Blessed Trinity rolled to a 21-0 halftime lead and never looked back in a convincing 28-10 win over visiting St. Pius X. The Titans got three touchdown runs from Elijah Green, the last of which extended their lead to 28-10 with 11:52 remaining in the game. St. Pius X pulled to within 21-7 midway through the third quarter on a one-yard scoring plunge by Jack Graham, but they could not get any closer. Golden Lions kicker Eli Marshbank contributed a 33-yard field goal with three minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Class AAAAAAA
Etowah 37, River Ridge 10
The visiting Etowah Eagles dominated host River Ridge in the second half, closing out the game with 23 unanswered points for a 37-10 win. Remington Adams provided the first points of the night on a 66-yard run, and Etowah quarterback Dalton Miller’s 4-yard pass to Stephen Palazzo put the Eagles up 14-3 before River Ridge closed the gap before the end of the half with a 41-yard rushing touchdown by Amehre Morrison. Adams found the end zone again at the start of the third quarter with an 88-yard kickoff return, and Carson Allen’s 43-yard field goal gave Etowah a 24-10 lead heading into the final frame. Miller, who finished 15-of-22 for 159 yards, provided both touchdowns in the fourth with a 21-yard completion to Jackson Manns and a 6-yard trip to the end zone for the 37-10 final.
Hillgrove 28, Douglas County 6
T.J. Thomas scored on a 1-yard run at 9:09 in the first quarter to put Hillgrove up 7-0, and Hawks quarterback Matthew McCravy hit Jalen Royals for a touchdown in the second to give Hillgrove a 14-0 halftime lead. Hillgrove’s Tre Walker scored on a 9-yard rush in the third quarter, and Jawon Garner returned an interception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to cap the Hawks’ scoring.
South Forsyth 34, Sprayberry 20
Host South Forsyth got four rushing touchdowns from Tre’von Green and one long rushing score from Colby Cruz to outlast Sprayberry. Sprayberry pulled to within 27-20 early in the fourth quarter before Green’s final touchdown put the game out of reach. Defensively for the War Eagles, Gavin Morris had an interception and Cameron Schurr forced a fumble that was recovered by Josh Green.
North Cobb 34, Woodstock 7
Visiting North Cobb dominated on the ground in its 34-7 victory over Woodstock, including two rushing touchdowns by quarterback Trevor Lovett. His two scores (8 yards and 63 yards) bookended a 94-yard interception return by Kendall Drake in the second, and the Warriors went up 34-0 in the fourth on additional touchdown runs by Tommieo Walker and backup quarterback Malachi Singleton. Woodstock avoided the shutout when Robbie Roper found Andrew Bartolero with a 13-yard pass with 2:50 left in the game.
South Gwinnett 36, Central Gwinnett 7
South Gwinnett got off to a sleepy start against visiting Central Gwinnett before closing the game with 36 unanswered points—including 27 in the last 6 minutes of the third quarter. The Black Knights had the only touchdown of the first half with a short rushing score by Justin Wilkins, and Daejon Reynolds intercepted South Gwinnett twice in the first two frames. DJ Johnson forced a safety with 0:33 left in the half for a score of 7-2 before the onslaught of third-quarter points by the Comets. Remari Hudson had touchdown runs of 31 and 23 yards, and Armond Anderson and Lorenzo Britt added scores as well on a blocked punt return and a short run, respectively. Hudson capped off the night with a touchdown pass to Lex Stocker in the final quarter for the 36-7 win.
Wheeler 42, Lambert 14
Wheeler senior JD Thomas made his veteran presence felt early and often in the first half of the Wildcats dominant win Friday night. Thomas took the game’s opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, then followed it up with two more rushing scores and a receiving touchdown in the first half. The Wildcats scored on their first six possessions of the game, with four of the drives totaling three plays or less. Wheeler’s rushing attack accounted for 283 of the team’s 374 yards of total offense. The game was senior Deonte Richardson’s first at running back (after transitioning to the position during the offseason), though his statline would indicate otherwise—Richardson finished with a game-high 162 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. The 42-14 victory was also Wildcats coach Brian Love’s first game and first win in his tenure.
Parkview 28, Mountain View 18
The Parkview Panthers opened the season with a 28-18 victory on the road against Mountain View. CJ Daniels, who committed to Liberty earlier on Friday, caught touchdown passes from Parkview quarterback Jordan Williams in each of the game’s four quarters to keep the Panthers out front, despite two third-quarter touchdowns by Mountain View that got the Bears within a field goal.
Class AAAAAA
Harrison 47, Lassiter 3
The Harrison Hoyas kicked off their season with an emphatic 47-3 victory over the visiting Lassiter Trojans. Lassiter’s defense looked up to the task early on, holding Harrison to its second field goal of the game after the Hoyas came up with a fresh set of downs early in the second frame at the Trojan 9-yardline, but the home team blew open the 6-0 lead with four touchdowns in the final 5:45 of the half to go up 34-0. The Hoyas put up the only points of the third quarter, and quarterback Justin Lewis capped off the impressive performance by the Hoya offense with a 57-yard pass to Daylin Rice early in the fourth. A 29-yard field goal by Braden Ralston saved Lassiter from the shutout with 1:05 left on the clock.
Dalton 62, Ringgold 10
Dalton senior running back Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 420 yards and eight touchdowns in three quarters as the Catamounts routed host Ringgold. Gibbs, a Georgia Tech commit, had three touchdown runs of 50+ yards (58, 56, 54). He scored his first four touchdowns in the first half, compiling 270 yards in the first two frames, and scored his next four in the third quarter before leaving the game. Dalton’s only other touchdown came on a 5-yard pass from Landon Allen to Hunter Noland.
Northside Warner-Robins 46, Centennial 13
Northside quarterback Mason Ford scored three rushing touchdowns of 3, 37, and 54 yards during Friday’s home opener against visiting Centennial. While the final score made the game appear one-sided, three consecutive lost fumbles by Northside enabled Centennial to make the score 18-13 in the third quarter. Ford’s two long touchdown runs came after the fumbles were over—one in the final seconds of the third quarter and the second in the opening minutes of the fourth. Jaylen Glover, Elijah Robertson and Zikhyree Hill all scored rushing touchdowns for Northside as well.
Lanier 21, Peachtree Ridge 7
Peachtree Ridge got on the board first with a fumble recovery in the Lanier end zone by Malachi Smith during the opening period. Lanier responded with a 77-yard touchdown catch by Taj Barnes to tie the score at 7-7 going into halftime. Peachtree Ridge struck first again in the second half, but the Lions didn’t have the lead for long as Lanier responded with a touchdown of its own to end the third quarter. Lanier scored another touchdown early on in the fourth and was able to keep Peachtree Ridge out of the end zone for the rest of the evening to hold on for a 21-14 win at home.
Creekview 27, Cambridge 3
Creekview was dominant start-to-finish in its season opener on the road against Cambridge. The Grizzlies defense only gave up 22 yards (18 on one play) in the first half and allowed just four first downs on the evening. More impressively, the Grizzlies held Cambridge to -1 yard rushing on 21 carries throughout the entire game. Creekview DL Nick Weeks had four sacks in the first half as well, and quarterback Brody Rhodes threw three touchdown passes (but also threw two interceptions). The game was Trevor Williams’s first game and first win as the Creekview’s head coach.
Class AAAAA
Ola 58, Eastside 21
Ola had three players score two touchdowns each in its home win. The Mustangs did not punt in the game and led 34-21 at halftime. Quarterback Hunter Kautz, running back Karl Kennedy and wide receiver Kas Stephens each scored twice for the Mustangs, and Kautz threw two touchdown passes as well. Chase Folser added a field goal for Ola.
Class AAAA
Woodward 19, Westminster 0
Woodward dominated defensively but also racked up 302 yards of total offense in a shutout of visiting Westminster. Both of the War Eagles’ touchdowns came on passes from Mike Wright to Hunter Sellers, one from 20 yards out in the second quarter before a 28-yarder capped off the night’s scoring with 4:45 left in the game. Lee Johnson kicked a 37-yard field goal in the first quarter and James Mayfield connected from 36 yards away early in the fourth. Wright completed 11 of 24 attempts for 180 yards and two touchdowns.
Cartersville 14, Allatoona 13
Sam Phillips caught a 59-yard touchdown pass from Tee Webb to give visiting Cartersville a 14-13 lead late in the fourth quarter. On the ensuing Allatoona possession, Cartersville’s Devonte Ross forced an Allatoona receiver to fumble, and the Purple Hurricane recovered to seal the win. Allatoona led 6-0 at halftime after a 54-yard field goal and a 43-yard field from Jude Kelly. Cartersville took a 7-6 lead in the third quarter on a 98-yard run from Quante Jennings, then Allatoona regained the lead, 13-7, late in the third with a short touchdown run.
LaGrange 24, Heard County 9
Visiting LaGrange scored 24 unanswered points after Heard County built a 9-0 lead in the opening quarter. The Grangers got on the board with a Kaleb Ceja 25-yard field goal and then took a 10-9 lead with 1:45 left in the half on a Charles Crawford 20-yard touchdown pass to Logan Karcher. Kaleb Gibbs grew the lead to 17-9 with a 47-yard rushing score late in the third quarter, before Crawford added a 36-yard touchdown run in the final frame.
Gainesville 27, Mary Persons 21
Gainesville came back from a 14-3 deficit to upend visiting (and 7th-ranked) Mary Persons, 27-21. The Bulldogs opened up a 14-3 lead on the Red Elephants in the second quarter before Gainesville mounted a comeback. Gionni Williams threw two touchdown passes, one to Lenny Chatman from 67 yards out and then a 34-yard strike to DJ Miller. Rico Harden scored twice for Mary Persons, once on a 71-yard run early, and a 78-yard kickoff return to make it 27-21 in the fourth. Gainesville, who has the third-most wins in the state history, also blocked a 49-yard Mary Persons field goal.
Class AAA
Pace Academy 7, New Manchester 6
Pace Academy held on late to win a defensive struggle against host New Manchester. The Knights scored their touchdown in the first quarter after a blocked punt by Connor Husk set them up inside the Jaguars’ 10-yard line. Justin Johnson punched it in the endzone before Pearson Bates tacked on what proved to be a crucial extra point. New Manchester missed the extra point following its second-quarter touchdown and the resulting 7-6 score held up throughout the second half. The Jaguars turned the ball over on downs in Pace Academy territory with 1:03 remaining to end the night.
Hart County 39, Elbert County 7
Host Hart County jumped out to a 19-0 lead at the half. Quarterback Luke Lee threw touchdown passes to Cane Berrong and Preston Mewborn, and Quinn Moore scored off a blocked punt. The Bulldogs lead grew to 27-0 after Montae Maxwell returned the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown and then Lee found Mewborn for the duo’s second touchdown connection later in the quarter. Malachi Thomas ran in Hart County’s final touchdown to make it 39-0 in the final frame before Elbert County’s late score prevented the shutout.
Lovett 30, Greater Atlanta Christian 29
Blaine McAllister threw a 16-yard scoring strike to Ritter Windom to get overtime started and host Lovett blocked Greater Atlanta Christian’s extra point following a touchdown on the next possession to survive a wild one. The Lions dominated the fourth quarter 16-0 to erase a 23-7 deficit and force the extra frame. McAllister and fellow quarterback Jackson Hardy traded touchdown runs en route to a 7-7 halftime deadlock before the Spartans seemingly took control in the third quarter thanks in part to fumble return to the end zone by Tyler Bride.
Class AA
Screven County 44, Bluffton (SC) 41 OT
Screven County’s Gary Hawkins rushed for a pair of first-quarter touchdowns to give the Gamecocks an early 12-0 lead. Host Bluffton answered and the game was eventually tied 34-34 early in the fourth quarter. Hawkins ran in his fourth touchdown of the game to put Screven County back in front 41-34 with just a minute left in regulation, but the Bobcats forced overtime with just five seconds left on a touchdown pass from Lee Kirkland to Kylan Simmons. Screven County clinched the victory with a field goal in OT.
Class A
Wesleyan 30, Meadowcreek 19
Wesleyan used touchdowns from four different players and excelled in all three phases of the game to defeat visiting Meadowcreek. The Wolves got touchdown runs from Griffin Caldwell, J.C. French, and Wyatt Hodges in addition to a field goal by Javy Martinez. Defensively, Josh Aspinwall returned an interception for a score midway through the third quarter to extend his team’s 10-7 halftime advantage to 17-7. Quincy Bonner led the Mustangs with three touchdowns, two on the ground plus a 19-yard pass to Joe Jenkins.
Athens Academy 35, Savannah Christian 7
Visiting Athens Academy led 14-0 after the opening quarter and 35-0 with 10:36 left in the third quarter. Running back Len’Neth Whitehead took nine carries for a game-high 125 yards (13.9 yards per carry) and four touchdowns. Spartans quarterback Palmer Bush went 3-of-5 passing for 43 yards and rushed for an 18-yard touchdown that grew Athens Academy’s lead to 21-0 with 9:32 left in the first half.
Prince Avenue Christian 54, Mount Vernon Presbyterian 28
The 3rd-ranked in Class A Private School Prince Avenue Wolverines raced out to a 21-0 lead against Mount Vernon and never looked back in a 54-28 romp over the Mustangs. In the third quarter, Wolverine quarterback and Oklahoma commit Brock Vandagriff had a hand in three touchdowns, once on a keeper, and two tosses to Zac Dyer—one on a fourth down and the other right after a recovered kickoff. Vandagriff had another scoring pass early in the fourth, hitting Trey Stiles in the end zone.
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