem Duke to wide receiver Chase Hawkins. Enis had opened the scoring in the first quarter on a 2-yard run, but the Red Devils missed the extra point. Enis rushed for touchdowns of 24 and 16 yards in the final period after catching a 21-yard score in the third quarter. Druid Hills held Dunwoody to 169 yards while rolling up 300.

Hiram 41, Lithia Springs 9: Quarterback Jacob Lester scored the first touchdown of the game to give host Hiram the 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Hornets saw themselves trailing to visiting Lithia Springs 9-7 at the half. Hiram bounced back, scoring four touchdowns in the third quarter including a 60-yard run by Chris Miller and a 65-yard pass from the quarterback Lester to John Greenard. The Hornets’ defense intercepted four passes in the game, including two picks by Nick Brown and a 60-yard score on an interception return by Edwin Ford.

Kell 55, North Springs 14: After trailing 7-0, the visiting Kell Longhorns scored 41 unanswered points. Ivan Walls tied the score at 7-7 on a short run. Cameron Rosendahl tossed two touchdown passes. Emmanuel Dennis and Michael McCain were on the receiving end of the two scores. Itabari Mason added rushing scores of 21 and 25 yards. Tyler Weathers also scored twice via the ground using a 64-yard run and a 12-yarder. Quarterback John Lampley finished the scoring on a 12-yard run.

Lakeside-Evans 35, Jones County 16: Lakeside-Evans quarterback Nick Patterson scored rushing touchdowns of 2, 11 and 15 yards to lead the Panthers over the Greyhounds. Patterson passed 13 times for 86 yards. Lakeside’s Jalen Harrison rushed 10 times for 114 yards with a 48-yard touchdown run. Early in the third quarter, Jones County quarterback Bradley Hunnicutt suffered a leg injury and had to be taken off the field in an ambulance. He had completed a 13-yard touchdown pass to Nick Singleton late in the second quarter. The Greyhounds’ Reggie Lewis scored the only other touchdown on a 54-yard run. Lakeside-Evans’ Stephen Houzah returned an interception for 70 yards late in the fourth quarter to put away the game.

Northside-Warner Robins 24, Richmond Academy 7: Willie Jordan scored three touchdowns, including two in the second half, to lift the Eagles past Richmond Academy. Northside led 10-7 at halftime before Jordan scored on runs of 4 and 18 yards to seal the victory. Northside began the scoring in the middle of the first quarter when Justin Alonso connected on a 24-yard field goal. Jordan scored on a 24-yard run before the end of the quarter to give the Eagles a 10-7 lead. Richmond Academy got back in the game late in the first half, when Christian Barnes scored on a 41-yard pass from Tony Daggett.

South Paulding 30, New Manchester 17: South Paulding started the scoring when quarterback Jake Oglesby connected with L.J. Pope on a 30-yard pass for the touchdown. Running back Kameron Watts scored on a 25-yard run to make it 14-0. The host Spartans made it 21-3 at the half after Jake Yetter returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown. With South Paulding leading 28-10 in the second half, visiting New Manchester returned an interception for a touchdown to make 28-1,7 but a holding penalty by New Manchester in its own end zone late in the fourth gave South Paulding the safety to put the game out of reach.

Union Grove 24, Luella 14: The visiting Wolverines upset Luella after holding the Lions’ rushing attack at bay. Darius Stubbs and Josh White were held in check for the most part as the Lions were shut out in the first half. Union Grove jumped out to a 17-0 lead thanks to a field goal, a rushing score and an interception for a touchdown. Luella rallied in the third quarter and managed to cut the lead to 17-14 heading into the fourth. The Lions could not maintain their momentum in the fourth quarter after struggling to move the ball. The Wolverines sealed the game with a rushing score with less than four minutes remaining to secure the upset victory.

Winder-Barrow 24, Flowery Branch 7: Winder-Barrow traveled to Flowery Branch and set the tone early using a 95-yard kickoff return from Joey Junius to kick start the scoring. Flowery Branch answered early in the second quarter connecting on a 40-yard pass to tie the game at 7. Halfway through the second quarter Cece Green ran for a 55-yard score to regain the lead for Winder-Barrow 14-7. With a minute left in the first half, Alan Leighton booted a 42-yard field goal to make the score 17-7 heading into the break. Cole Baggett tacked on a 19-yard pick six to seal the game early in the fourth for the Bulldogs.

AAAA

Buford 54, Chestatee 7: A 7-yard Martin Mangram touchdown run in the first quarter started the rout for the visiting Buford Wolves. Joshua Thomas sprinted 61 yards for the second score of the game. Thomas also scored on a 75-yard dash. Xavier Gantt scored twice for the Wolves. Luke Humphrey connected with Avery Turner before the half to increase the lead to 34-0. Brett Shepherd scored on a quarterback keeper to make it 48-0. Chestatee’s lone score came on a 95-yard kickoff return. Mic Roof finished off the scoring on a long pass reception in the fourth.

Eagle’s Landing 42, Hampton 6: Visiting Eagle’s Landing held a 14-0 lead after one quarter. Quarterback George McDonald hit Antonio Gibson on a 55-yard pass to move ahead 21-0. The Eagles tacked on a safety, and backup quarterback Tyler Heflin tossed a 31-yard score to Gibson. Cameron Miller returned a fumble to make it 35-0 going into the half. Hampton found pay dirt in the third, but could not muster a comeback.

Marist 33, Lithonia 6: The visiting War Eagles took a commanding 23-0 lead in the first quarter and cruised from there. Spencer Taylor (2-yard run), Chris Taylor (30-yard interception return) and Ian Gipson (17-yard run) scored in the opening period while Jack Kratzenberg tackled a Lithonia runner in the end zone for a safety. Taylor tacked on another score in the third period and Joey Gogol concluded the scoring in the fourth with a 37-yard field goal. Gipson led Marist with 105 rushing yards and Marist totaled 287 yards on the ground.

St. Pius X 34, Columbia 20: Host St. Pius X gained 349 yards rushing and followed Dalton Wilson’s legs to big victory. Wilson toted the rock 34 times for 226 yards. St. Pius X gained all 18 of its first downs on the ground. Ransom Klinger scored on a 17-yard run and Grant Holloman scored from three yards out to make it 21-0 in the second quarter. Andre Brown threw for 244 yards and rushed for 82 yards in the losing effort.

AAA

Jefferson 52, Elbert County 6: Jefferson rolled past the visiting Elbert County Blue Devils behind a balanced attack. Sammy Williams kicked off the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run. Alex Baxley tacked on a 40-yard interception return to make it 14-0. Evan Shirreffs found Dalton Hill for a 30-yard score to finish the first quarter scoring. Williams struck again on a 5-yard run and finished with 14 carries for 107 yards and two scores in the first half. Shirreffs hit T.J. Skelton for a 77-yard score. Colby Wood and Rantious Reed also added scores on the ground.

AA

Greater Atlanta Christian 52, KIPP Atlanta 0: Host GAC took a 7-0 lead on an errant snap recovered in the endznone by Justin Phan. Quarterback Davis Mills ran in a Spartans touchdown and found Darius Slayton for two of his three first-half touchdown passes. A Will Kenworthy field goal extended the lead to 38-0 to open the second half and Tyler Cooksey added a 32-yard interception return for a touchdown. Marcus Young ran in the final score.

A

Fellowship Christian 47, King’s Ridge 28: Junior running back Tyler Matthesen ran for five touchdowns to pace the host Paladins past King’s Ridge. Austin Bell ran for a second quarter touchdown sandwiched between Mattesen scores and Fellowship Christian took a 20-14 lead at the half. King’s Ridge tight end Austyn Hennings caught three touchdown passes from Henry Jones and Penny Hart ran for a Tigers touchdown.

Irwin County 41, Charlton County 14: The host Irwin County Indians scored 22 points in the second quarter on their way to a rout of Region 2-A rival Charlton County. Running back Jakyron Young had 164 rushing yards on 17 carries with a touchdown, a 13-yard touchdown pass, a 95-yard interception return for a score on the final play of the game and seven pass break-ups for the Indians. Fellow running back Robert Moore had 26 carries for 123 yards. As a team, Charlton County had 55 carries for 373 rushing yards. Irwin County now leads Region 2 with a perfect 3-0 record in region play.

Landmark Christian 55, Rockmart 39: Running back Lofton Tidwell set a school record for visiting Landmark Christian by rushing for 395 yards on 24 carries and three touchdowns. Two of his touchdowns came on runs of 50 and 75 yards. Quarterback Stockton McGuire had three total touchdowns on the game, including a 59-yard pass to receiver Aaron Burtz on the first play from scrimmage. For the game, the War Eagles totaled 546 yards of offense.

Mt. Zion-Carroll 34, Walker 7: Matt Turner rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns, and Jace Jordan and Richard Farley also had rushing touchdowns for visiting Mt. Zion. The Eagles led 20-0 at halftime, and allowed their only score of the game after Walker recovered an onside kick to open the second half and drove for a touchdown. Mt. Zion responded on the next drive with a 48-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Akin to C.J. Ackles.

Pinecrest Academy 28, Whitefield Academy 7: Pinecrest scored 21 points in the opening half including two touchdowns by Mitchell Ojeda, who scored on a 20-yard interception return and a 25-yard run. The host Paladins would increase the lead to 28-0 before Whitefield quarterback Carson Brown connected with Seth Jackson on 38-yard score to make it 28-7. Pinecrest rushed for 243 yards on the ground while Whitefield was troubled by turnovers, committing four in the contest.

Strong Rock Christian 10, Riverside Military 7: The host Patriots won a defensive battle in overtime. Riverside scored on its first drive and led 7-0 just three minutes into the game. The defense for both sides took over from that point on. In the second quarter, Torey McKissick was able to break through for Strong Rock when he scored on a 6-yard run. Ryan Butterfield, who doubles as the team’s quarterback and kicker, added on the extra point to tie it at 7. In overtime, Butterfield connected on a 28-yarder to give the team the lead. Riverside moved the ball and had first and goal threatening to win the game. The Patriots were able to make a goal-line stand and caused a fumble to end the game.