Mill Creek’s star back Chancellor Lee-Parker exploded for 213 yards and five touchdowns to help the Hawks pull away from visiting Mountain View, both in the 41-14 Week 10 victory and in the Region 6-AAAAAAA standings.
The two teams, each entering the matchup with their only loss in region play coming against fifth-ranked North Gwinnett, held each other scoreless through the first quarter and a half. Mill Creek missed a field goal attempt in the first quarter before Noah Faircloth ended a Mountain View drive deep in Hawks territory with a strip-sack recovery later in the frame. Lee-Parker scored the first points of the game on a 5-yard run (the PAT was no good) to kick off an eventful final five minutes of the half that ended with a 20-7 Mill Creek lead. Freshman Caleb Downs had an interception return for a touchdown, which Mountain View’s Garrett Spikes answered on the first play of the following drive with a 72-yard rushing score at the 3:39 mark. Hawks quarterback Thurman Harris, who finished the half with 49 yards on 7 carries and 95 passing yards, found Khamari Glover with a 43-yard touchdown completion, but the Hawks missed a shot to expand the lead further with their second missed field goal of the half as it came to an end.
It wasn’t long before they capitalized on their next opportunity, however; Lee-Parker took a 70-yard trip to the end zone on the first play of the second half. Mountain View’s Nathan Payne threw a 38-yarder to Mossiah Carter on the following drive to set up another touchdown by Spikes that cut the Hawks lead to 27-14, but Lee-Parker added his fourth and fifth touchdowns of the game for a 41-14 advantage that held through the scoreless fourth quarter.
Mill Creek improved to 7-2 (4-1 in region play) with the win, and first-year head coach Josh Lovelady will get two weeks to prepare his Hawks for Collins Hill with their Week 11 bye.
Class AAAAAAA
Milton 37, Forsyth Central 7
Milton’s offense compiled 454 total yards to lead the War Eagles to a commanding win over the Forsyth Central Bulldogs. The first touchdown of the night came on a 16-yard rush from Milton quarterback Devin Ferrell, and Ahmad Junearick punched it in from the 1-yard line early in the second quarter. Farrell connected with Jake Walter later in the frame to give the War Eagles a 21-0 lead at the half. Forsyth Central’s Bronson Landreth scored the only touchdown of the third before Milton outscored Forsyth Central 16-0 in the fourth with a 3-yard run from Jordan McDonald, a team safety, and a 39-yard touchdown rush from Junearick. Junearick had 12 rushes for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Ferrell went 14-of-23 for 216 passing yards. He also had 8 carries for 60 yards.
Hillgrove 44, North Paulding 17
Host Hillgrove trailed 3-0 in the second quarter before exploding to take a 27-10 lead at halftime. James Maddox had a touchdown run to give the Hawks a 7-3 lead at 11:07 in the second, then Issaiah McCrary added another scoring run at 5:10 for a 14-10 Hillgrove lead before the Hawks recovered the ensuing onside kick. Maddox capped the drive with his second rushing touchdown with three minutes remaining in the half, and Matthew McCravy found Jalen Royals for a touchdown in the final seconds before the break. In the third quarter, Hillgrove got a 37-yard field goal from Jonathan Grote and McCravy threw touchdown passes to Tar-U-Way Bright and Trevarus Walker.
North Forsyth 43, South Forsyth 34
Region 5-AAAAAAA’s South Forsyth and North Forsyth each scored on their opening drives—a touchdown pass from Joe Slott to Mitch Thompson for the War Eagles and a rushing score by Jared Lucero for the Raiders—before North Forsyth took a two-point lead with a safety on a botched War Eagles punt attempt. Brandon Law scored with 0:17 remaining in the opening frame to put South Forsyth back ahead 13-9, but the Raiders outscored the War Eagles 21-7 in the second quarter with a touchdown from Nicky Dalmolin and touchdown passes from Brady Meitz to Josh Grindle and Anthony Herock. Colby Cruz scored off a pass from Slott for South Forsyth, and the War Eagles trailed 30-20 at the break. A 6-yard completion from Slott to Devin McGlockton, another score from Dalmolin, and Slott’s fourth touchdown pass—this time to Cameron Schurr—left the Raiders with a narrow 36-34 advantage heading into the final frame, where Dalmolin’s third touchdown of the night sealed the win for North Forsyth.
Westlake 34, Newnan 7
Westlake jumped out to a 21-7 lead at the half and closed out Newnan on the road to remain on top of the Region 2-AAAAAAA standings with a 4-0 record in conference play. A trio of Class of 2021 offensive stars provided all of Westlake’s scoring. Running back Jamari Sirmons had touchdown runs of 47 and 53 yards and hauled in a 24-yarder from Jimmy Inman, who also found Demarko Williams for touchdown completions of 42 and 68 yards.
West Forsyth 33, Lambert 7
Drew Southern threw two touchdown passes and Wesley Clark added two rushing scores to lift Region 5-AAAAAAA’s West Forsyth to a 33-7 victory over host Lambert. Southern found Casey Cowart for a 12-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and Eli Orr for a 7-yarder in the second, and Clark’s touchdowns came on runs of 1 and 6 yards in the second and fourth quarters, respectively.
Marietta 63, North Cobb 35
Marietta senior quarterback Harrison Bailey finished 12-of-14 passing for 294 yards and five touchdowns in the Blue Devils’ road win. The Blue Devils led 49-7 at halftime, and Bailey only played one possession in the second half.
Class AAAAAA
Creekview 37, South Cobb 0
Creekview quarterback Brody Rhodes threw three first-half touchdowns and the Grizzlies added a safety to jump out to a 23-0 halftime lead. Following a scoreless third quarter, host Creekview added a 10-yard Ethan Dirrim touchdown run in the fourth and a 1-yard score by Cole Hasty with 1:20 left in the game.
Gainesville 38, Winder-Barrow 29
Touchdowns from Lenny Chatman in the first and second quarters gave Gainesville had a 14-0 lead at the break before Winder-Barrow was able to get its offense going in the third quarter with two touchdowns and a successful two-point conversion. Gainesville remained ahead 28-15 heading into the final frame, however, with scores from J.D. Brooks and Gionni Williams. A Winder-Barrow touchdown early in the fourth briefly made it a one-possession game before another score from Williams extended the Red Elephants’ lead to 35-22. The Bulldoggs added one more touchdown in the final moments of the game for the 38-29 final.
Johns Creek 37, Centennial 17
A 33-yard field goal from Josh Huiett and a touchdown completion from Ben Whitlock to Dalton Pearson gave Johns Creek a 10-0 first-quarter lead, and Centennial got on the board with a field goal before the break. Whitlock’s 22-yarder to Jason Campbell and a rushing score from Will Watson expanded the Gladiators’ advantage to 23-3 heading into the final frame, which Whitlock opened with another touchdown strike to Pearson. Centennial added a touchdown from Freddie Fairley and a pick-six by Julian Nixon to trim the deficit before Pearson sealed win for the Gladiators on a touchdown pass from Quinn Teeples.
Class AAAAA
Kell 35, Cass 0
Kell quarterback Corbin LaFrance started the scoring for the visiting Longhorns with a 14-yard touchdown run and threw a 63-yard screen pass for a score to Jamal Hill to give the Longhorns a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. David Mbadinga added a 10-yard run in the second quarter for a 21-0 lead at the break, and Tyler Barrett scored on runs of 62 and 35 yards in the third quarter.
Class AAAA
Cartersville 41, Chapel Hill 6
Cartersville responded to an early Panthers touchdown with 41 unanswered points to improve to 9-0 on the year and clinch its 52nd-straight region victory and 57th-straight regular-season victory. Quarterback Tee Webb threw two touchdown passes to Devonte Ross and one to Michael Abernathy. Evan Slocum rushed for an 8-yard touchdown in the second quarter and Harrison Allen added a pair of third-quarter rushing touchdowns.
Marist 27, Flowery Branch 0
Top-ranked Marist completed its fourth shutout of the year and improved to 9-0 with a road win over Region 7-AAAA rival Flowery Branch. Quarterback Connor Cigelske was intercepted twice in the first half, but his two rushing touchdowns and touchdown pass ultimately put Marist up 21-0 at the break. Cigelske’s fourth touchdown came on a rushing score with 1:30 left to ice the game.
Cairo 39, Americus-Sumter 19
Cairo quarterback Robert Matthew Peters threw touchdown passes to Marquii Lovejoy and Earnest Taylor in the opening quarter to give the visiting Syrupmakers a 13-0 lead. Teammate John Carter rushed for a 5-yard touchdown with 8:50 remaining in the half to grow the lead to 21-0 before Americus-Sumter responded with back-to-back touchdowns to cut it to 21-12. After missing a kick earlier in the half, Noah Jones connected on a 37-yarder to give Cairo a 24-12 lead at the break. Americus-Sumter got on the board first in the second half with a touchdown that cut the lead to 24-19, but Cairo’s Tay Solomon scored with 3:22 left in the third quarter to push it to 32-19 before icing the game with a 26-yard touchdown run with 7:02 left in the final frame.
Woodward Academy 42, Salem 20
The War Eagles undefeated season continued with a strong win over fellow Region 4-AAAA opponent Salem. Woodward’s senior quarterback Mike Wright put the first points on the board less than a minute into the game, connecting with Jacorrei Turner on a 42-yard touchdown pass. Sophomore running back Damari Alston added a 40-yard touchdown run shortly after, and Wright tossed another long touchdown pass for 53 yards to Ambe Caldwell. Deon King capped off the first-quarter scoring spree with an 8-yard rush into the end zone. Wright’s electric start continued into the second; he tossed touchdown completions to Turner and D.A. Allen to give Woodward a 42-0 first-half lead before Salem’s Daniel Scott scored a touchdown late in the second quarter and another midway through the third. Wright ended the night with 165 passing yards and four touchdowns and Alston finished with 116 rushing yards.
Class AAA
Jefferson 26, Monroe Area 7
The Dragons came away with a win over Monroe Area behind a strong performance on the ground, out-rushing the Hurricanes 371 to 26 yards. Senior Colby Clark scored Jefferson’s first points of the game with a 20-yard run, but Monroe Area tied it up shortly after when Brandon Moody caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Selatian Straughter. Clark scored his second rushing score as the opening frame came to an end, giving Jefferson a 13-7 lead (the PAT was no good) that held through a scoreless second quarter. Clark connected with Dawson Crawly for a 23-yard touchdown to extend the lead in the third, and he expanded it further later in the quarter with his third rushing score of the game. Clark ended the night with 232 yards on the ground.
Greater Atlanta Christian 35, Cherokee Bluff 0
Senior quarterback Jackson Hardy found junior Thomas Lowman with touchdown passes on the first play of the Spartans’ opening drive in both the first and second quarters (56 and 18 yards, respectively). Hardy expanded the lead with a 42-yarder to senior Jake Hicks, and Tyler Bride rushed 28 yards into the end zone for a 28-0 GAC advantage at the break. Hardy capped a long third-quarter drive by adding a fourth touchdown to his stellar outing—a 13-yard pass to Hicks—and finished the game 12-0f-13 for 230 yards, 123 of which came on five completions to Lowman.
Cedar Grove 40, Pace Academy 10
Chavon Wright rushed for three touchdowns for host Cedar Grove at Buck Godfrey Stadium, and the Saints outscored Pace Academy 27-0 in the second half to pull away from the Knights in the Region 5-AAA matchup. Wright’s 10-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter put the Saints on the board first, and he added a pair of 25-yard scores in the third quarter. Jordan Grier returned a tipped option pass 65 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, Austin Smith found Coreyon Cone on a 10-yard touchdown pass, and N’Korian Newsome recovered a Pace Academy fumble in the end zone for the Saints’ final score. Cedar Grove led just 13-10 at the half.
Calhoun 46, Coahulla Creek 6
Calhoun scored all its points, save a field goal, in the first half the Yellow Jackets’ rout of Coahulla Creek. The Yellow Jackets tacked on 27 points in the first quarter and 16 points in the second quarter to overwhelm its region foe. Jerrian Hames scored on runs of 33 and 5 yards to put the Yellow Jackets up. Quarterback Jake Morrow added a 9-yard touchdown run to increase the lead. In the second quarter, Morrow connected with Cole Speer on touchdown passes of 34 and 10 yards. Eduardo Fajardo’s 36-yard field goal in the fourth quarter was insurance.
Class AA
Callaway 34, Heard County 0
Host Callaway broke open a scoreless game in the second quarter with three touchdowns to jump to a 21-0 halftime lead. Quarterback Demetrius Coleman scored on an 11-yard touchdown run and tossed a 30-yard touchdown to Jacob Freeman, and Tank Bigsby also rushed for a 10-yard score in the frame. Bigsby found the end zone again in the third quarter on a 19-yard touchdown run to increase the lead to 27-0 before Coleman connected with Freeman again in the final frame to make it 34-0.
Class A
Irwin County 16, Wilcox County 0
The host Indians picked up their third-straight shutout and closed out Wilcox County to improve to 7-0. Irwin County’s first points came on a safety midway through the second quarter when Jalen Billingsly and Garland Benyard sacked Wilcox County quarterback Noah Hollingsworth for a safety. The two points added to Irwin County’s previous six defensive touchdowns scored so far this season that have the Indians defense outscoring opposing offenses 38-22 on the year. Irwin County’s Nehemiah McCoy returned the ensuing free kick to the Wilcox County 30-yard line, and 11 plays later on a 4th-and-4 from the 6-yard-line, Jamorri Colson ran in a touchdown to make it 9-0 with just 30.8 seconds left before the break. Both teams went scoreless in the third quarter before DJ Lundy rushed for a 30-yard touchdown with 4:13 left to increase the lead to 16-0. Irwin County outgained Wilcox County 208-to-42 in total yardage and the Patriots picked up 25 of their 42 yards on their final drive.
Fellowship Christian 55, Mount Pisgah 14
Undefeated Fellowship Christian compiled 552 total yards of offense, including 444 yards on the ground. Murphy Reeves posted a game-high 150 rushing yards off 14 carries and rushed for a 71-yard score. Teammates Josh Bryce Paul (3 carries for 96 yards) and Josh Cole (5 carries for 66 yards) each rushed for two touchdowns, and Trexton Lewis added a 10-yard score as well.