Tucker and Stephenson played the Game of the Year at Hallford Stadium, as two Hail Mary’s were successful in the final minute. GAC rocked Westminster in a Class AA showdown while North Gwinnett staged an epic comeback to overcome a game Mill Creek squad.
Read these recaps and more in our Friday Football Roundup, which now includes games from all parts of the Peach State.
AAAAAA
Alpharetta 45, North Forsyth 6: Visiting Alpharetta used an Austin King 25-yard touchdown pass to Rustin Sutter to take a 10-6 lead into halftime. The Raiders poured on 35 points in the second half, including a 40-yard touchdown pass from King to Andre Harton and two Jay Youngblood defensive touchdowns. Alex Turner scored the Raiders’ final points on a 20-yard run.
Brunswick 26, Coffee 19: Brunswick trailed 7-0 at halftime, but Cory Dixon and A.J. Jackson led a second-half charge that propelled the host Pirates to victory. Dixon ran for two touchdowns and also threw a 61-yard scoring strike to Jackson, who scored once on the ground as well. Coffee was led by Anthony Fussell, who had a touchdown catch and an 85-yard kickoff return for another score.
Camden County 27, Tift County 17: Antonio Wimbush returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown and also scored on a 22-yard run in the fourth quarter to help Camden County hold off Tift County. Both Wimbush touchdowns came in the second half for the visiting Wildcats, who led 14-0 at the intermission. Camden County also got a 102-yard interception return for a score by Chris Williams and a 16-yard touchdown run by Demetri Saulsberry.
Lambert 24, Centennial 23: Tee Holland tossed a touchdown pass to Caden Herring and Marvin Taylor and Patrick Inwood added rushing scores to give visiting Centennial a 21-3 lead. Hayden McLeod ran in a Lambert touchdown before the half and, in the second half, sophomore Tucker Maxwell ran and threw for a score to lead the Longhorns’ comeback win.
Lovejoy 42, Morrow 6: Host Lovejoy jumped to a 42-0 lead at the half. Jeremiah Kirkland scored on a 2-yard run and Khaleel Rogers found Preston Williams and Kevin Morris for passing touchdowns. Jaime Nunez added a 12-yard touchdown run and Williams returned a punt for a score. Lovejoy’s final score came on a 15-yard Josh Smith defensive touchdown.
Lowndes 3, Valdosta 0: The host Vikings had just six first downs and 94 yards of offense but shut out Valdosta in the Winnersville Classic. The Wildcats rushed for just 39 yards and passed for 168, but were undone by 97 penalty yards and two missed field goals (one blocked). Lowndes made its field goal in the first quarter. The teams combined for 16 punts.
Luella 28, Rockdale County 14: The Lions posted three defensive touchdowns in their win over the visiting Bulldogs. Jaylon Harris and Sal Vazquez had interception returns for scores in the first quarter. Steve Osondu scooped up a fumble recovery for Luella prior to halftime. Quad Clemmons scored the team’s lone offensive touchdown in the third quarter.
Marietta 49, Kennesaw Mountain 31: KirVonte’ Benson scored three rushing touchdowns (15, 23 and 5 yards) and had a 95-yard kickoff return in Marietta’s home win. Jordan Mathis had a 23-yard touchdown reception from Brenton Martin on a screen pass and converted a two-point conversion, and Ian Shannon connected on field goals of 37 and 48 yards. Marietta forced four turnovers in the first half, and Lawton Ward returned a blocked punt for a touchdown.
North Cobb 27, Hillgrove 17: A defensive battle in the second half allowed North Cobb’s 27-17 lead at the intermission stand up in the visiting Warriors’ win over Hillgrove. Tyler Queen led the victorious Warriors by completing 11 of 20 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns. Tony Perkins had two touchdown catches for North Cobb and Jevonte Herrod added a score on the ground.
North Gwinnett 50, Mill Creek 47: North Gwinnett survived a thriller in which it led 14-0 in the first quarter before visiting Mill Creek ran off 34 unanswered points. Mill Creek got on the scoreboard in the first quarter with a 78-yard touchdown run by Daniel David, who finished with 222 rushing yards. Nate Brown caught four scoring passes from Hayden Sphire to lead the victorious Bulldogs, who scored the game’s final 22 points.
Peachtree Ridge 38, Mountain View 13: Host Peachtree Ridge pulled away after leading 14-13 at the half. Lions running back Jordan Ellis rushed 23 times for 174 yards and four touchdowns, and quarterback Chance Thrasher was 21 of 29 passing for 203 yards and a touchdown pass to tight end Kendall Cobb.
West Forsyth 42, Johns Creek 7: Visiting West Forsyth answered a Kevin Nalecz first quarter touchdown pass with two Trevor O’Brien rushing scores and a Hampton McConnell 2-yard touchdown run to take a 21-7 lead into intermission. The second half was dominated by the Wolverines and McConnell added two passing touchdowns and Grant Anderskow ran in a fourth quarter touchdown.
AAAAA
Cambridge 14, Forsyth Central 0: Quarterback Bryan Moore completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Christian Johnson in the last minute of the opening quarter to give host Cambridge a 7-0 lead. In the final minute of the second quarter, Moore found Hunter Smith for an 11-yard touchdown to give the Bears a 14-0 advantage at the half that would hold in a scoreless second half.
Creekside 41, Northgate 13: The Seminoles sprinted to a 28-7 halftime lead and improved to 7-0. Dexter Knox had two rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown for Creekside while Jayson Stanley had two touchdown receptions. Host Creekside’s Evan Berry returned an interception for a score.
East Coweta 14, Westlake 7: East Coweta scored on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Gemmel to Markell Boston in the second quarter. The host Indians then broke a 7-7 tie in the third quarter on an 8-yard Malik Robinson touchdown run.
Northside-Warner Robins 52, Grovetown 12: The Eagles outrushed the opposition 277-39 and forced four turnovers. Senior quarterback Marcus Ivory completed 6 of 12 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown. Northside-Warner Robins recorded 17 first downs. This was the second time in three weeks in which the Eagles have scored more than 50 points.
Kell 35, Osborne 15: Kell running back Jay Moxey ran for four touchdowns – three in the second half – as visiting Kell held off Osborne. Itabari Mason also ran for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Kell led just 7-6 at the half before breaking it open to move to 7-0.
Riverwood 42, Sprayberry 17: Khai Anderson and Logan Blackley each scored twice on the ground for Riverwood, and Marcus Rosser (75-yard touchdown run) and Grant Drakeford also ran for scores. On defense, Kendall Morrison had an interception and Izaiah Lackey recovered a fumble for host Riverwood.
Tucker 31, Stephenson 28: Nekyle Lundi scored the game-winning touchdown on a 40-yard with less than 20 seconds left to cap a thrilling finale. After Stephenson quarterback Giovanni Weekly completed a long touchdown pass to Ari Werts to take they lead, the Jaguars decided to squib the onside kick, giving the Tigers good field position to attempt their desperation heave. This allowed for Joseph Farrar to throw the ball into the end zone for the game winning score. Neither team reached its opponent’s 30-yard line until Tucker’s Duke Shelley returned a punt 53 yards for a touchdown. The Jaguars immediately responded with Giovanni Weekly leading the offense down the field and finding Werts in the end zone to tie the game right before halftime. Tucker remains undefeated on the year, and the all-time series between the Tigers and Jaguars goes to 1-1.
AAAA
Carver-Atlanta 40, Therrell 6: Carver-Atlanta raced to a 33-0 halftime lead before coasting past Therrell. The host Panthers dominated in all three phases of the game, which included a blocked punt, an interception return for a touchdown by Charlie Patrick, and a fumble recovery for a score by Ed Curney. Jordan Holden also threw a touchdown pass to Tevish Clark for Carver-Atlanta.
Cedartown 42, Pickens 34: Cedartown’s ground game was too much for Pickens in this shootout between Polk County foes. Running back Nick Chubb rushed for five scores and Israel Battle added another as the Bulldogs edged the Dragons. Cedartown remains undefeated at 7-0, having scored more than 30 points in each contest. Pickens falls to 4-2.
Johnson-Gainesville 31, Clarkston 21: Defense was the story as the host Knights earned their second win of the season. Kavin Hopkins and Jamison Owen returned fumbles for touchdowns from 10 and five yards, respectively. Quarterback Chase Sims rushed for a score and also completed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Luis Hernandez. Isaac Henry added a 24-yard field goal right before halftime.
Marist 35, Lithonia 6: Marist took a 21-0 at the half behind touchdown runs by Matt Perez (28, 32) and Chase Martenson (32). Marcus Miller scored twice in the second half on runs of 12 and 36 yards. Miller finished with 128 yards on the ground and Perez had 103. The visiting War Eagles rushed for 475 yards.
Monroe Area 47, Stephens County 0: Visiting Monroe Area gained 345 of its 388 total yards in the opening half and cruised to a 47-0 halftime lead. Michael Gallup scored on an 88-yard touchdown run in the opening quarter and Kwan Brooks added 28- and 51-yard scores. Stanton Truitt found the endzone twice on the ground and also tossed an 18-yard touchdown to Demek Kemp.
AAA
Buford 42, White County 6: Thomas Wilson had touchdown runs of 13 and 41 yards while also catching an 18-yard scoring pass from Montgomery VanGorder for Buford. VanGorder also connected with Korie Rogers on a touchdown strike from 23 yards out. The host Wolves led 35-0 at halftime and 42-0 after three quarters before White County scored with 1:32 remaining.
Cedar Grove 48, McNair 21: Cedar Grove scored twice on special teams to get past McNair. The visiting Saints got a kickoff return for a touchdown by Benjy Parrish and Brandon Norwood returned a punt for another score. Parrish also had two touchdown receptions to lead Cedar Grove. Quarterback James Hartsfield threw three touchdown passes and added a five-yard scoring run.
Decatur 31, Blessed Trinity 28 (2 OT): Nathan Tumperi nailed a 33-yard field goal for Decatur to win the game in double overtime. Decatur tied the game at 21 with 1:56 on the clock when Devontae Carter hit Dennis Bell for an 85-yard touchdown pass. This was the first overtime game for Decatur in school history.
Thomson 13, Swainsboro 6: Jalen Howard’s 25-yard touchdown run with 2:50 remaining in the fourth quarter broke a 6-6 tie and clinched the victory for Thomson. The Bulldogs’ only other scoring play came in the third quarter when Justin Bradshaw dashed 14 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was no good.
Woodward Academy 43, Towers 7: Woodward led 21-0 after the first quarter and 37-0 at halftime. Marcus Hyatt gained 77 yards and two touchdowns on just seven carries to lead the visiting War Eagles. Terry Googer rushed for a 10-yard score and threw a touchdown pass to Jacob Robertson. Jes Sutherland added a rushing touchdown for Woodward.
AA
Brooks County 39, Fitzgerald 21: The host Purple Hurricanes closed to within 26-21 in the fourth quarter, but Brooks County scored on a 5-yard run by Mitavious Brooks and a 70-yard interception return by Malkom Parrish. Also the quarterback, Parrish threw for 240 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 73 yards.
Greater Atlanta Christian 49, Westminster 3: Micah Abernathy rushed 15 times for 198 yards and four touchdowns to help Greater Atlanta Christian overwhelm Westminster. Rafe Chapple completed six of 12 passes for 221 yards and threw both of his scoring strikes to Darius Slayton. Slayton caught just three balls, but amassed 200 yards of receiving. The visiting Spartans also got 131 rushing yards and a score from Jaelen Venable.
Jefferson 26, Rabun Co. 20 (OT): After missing a 22-yard field goal as time expired the host Dragons pulled out an overtime win. Quarterback T.J. Skelton clinched the victory with his 11-yard touchdown run in overtime, his second rushing touchdown of the game. He also had an 18-yard touchdown pass to Donnie Hatfield. Sammy Williams scored from one yard out to give the Dragons a 13-7 halftime lead.
Wesleyan 35, Hapeville Charter 20: A scoreless tie after one quarter was broken open in the second when Wesleyan reeled off 21 unanswered points before halftime to earn their first win of the season. Drew Aspinwall completed nine of 11 passes for 79 yards and three touchdowns to lead the host Wolves. Tyler Harper, Kyle Rappe and Kyler Duley caught the scoring strikes and Josh Gerrard ran for a score.
A
Athens Academy 24, Pinecrest Academy 17: The visiting Paladins fell to the Spartans despite rallying from a 17-point deficit. The Spartans were led by quarterback Drew Richardson, who threw for 131 yards and a touchdown. He also scored a touchdown on the ground and gained 55 yard on 18 carries. Eric Williams scored from two yards out with 2:04 on the clock to win the game.
Athens Christian 35, Hebron Christian 8: The visiting Eagles intercepted five passes in its win. The first play of the game saw Tre Morris rush for a 78-yard touchdown for Athens Christian. Levi Cummings also scored twice, once on an interception and the other on a 70-yard touchdown reception from Brett Branton.
Mt. Pisgah 14, King’s Ridge 6: The Patriots went on the road and pulled out a victory with a strong showing by their defense. Oz Dixon, Jacob Delk and Nicky Piccatietra each had an interception. Piccatietra also had a fumble recovery that led to a 1-yard touchdown run by J.R. Cendoya. A 22-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Winchester to Browning Dunn accounted for the Patriots’ other score.
Walker 25, Fellowship Christian 20: The host Wolverines trailed 7-6 at halftime, but rallied to take the lead for good in the third quarter. The Wolverines used 415 rushing yards, including 299 by Gaines Lahue. Lahue carried the ball 21 times and scored four touchdowns.
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