The Milton Eagles are Region 5-AAAAAAA champions, thanks to an absurd first-half performance by senior quarterback—and future Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket—Jordan Yates in their 57-7 rout of the visiting Lambert Longhorns. Yates had three rushing touchdowns (19, 28 and 38 yards) and threw another to Holden Shaw in the first quarter alone, during which Milton compiled 266 yards of total offense. A safety put the Eagles up 30-0 late in the opening frame, and Jack Rhodes scored on the first play of the second quarter before Yates added another pair of scores—a 47-yard run and a pass to Dylan Leonard—for 51-0 lead at the half and a running clock for the remainder of the game. Yates finished the half 10-of-14 for 146 yards and two touchdowns and added eight carries for another 170 yards and four scores on the ground. The Longhorns avoided a shutout with a 13-yard completion from Peyton Rich to Parker Brosius early in the fourth, but Ahman Junearick-Echols responded on the following possession with a 57-yard trip to the end zone for the final score of the night.
Class AAAAAAA
Etowah 16, Lassiter 0
The Etowah Eagles faced off against Lassiter in search of their second region win of the season. Etowah’s first points came from a safety early in the first quarter. Late in the second, Junior quarterback Dalton Miller connected with Senior Mack Graham for a 37-yard score to take a 10-0 lead heading into halftime. The Eagles continued to do all the scoring with a third-quarter rushing touchdown from 3 yards out by Junior Nick Maddox. Etowah failed to put points on the board in the fourth, but were able to hang on to their shutout over the Trojans.
West Forsyth 35, North Forsyth 14
West Forsyth secured a win thanks to impressive performances by Drew Southern and Abe Camara. The first touchdown of the evening came off a 23-yard pass from Southern to Camara. With four minutes to go in the second, North Forsyth’s Bryson Trigg put the Raiders on the board with a 12-yard run. Southern threw his second touchdown-pass to Casey Cowart to end the half with a 14-7 advantage. With three minutes left in the third, a 25-yard run from Camara brought the score to 21-7. Honus Wagner scored North Forsyth’s second and final touchdown at the very end of the third. The fourth quarter saw two West Forsyth rushing touchdowns—one by Southern, and the other by Saxby Waxer.
Colquitt County 45, Tift County 7
The top-ranked Packers stifled Tift County, producing a convincing Region 1-AAAAAAA road win behind a four-touchdown night by junior running back Daijun Edwards. Colquitt County quarterback Jaycee Harden found Tyler Walker for an 80-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. Tift County evened it up on its next drive with Patrick Felton’s 37-yard touchdown run. Edwards found the end zone three times before the half (5 yards, 7, 27) and Ryan Fitzpatrick booted a 25-yard field goal that grew the lead to 31-7. Colquitt County’s Akeem McKiever and Camari Louis recorded interceptions on Tift County’s first two drives of the second half, and the Packers held the Blue Devils to just one total yard of offense in the second half. Edwards broke loose for a 61-yard run with 4:08 left in the third for his fourth touchdown run before Harden found Ja’Nez Graves with 4:45 left for the game’s final score. Colquitt County outgained Tift County 470-to-110 in total yards, Edwards finished with 19 carries for 190 yards to go with his four scores, and Harden completed 9-of-16 passes for 230 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
East Coweta 33, Campbell 14
The East Coweta Indians clinched a playoff berth from Region 2-AAAAAAA in convincing fashion with a road win over Campbell on Friday night. The Indians got things started with a 26-yard touchdown run from Gerald Green early in the first quarter. East Coweta’s defense then stood strong on a goal line stand, preventing Campbell from scoring from inside the 10-yard line on four attempts. East Coweta added a 39-yard field goal from Dylan Lewis late in the frame, then followed up with a Nate Croncic touchdown pass to Rakiyan Moss to in the final minute of the second quarter for a 17-0 halftime lead. Campbell scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to make things interesting, but a touchdown run by backup quarterback Devin Gelband helped East Coweta push its lead to 33-14 and put the game away.
Roswell 34, Woodstock 14
Roswell pulled away late in a wild fourth quarter, scoring four touchdowns in the period—and three straight—to turn a 14-14 tie into a 20-point home win. The Hornets led just 7-0 entering the final quarter after quarterback Ethan Roberts rushed for a 2-yard score in the first. Roberts threw a touchdown pass to John Copenhaver to give the Hornets a 14-7 lead and hit Jeremy Slaughter to give them a 20-14 lead after a missed PAT. Roswell put the game away in the final minutes with interception returns for touchdowns from Tyron Hopper and Abe Nyang. Woodstock’s two touchdowns came off Wes Bruno passes to Deandre Turner and Sebastian Moss.
Norcross 24, Brookwood 14
The Norcross Blue Devils won a tight one over the visiting Brookwood Broncos, who were led by backup quarterback Caleb Ellard in place of Connor Chavis (concussion). Chris Carter answered Kellen Grave de Peralta’s 39-yard field goal with a 30-yard run for a 7-3 Brookwood lead before Louis Williams threw a 16-yarder to Isaiah Wilson to put Norcross up 10-7 heading into the second quarter. Brookwood failed to capitalize on a fumble recovery, and Grave de Peralta kicked a 42-yarder for a 13-7 Blue Devil lead at the half. Three different players (Ellard, Eli Kohl, Carter) took snaps on Brookwood’s first possession of the third, with Ellard finishing the job on a 22-yard pass to Tyler Knight to put the Broncos up 14-13—but they failed to score again. Norcross stopped Brookwood on 4th-and-1 in the final moments of the quarter, and Randy Smith’s 76-yard reception—and a successful 2-point conversion—gave the Blue Devils a 21-14 lead a minute into the final frame. Randy Cochran’s interception led to a fruitless Norcross drive that ended in a bobbled punt attempt and Brookwood on the Norcross 25, but Ellard was intercepted again on a tipped pass. The Blue Devils moved to the Brookwood 16 with a personal foul on Sterling Ross after Norcross converted on 3rd-and-4, setting up another field goal by Grave de Peralta—this time for 35 yards—for the 24-14 final.
East Coweta 33, Campbell 14
The East Coweta Indians clinched a playoff berth from Region 2-AAAAAAA in convincing fashion with a road win over Campbell on Friday night. The Indians got things started with a 26-yard touchdown run from Gerald Green early in the first quarter. East Coweta’s defense then held strong on a goal-line stand, preventing Campbell from scoring from inside the 10-yard line on four attempts. East Coweta added a 39-yard field goal from Dylan Lewis late in the third quarter then followed up with a Nate Croncic touchdown pass to Rakiyan Moss to in the final minute of the second quarter for a 17-0 halftime lead. Campbell scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to make things interesting, but a touchdown run by backup quarterback Devin Gelband helped East Coweta push its lead to 33-14 and put the game away.
Parkview 44, Meadowcreek 0
Parkview scored 17 points late in the first half to take a 17-0 lead at the break and coasted from there for the home win. Cody Brown rushed 18 times for 117 yards and a touchdown, and Jared Brown had four carries for 21 yards and two scores. Jakeim Thompson added five carries for 70 yards and a touchdown, and Malik Washington rushed seven times for 81 yards. T.J. Williams was 3-of-4 passing for 27 yards and a touchdown to C.J. Daniels to go with 11 rushes. Derrick Brown had an interception for a touchdown for the Panthers.
North Gwinnett 42, Peachtree Ridge 0
North Gwinnett’s strong four-touchdown first quarter performance helped separate the Bulldogs from the Lions early on. Junior Tyler Goodson was the featured player on offense with a pair of rushing scores in the first. JR Martin capped off the first-quarter scoring spree with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Javonni Cunningham. Late in the second, Goodson struck again from 2 yards out for the score to put the Bulldogs up 35-0 at the half. Goodson scored the final points of the game in the middle of the third with a 4-yard rush for his fourth score of the night.
Archer 35, South Gwinnett 7
Semajé Banks put host Archer up 14-0 at the end of the first quarter with touchdown runs of 10 and 63 yards. The Tigers held a 28-0 halftime lead after Mikkael Reynolds Jr. rushed for a 4-yard score and Carter Peevy found Jeremiah Cook for a 4-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. Amos Dahn made it 35-0 in the third quarter after recovering a South Gwinnett fumble in the end zone.
Lowndes 28, Camden County 27
Camden County scored the final three touchdowns of the game, but the Lowndes defense thwarted the two-point conversion attempt which would have tied the game with 1:54 left. Lowndes got the scoring started on a short touchdown run by Gary Osby with 9:15 left in the second quarter. Logan Watson tied the game with a short run for Camden with 6:17 left in the half and the teams would enter the locker room tied 7-7. Lowndes reeled off the next three scores on two Joe Almond runs (34 and 30 yards) and a 7-yard score by Travis Tisdale to give the Vikings a 28-7 lead. Camden County responded with a touchdown run from Logan Watson to cut into the lead 28-14. Trace Dorminy found Logan Berryhill on an 80-yard touchdown to get Camden within one score 28-21, and Jamie Felix brought the game to its final tally on a short rushing touchdown.
Class AAAAAA
Gainesville 7, Apalachee 6
Gainesville went scoreless in the first half against Apalachee for the second straight week. The Red Elephants were finally first on the board in the third quarter after an interception by Junior Keyshaun White led to a 17-yard touchdown pass from Sophomore quarterback to Junior Walter Dixon. Apalachee had a chance to tie the game in the fourth following a 61-yard punt return for a touchdown by Cameron Hoffman, but a missed extra point allowed the Red Elephants to walk away with the narrow win.
Harrison 23, Sequoyah 17
The Harrison Hoyas beat Sequoyah 23-17 in a comeback victory on the road. Mason Babay blocked a Sequoyah punt and Micah Davis returned it to put Harrison on the board first. Jason Campbell’s 37-yard field goal later in the frame and a 7-yard run by Jaden Mitchell gave the Chiefs a 10-7 lead in the second before Alex Raynor’s field goal tied it up. Sequoyah went up 17-10 in the third with an 8-yard completion by Collier Pecht to Jackson Smith, but the Hoyas tied it again in the forth when Davis caught a touchdown pass from Gavin Hall. An offsides on the Chiefs defense turned Harrison’s 4th-and-10 to 4th-and-5, and the Hoyas faked a punt for a fresh set of downs. Raynor was set to kick a field goal before the Chiefs once again jumped offsides, this time with the Hoyas at 4th-and-1. David Roberts’ rushing score sealed the Harrison victory.
Pope 26, Northview 14
Pope’s Joseph Stellmach scored three of the Greyhounds’ four touchdowns to help carry them to a 26-14 victory over Northview. Stellmach got things started with a 30-yard run in the first, giving Pope a 7-0 lead at the end of the quarter. Northview’s only two touchdowns came in the second quarter—both off of passes from Beau Lark to Jonathan Baker. Pope’s second-quarter scoring came from a 67-yard rush by Harrison Gibbs and a 1-yard rush by Stellmach. Both extra point attempts were no good, and Pope was up 19-17 at the half. Stellmach scored his final touchdown in the third quarter.
Allatoona 27, Dalton 14
Allatoona held off the visiting Dalton Catamounts for a 27-14 Buccaneers victory. Daniel Parsons’ 16-yard touchdown run and a Jude Kelley field goal gave Allatoona a 10-0 first-quarter lead, which Dalton cut into with a score after recovering an errant Buccaneers snap with 8:26 left in the half. The Catamounts forced another Allatoona turnover in the second quarter with a fumble recovery, but turned it over on downs at the Allatoona 10-yard line. Kelley added another field goal in the third, and Danté Marshall’s quarterback keeper gave the Buccaneers 20-7 lead with 10:46 to play. Dalton made it a one-possession play after a blocked punt gave the Catamounts possession 4 yards out, but Allatoona converted on a 4th down to set up a 17-yard TJ Carr score with 1:33 left in the game.
Johns Creek 32, Alpharetta 6
The Johns Creek Gladiators are now Region 7-AAAAAA champions after a dominating victory over Alpharetta. The first-quarter scoring included a 74-yard touchdown pass from Zach Gibson to Giovanni Dyer, and a 25-yard field goal from Jack Linne. A blocked punt by Pat Taylor in the second lead to a safety, and Nate Hope (3 yards) and Will Watson (13 yards) added scores for a 25-0 lead at the half. Hope scored the final Gladiators touchdown in the third. Alpharetta’s only touchdown came in the fourth.
Creekview 22, Sprayberry 11
Creekview scored a touchdown on their opening drive of the game after senior RB Cade Radam’s 50-yard run set him up for a short trip to the end zone. Radam then scored his second rushing touchdown later in the first half, which Creekview followed up by successfully completing a 2-point conversion. The Grizzlies led 15-3 going into halftime. Creekview was poised to run away with the game when they returned an interception to their side of the field late in the game, but fumbled it away at the end of the play. Sprayberry capitalized on the turnover by scoring a touchdown and 2-point conversion, but Cade Radam proved to be too much—scoring his third touchdown of the night through the air and propelling the Grizzlies to 9-0 on the season.
Centennial 70, North Atlanta Warriors 42
Max Brosmer and Cal Dickie lead Centennial to the win in a high-scoring affair. Dickie scored Centennial’s first two touchdowns of the game and Max Brosmer found Rekevian Mathis on a 37-yard touchdown pass to give Centennial 21-7 lead at the end of the first. The second quarter saw a strong effort from North Atlanta, and the game was only separated by one touchdown at the end of the half with Centennial on top 35-28. North Atlanta scored two touchdowns in the third, but were unable to keep up with Centennial’s offensive blitz. Brosmer had his hands in four of the five touchdowns scored by Centennial in the second half. He took it to the end zone himself for 74 yards, and threw three touchdown passes—one to Richard Shaw, another to Mathis, and another to Dickie. Dickie scored Centennial’s final touchdown.
Class AAAAA
Rome 62, Villa Rica 7
Rome notched its 37th straight win and clinched its second-straight perfect regular season Friday at Historic Barren Stadium. Running back Jamious Griffin ran in five first-half touchdowns, bringing his career total to 106 and his season total to 31. Quarterback Knox Kadum threw a touchdown pass to Xavier Roberts-Donaldson—and rushed for an 11-yard score—to put Rome up 56-0 at the half. Villa Rica got on the board early in the third quarter. Trey Lawrence (27 yards) and Ahijah Blackwell (14 yards) ran in the Wolves’ final touchdowns.
Buford 61, Walnut Grove 0
Buford held Walnut Grove to 17 yards of total offense in its home win. Derrian Brown rushed eight times for 104 yards and touchdowns of 13 and 12 yards, both in the first quarter, to help give the Wolves a 27-0 lead after one. Aaron McLaughlin finished 6-of-9 passing for 127 yards, with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Drew Gutierrez in the first and a 55-yard scoring pass to Xyre Wilson in the second. Buford returned two punts for touchdowns in the first half, Elijah Turner for 53 yards in the first and Austin Turner for 54 yards in the second. Xalan Taylor rushed for a 5-yard touchdown in the third and Gabe Ervin rushed for a 54-yard touchdown in the fourth to cap the scoring.
Kell 30, Hiram 0
Kell scored more than half of its 30 total points in the first quarter on Friday night. The onslaught started with a screen pass to Jaylon Brown that went for a 20-yard touchdown. Not long after, junior running back B.J. Abson added a 1-yard touchdown run, which was followed by a Logan Flesher field goal. A hold on Kell’s second-quarter field goal attempt prevented the Longhorns from getting the kick off, but resulted in quarterback Evan Conley’s first rushing touchdown of the night. His second of the evening came on a quarterback keeper from inside the 10-yard line during the third quarter.
Carrollton 56, Paulding County 0
Carrollton’s 28-0 lead after the first quarter was doubled at the half and a running clock kept the game at the 56-0 mark after a scoreless second half. Carrollton scored on a blocked punt by Itheoddius Banks, and Kodee Brewer (8 yards) and Brandon Marenco (26 yards) added touchdown runs. Myles Morris continued the rushing onslaught with a 44-yard touchdown run just before the second quarter. Marenco scored again with 6:59 left before the half on a 2-yard run, and Kashif Taylor’s 16-yard run put Carrollton up 42-0 with 5:26 left before the half. Reid Dedman added a 15-yard touchdown before Isaiah Lancaster caught a Taylor pass for a 42-yard touchdown with 2:28 left in the quarter to bring the game to its final tally.
Class AAAA
Flowery Branch 27, West Hall 7
Connor Larson took a reverse 30 yards for a Flowery Branch touchdown to put the host Falcons up 7-0 a minute and a half into the game. Quarterback David Renard—who started in place of the injured Elijah Gainey—found D.J. Brown for an 8-yard touchdown later in the quarter and the 14-0 lead held through the half. Jerzee Allentini plunged in for a 1-yard touchdown in the third quarter and a blocked PAT kept the lead at 20-0. West Hall’s Clayton Jenkins threw a 17-yard touchdown to Devon Williams to cut the lead to 20-7. Chase Dial-Watson added Flowery Branch’s final score on a 10-yard run with 2:57 left and then intercepted West Hall’s ensuing drive to ice the game.
Troup 49, Central-Carroll 28
Troup amassed a 28-14 lead by the end of the first half, and outscored Central-Carroll 21-0 in the third quarter before the Lions added a pair of running clock touchdowns in the fourth. Tre Williams ran in a 5-yard touchdown in the first quarter, but Central-Carroll answered to even it up 7-7. Tyree Carlisle gave Troup its 14-7 lead on first play of the second quarter with 6-yard touchdown run, and quarterback Kobe Hudson threw a touchdown pass to Jamari Thrash that made it 21-7. Central-Carroll returned to the end zone minutes later, but Williams returned the ensuing kickoff to push the lead back to 28-14. Carlisle rushed for a 5-yard touchdown to get the third quarter scoring barrage going and Hudson threw touchdown passes to Joko Willis and Ja’Rell Smith. Troup’s rush of third-quarter touchdowns was the result of its defense forcing turnovers on three straight Central-Carroll possessions.
Woodward Academy 48, North Clayton 12
Woodward had 438 yards of offense as it built a 20-6 lead at halftime to put the game out of reach of North Clayton. Mike Wright got the scoring started on a 15-yard pass to Ambe Caldwell with 9:36 left in the first quarter. with 2:34 in the first quarter made it 14-0 Woodward. North Clayton responded to a Tahj Gary’s 81-yard touchdown run later in the quarter with a 79-yard touchdown pass, but a failed PAT made it 14-6. With 3:50 left in the second quarter, Miles Montgomery returned an interception 90 yards to expand Woodward’s lead. Wright extended that lead with a 25-yard touchdown run in the third, Caldwell ran a pass from Wright 30 yards for a touchdown. Early in the fourth quarter, Wright scored on a goal-line stand to push the lead. Damari Alston brought the game to its final tally on a 23-yard run with 5:42 left in the game. Gary finished with 153 yards and a touchdown on seven rushes. Caldwell finished with five catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Wright was 11-of-18 passing for 154 yards and two passing and two rushing touchdowns.
Class AAA
Ringgold 31, Adairsville 10
Ringgold ate up nearly eight minutes of clock on its opening drive to the 1-yard line, but came up empty with a missed field goal. Adairsville took over and went 3-and-out on its only possession of the quarter. Ringgold used the short field to set up Dalton Green’s 20-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter. The Tigers failed the 2-point attempt on Green’s touchdown and on Cole Kibler’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Jared Dunn minutes later for a 12-0 lead. Adairsville’s Emanuel Lopez got the visitors on the board with a 42-yard field goal right before the half. Mason Boswell cut the lead to 12-10 with a 4-yard run early in the third quarter, but Ringgold answered with 19 unanswered points. Andre Tarver rushed for touchdowns of 35 and 40 yards, and Dalton Green rushed for the final touchdown with 4:20 left.
Lovett 41, Redan 6
Blaine McAllister rushed for three first-half touchdowns, KJ Wallace rushed for two and David Shephard added another to give the host Lions a 41-0 lead at the break. Redan got on the board in the third quarter.
Class AA
Rabun County 63, Oglethorpe County 6
Rabun County freshman Gunner Stockton threw five touchdowns and ran for another to propel the Wildcats to a 56-0 halftime lead. Braxton Hicks was the recipient of three of the Stockton touchdown tosses, and Sam Adams and Sutton Jones received the other two. Brison Beck rushed for a 22-yard touchdown late in the first quarter and added a 34-yard score in the opening minute of the second quarter. Oglethorpe County got on the board with 5:57 left in the third and backup quarterback Conner Horton tossed a 9-yard touchdown with 8:35 left for the final tally.
Class A
Wesleyan 52, Strong Rock Christian 13
Wesleyan was first on the board with a 1-yard quarterback sneak by freshman JC French into the end zone. With 8:50 left in the first, Junior Josh Aspinwall snagged an interception and returned it 30 yards into the end zone for the Wolves’ touchdown. Wesleyan continued to march down the field in the first, capitalizing on an 80-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown rush from Senior Donald Conley. Strong Rock answered back with a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter, but a successful field goal paired with Conley’s second rushing score of the night and a pick six by Senior JD Kavel kept the Wolves safely in the lead with a 38-7 score at the half. Strong Rock scored again in the third before Kavel’s second touchdown of the night on a kick return to put the game away.
St. Francis 21, King’s Ridge 7
St. Francis quarterback Joshua James threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Wadsworth, and Hunter Jones added a 2-yard rushing touchdown to put the host Knights up 14-0 at the end of the opening quarter. King’s Ridge cut the lead to 14-7 in the second quarter, and the margin remained until James found Aaron Strozier with 1:42 left in the fourth quarter for the game-clinching touchdown.