Reigning 5A champion Warner Robins hosted Lee County in a highly-anticipated battle between two top-ranked programs and seized control during a dominant third quarter to stun the state — and the visiting Class 6A Trojans — with a 56-30 victory. Lee County quickly got the ball back after punting on its opening drive with Omar White’s forced fumble and recovery deep in Demons territory, and Arkansas-commit Tyrus Washington found the end zone moments later. Malcolm Brown responded for Warner Robins, however, with a 76-yard rushing score — his 10th of the season. Lee County closed the opening frame with a huge goal-line stand on defense and an 85-yard run by freshman runningback Ousmane Kromah and took a 10-7 lead early in the second with a 22-yard field goal from Alex Collins.
Senior Daveon Walker gave Warner Robins the lead on the following drive with a 59-yard touchdown on a screen pass from Christon Lane, but Kromah reclaimed it with a 94-yard trip to the end zone on the ensuing kickoff (the PAT was no good). The Demons managed to add another two scores before the half ended — a 5-yard run by Brown and a 46-yarder from Lane to Walker — to hold a 28-16 advantage at the break.
Kromah added one more rushing score midway through the third before Warner Robins got four touchdowns in about six minutes of game time. Jafredrick Perry answered Kromah with an 85-yard kickoff return to the end zone, Deuce Petty hauled in a 25-yard TD completion following Fred Perry’s fumble recovery, and Montrez Dinkins scored on both defense and offense with a 25-yard fumble recovery and return and a pass from Lane, respectively. Lee County found enough of a spark for one final score in the fourth quarter, but was unable to further close the gap.
The Demons will look to continue their tear through the 2021 season next week with a trip to Camden County.
Here are the games covered by the AJC’s writers Friday: Pebblebrook 50, North Atlanta 21, Johns Creek 40, Riverwood 32, Collins Hill 34, East Coweta 0, Mill Creek 28, Grayson 14 and Douglas County 35, Alexander 20.
You can follow the link to the PREP SCOREBOARD or see Todd Holcomb’s Friday Night Wrap to keep up with more football action from around the state.
See the rest of the Friday night roundups below. At the bottom of this file are the recaps from Thursday’s games.
Roundups from Friday
Class 7A
Brookwood 31, Marietta 26
Visiting Brookwood opened up an 11-point lead (24-13) on a 3-yard touchdown run by Myles Parker, primarily a defensive lineman, at the 8:02 mark of the fourth quarter, then added a 59-yard touchdown run by quarterback Dylan Lonergan with 3:29 remaining. On the next possession, Marietta scored on a hook-and-ladder play from 55 yards out, as tight end Cameron Overton caught the short pass over the middle from Tyler Hughes and pitched to Cameron Perry, who ran the rest of the way to make it a 31-19 score. Marietta got the ball back and Hughes scored on a 3-yard run to pull Marietta within five points with 1:24 remaining, but Brookwood recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock.
Brookwood’s J.J. Silva made a 39-yard field goal to put the Broncos ahead 3-0 in the first quarter, but Marietta answered on the kickoff with a 92-yard return for a touchdown by Chase Arnold with 2:54 left in the quarter. Brookwood held a 10-7 halftime lead after a 10-yard touchdown pass from Lonergan to Alexander Diggs. Lonergan gave the Broncos a 17-7 lead with a 1-yard quarterback sneak at the 7:33 mark of the second quarter. Hughes answered nearly three minutes later with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Perry to pull the Blue Devils within four points, 17-13, which was the score heading into the fourth quarter.
Milton 42, McEachern 29
Quarterback Devin Farrell threw three touchdowns and rushed for a score for visiting Milton, which led just 16-13 at halftime but opened up a 42-16 lead early in the fourth quarter. Farrell opened the scoring on a 1-yard keeper on the game’s opening drive and threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Debron Gatling in the second quarter. After a 1-yard Jordan McDonald touchdown rush gave Milton a 23-13 lead in the third quarter, Farrell found Gatling again for a score, this time on a 28-yard pass to put the Eagles ahead 30-16. On the final play of the third quarter, Cam Cainion broke a slew of tackles and reversed field on a 61-yard touchdown run to give Milton a 36-16 lead. Farrell capped the scoring in the fourth quarter for Milton with a 36-yard touchdown pass to Jack Nickel after a Milton interception.
North Cobb 40, North Gwinnett 19
North Cobb quarterback Malachi Singleton accounted for six touchdowns in the Warriors’ home win. Singleton rushed for three touchdowns, the second of which was on a 34-yard run to put North Cobb ahead 13-0 in the first quarter. Singleton also threw three touchdown passes, all of them to receiver De’Nylon Morrissette. Singleton’s final touchdown run capped the scoring for the Warriors with 1:28 left in the third quarter and gave them a 40-12 lead. North Cobb led 26-9 at halftime.
Walton 31, Roswell 19
Sutton Smith set the tone for Walton with an 80-yard return for a touchdown on the opening kickoff of the Raiders’ Week 6 showdown with Roswell, and the home team held on through a late rally by the Hornets to come away with a 31-19 victory. Quarterback Zak Rozsman and junior Braylen Stokes each scored on the ground as well in the opening frame, and the Raiders took a 24-6 advantage into the second half. Back-to-back touchdown passes from Roswell quarterback KJ Smith cut Walton’s lead to 24-19 in the fourth quarter, but another Stokes TD run and Hefner Mustafa’s interception of Smith in the end zone sealed the victory.
Gainesville 20, Hillgrove 7
Gainesville got a pair of rushing touchdowns from quarterback Baxter Wright as well as two field goals from its kicker Alfredo Ruiz — all scored in the first three periods — in a key road win over Hillgrove on Friday night. The victory moved the Red Elephants to 4-1 on the year ahead of their Region 6 showdown with Lambert (4-1) next Friday.
Class 6A
Kennesaw Mountain 51, Lassiter 7
Kennesaw Mountain kept its perfect season alive (6-0, 4-0) with a dominant 51-7 victory over visiting Lassiter in Week 6, building a 38-0 lead before the break with a scoring onslaught that included a trio of touchdowns in the last five minutes of the second quarter. The first of Jah Welch’s scores (he found the end zone in the second half as well) and Turner Johnson’s 40-yard field goal put the Mustangs ahead 10-0 in the opening frame, and quarterback Cayman Prangley provided three scores in the second — a 49-yard keeper, and a pair of passes to Jailen Taylor for 64 and 56 yards). Bookended by the Prangley-to-Taylor touchdowns was a rushing score from Chance Arthur that followed Josiah Abrams’ interception.
Allatoona 35, Wheeler 13
Allatoona junior Tyler McGuire hit senior Bryce Herring on a touchdown pass to tie the game in the second quarter, and the Bucs took lead later in the frame with a 15-yard touchdown run by senior Marcus Taylor. Before the half could end, Wheeler reached the end zone again, but a blocked PAT kept Allatoona ahead 14-13. In the middle of the third, senior Cody King rushed 17 yards into the end zone to extend the lead, then scored again off an 8-yard rush early in the fourth. The Bucs’ last score came from a 46-yard touchdown pass from McGuire to AJ Fitts.
Brunswick 17, Glynn Academy 14 OT
Host Brunswick held off rival Glynn Academy in an overtime thriller to improve to 5-0 for the first time since 1999. Pat Leggett gave the Pirates an early 7-0 lead with a 14-yard touchdown run and Glynn Academy’s 32-yard field goal made it 7-3 at the half. Chuckobe Hill ran in a 4-yard touchdown on Brunswick’s opening possession of the second half to increase the lead to 14-3 and Glynn Academy answered later in the third quarter with a 23-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 14-6. The Terrors were able to tie the game with a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown and a successful two-point conversion before Brunswick secured the victory in overtime.
South Paulding 55, Dalton 48
Dalton quarterback Brady Pendley tossed five touchdown passes—three of which went to Karim Page — in a shootout Friday night, but the Catamounts still came up short against South Paulding. Both teams scored a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter, with a missed extra point from South Paulding being the difference-maker. The second saw each team score another touchdown, but this time a missed 2-point conversion put Dalton up 21-19. Dalton maintained momentum, quickly amassing a 34-19 lead, then 41-26, before South Paulding narrowed the deficit to 41-34 at halftime. The Trojans opened the second half with a quick score to tie the game, and the teams found themselves tied again midway through the fourth, but possession was in favor of South Paulding. The Spartans scored the game’s final touchdown from the 1-yard line with 1:21 left in the game and held on to seal the win.
Buford 41, Central Gwinnett 0
Buford rebounded from an out-of-state loss last week to shut out Central Gwinnett on the road. The Wolves were 8-of-8 passing for 163 yards for the game with starter Ashton Daniels going 7-of-7 with two touchdowns and Dylan Wittke completing his only attempt. Daniels opened the scoring with a 46-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Bond in the first quarter, and he threw the game’s final touchdown to Nathan Norys for 26 yards early in the third quarter. Bond caught three passes for 104 yards. C.J. Clinkscales scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter and a 6-yard run in the second quarter to help give Buford a 34-0 halftime lead. Buford’s Victor Venn rushed nine times for 97 yards and a 22-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Eli Parks scored on a 4-yard run in the second quarter.
Rome 45, Carrollton 27
Bryson Hill rushed for four touchdowns to lead Rome over Carrolton. Hill had touchdown runs of 80, 35, 15 and 10 yards and returned a punt for a touchdown. Rome quarterback Reece Fountain passed for a touchdown to DK Daniel and Gary Gonazalez kicked a field goal for Rome. Bryce Hicks rushed for touchdowns of 10 and three yards and caught a 57-yard touchdown pass from MJ Morris to lead Carrollton. Terrell Carmichael added an 88-yard kickoff return for the Trojans.
Class 5A
Coffee 10, Camden County 7
Host Coffee took a 3-0 lead after a scoreless first quarter with a 50-yard David Vaughn field goal. Camden County opened the second half with an 80-yard scoring drive that put the Wildcats up 7-3 heading into the final quarter. Coffee’s Matthew Adams hauled in a 55-yard touchdown pass to put the Trojans up 10-7 with 11:49 left and preserve their undefeated 5-0 start to the season.
Woodward Academy 29, Banneker 14
Woodward’s senior running back (and Auburn-commit) Damari Alston was unstoppable on Friday night, finishing with three rushing scores and one receiving touchdown to help the War Eagles cruise to a convincing road win against Banneker in Atlanta. Woodward’s defense also came up with a safety late to help keep the War Eagles’ perfect season (5-0) alive.
Class 4A
Marist 50, Harrison 28
Marist quarterback Champ Davis rushed for a score and threw two touchdown passes to Chandler Heath for the host War Eagles. Quinn Gooding and Cooper Felty both scored touchdowns and had interceptions on defense for Marist, and Andrew Mannelly also rushed for a score for the War Eagles. Walker Richens had an interception return for a touchdown to give Marist its largest lead, 43-7, in the third quarter. Marist led 29-7 at halftime.
North Oconee 28, Madison County 0
North Oconee’s Rod Finch and Dom Elder each scored a pair of rushing touchdowns to complement the Titans’ dominant defensive performance in a 28-0 region win at home against visiting Madison County. North Oconee will continue region play next week with a trip to Chestatee.
Jefferson 27, Flowery Branch 7
The Dragons found themselves on the board early with an 18-yard touchdown from Tre Reece, and Sammy Brown added a rushing score just before halftime for a 14-0 lead. Brown then put Jefferson ahead 21-0 with a 67-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, and the teams each added a fourth-quarter score for the game’s final tally.
Thomas County Central 24, Callaway 8
Thomas County Central led 17-0 at the half and was up 24-0 until Callway’s DeShun Coleman threw a touchdown pass to JT Burks with three minutes left. Samuel Brown rushed for a 15-yard touchdown and Persean Taylor added a pair of touchdown runs to pace Thomas County Central.
Benedictine 49, Ware County 42
Benedictine quarterback Holden Geriner rushed for three touchdowns and passed for three touchdowns to lift the Cadets past No. 2 ranked Ware County. Benedictine’s other touchdown came on Holden Sapp’s 55-yard interception return minutes into the third quarter that gave the Cadets a 28-14 lead. Ware County quarterback Thomas Castellanos rushed for two touchdowns and also threw two touchdowns and Cartevious Norton tallied two Gators touchdowns in the second half.
Class 3A
Dawson County 31, White County 28
Dawson County rallied back from a 28-14 deficit in the third quarter and scored the road win with Dylan Thompson’s game-winning 34-yard field goal with just 28 seconds left. White County’s Tripp Nix threw two touchdown passes to Darius Cannon. Teammate Bryson Cronic rushed for a 36-yard touchdown and a 1-yard touchdown that was set up by his interception. Dawson County remained in striking distance with Conley Dyer’s 43-yard rushing touchdown and Zach Holtzclaw’s 55-yard touchdown pass to Bailey Dameron that ultimately tied the game at 14-14 at the half. After White County went up 28-14, Holtzclaw found Dameron for the duo’s second touchdown and then tied the game with a 40-yard touchdown pass to Braedon Hubbard with 1:47 left in the third quarter. The game remained tied 28-28 until Thompson’s game-winning kick.
Adairsville 22, LaFayette 6
Adairsville quarterback Jonathan Gough finished the first half 7-of-9 passing and threw touchdown passes to Evan Sanders and Grayson Belcher to put the Tigers up 14-0. LaFayette’s points came off a 47 and 43-yard field goal by Jacob Brown and Eli Agnew ran in a 5-yard Adairsville touchdown that put the Tigers up 22-3.
Oconee County 35, Veterans 16
After trailing Veterans 10-0 late in the second quarter, Oconee County scored 35 unanswered points to take over the game and claim victory. The first points for the Warriors came off a 20-yard touchdown pass from Jacob Wright to Jake Johnson before the break to make it a 10-7 game. Oconee County took the lead in the third following a 2-yard rush into the end zone by CJ Jones, and Wright connected with Jack Ward on a 22-yard touchdown pass later in the quarter before hitting Johnson twice more for two fourth-quarter scores to put the game away.
North Murray 27, Sonoraville 20
A Shawn Myers interception set up Judson Petty for a North Murray touchdown that gave the Mountaineers an early 6-0 lead. Quarterback Seth Griffin found Jadyn Rice and Michael McDade for first-half touchdowns to increase North Murray’s lead to 19-7. Sonoraville’s touchdown came on a 28-yard pass from Jaxon Pate to Brant Bryant. Petty added a 4-yard rushing touchdown with 7:11 left in the third quarter to put North Murray up 27-7. Sonoraville cut into the deficit with a Wyatt Springfield touchdown run and a Pate touchdown pass to Tanner Hicks with 3:40 left before North Murray was able to run out the clock.
North Hall 38, West Hall 14
North Hall stormed to a 38-0 lead midway through the third quarter. Kevin Rochester rushed for four touchdowns in the first half and teammate Austin Atha scored on a 5-yard run to build a 35-0 halftime lead. Luke Brown tacked on a 51-yard field goal in the third quarter to give North Hall a commanding 38-0 lead.
Greater Atlanta Christian 24, Westminster 18
Greater Atlanta Christian picked up its first victory of the season after outlasting Westminster. Will Hardy made two interceptions in the victory. GAC led 7-3 at the end of the first quarter, 14-10 at the half and entering the fourth quarter.
Sandy Creek 56, Douglass 7
Geimere Latimer passed to John Hopson for a touchdown and a 2-point conversion to open scoring and Sandy Creek never looked back. Patriots defender Pryor Shelton scored on a 30-yard touchdown return after a blocked punt, pushing the lead. Latimer passed to Kaleb Cost for a touchdown with two minutes left in the first quarter to extend. Early in the second quarter Latimer found Dorian Graham II on a 30-yard touchdown pass to give Sandy Creek a 34-0 lead. Another Patriot touchdown pass with four minutes before the half helped put the game further out of reach. Travis Franklin’s 26-yard touchdown run with one minute before the half and a 15-yard pass from Latimer to Miles Thornton was insurance.
Class 2A
Columbia 34, Towers 6
Rocye Tolbert rushed for three touchdowns, including a 75-yard scamper that gave Columbia a 21-0 lead. Quarterback Elijah Morgan completed two touchdown passes to Jaden Baugh in the second half that built the lead to 34-6.
Chattooga 49, Model 21
Chattooga’s Lashaun Lester rushed for three touchdowns and Nic Hester scored on a 49-yard run that put the Indians up 42-14 at the end of the third quarter. Chattooga’s Brody Mobbs also connected with Jaylon Johnson for two touchdown passes in the victory.
Class A Private
Wesleyan 42, Loganville Christian 7
The Wolves rebounded from last week’s loss to Prince Avenue and picked up their third win of the season with a sound victory over Loganville Christian. Wesleyan struck first with a pair of unanswered first-quarter touchdowns, including a rushing score from junior Will Tucker. In the second, the Wolves hit it big off a 90-yard screen pass from quarterback Jett Miller to Tucker for the score. Loganville Christian chipped into the lead with a pick-six, but the Wolves responded with another touchdown from Miller to Reed Purcell. Miller found senior James Hufham for a 5-yard touchdown before the half could end to go up 35-7, and Wesleyan scored its last touchdown in the third on a pass from Miller to junior Thomas Cook.
Athens Academy 45, Hebron 13
The Spartans were first on the board with a quarterback sneak by junior Sam Bush, but the Lions tied the game before heading into the second quarter. Junior Tre Hawkins helped regain the lead for Athens Academy with a 5-yard touchdown run, which was followed by a trick play that saw sophomore quarterback Whit Muschamp throw behind himself to Bush, who then threw a 67-yard touchdown to Pratt Ferguson to go up 21-7. Bush extended the lead to 28-7 with another quarterback sneak before halftime, and he struck again on the first play of the second half with a dart to Asa Drudge for a long touchdown before Muschamp checked into the game and threw the last Spartan TD of the night to KJ Whitehead.
Fellowship Christian 40, St. Francis 7
Fellowship Christian led 30-0 at the half and took a 40-0 lead into the fourth quarter. Nick Persiano put the Paladins up 13-0 with a pair of touchdown runs. Josh Milhollin returned an interception for a touchdown in the second quarter and Caleb McMickle threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Josh Cole. Garrett Wagner tacked on a 3-yard rushing score in the third quarter and Nathan Chapman made a 25 and 33-yard field goal in the victory.
Class A Public
Irwin County 21, Brooks County 13
Host Irwin County defeated Brooks County in a rematch of last year’s 27-19 victory in the Class A Public championship game. The Indians racked up 272 rushing yards with Damarkas Lundy tallying a game-high 91 yards off 18 carries. Marcus Edwards’ accounted for 71 yards with two touchdowns and Cody Soliday also rushed for a touchdown to pace Irwin County. Brooks County was led by Omari Arnold—who finished with 69 yards off 15 carries and a touchdown. Brooks County’s other points came on a Willie Brown touchdown reception.
Round ups from Thursday’s games below
5A
Whitewater 40, Northside-Columbus 6
Northside-Columbus took an early—and brief—lead in its region opener against Whitewater, but the visiting Wildcats outscored the Patriots 40-0 the rest of the way to earn their fourth-straight victory and hand their Region 2 foe its first loss of the season. Region play will continue next week for both programs, with Whitewater hosting Griffin (2-2, 2-0) and Northside traveling to McIntosh (1-4, 0-2).
Calhoun 31, Cedartown 7
Calhoun seized control of what had been a tightly-contested matchup with Cedartown right before the break to coast to a comfortable 31-7 win and hand the visiting Bulldogs their first loss of the season. Yellow Jackets quarterback Christian Lewis capitalized on a recovered Cedartown fumble late in the second quarter with a 36-yard TD on a screen pass for a 17-7 advantage, then connected with Quin Smith for a 95-yard touchdown on Calhoun’s first drive of the second half.
Griffin 40, McIntosh 0
The Griffin defense remained stifling throughout its matchup with McIntosh, and its offense found its groove in the second quarter to hand the visiting Chiefs a 40-0 Week 6 loss. The Bears improve to 2-2 on the season and 2-0 in Region 2 play with the shutout victory and will travel to Whitewater next week.
4A
Troup County 38, Columbus 14
Visiting Columbus scored early in the third quarter to cut Troup County’s lead to three points (17-14), but the Tigers ended the game with three unanswered touchdowns to improve to 4-1 on the season and 3-0 in Region 2 play. The home team built a 17-0 lead with a first-quarter Cody Bray field goal, a rushing score by Javari Fannin, and a 24-yarder from quarterback Tyson Duncan to Iyvon Hargrow before Columbus ended the first half and started the second with touchdowns. The Blue Devils failed to stop Duncan’s completion to TJ Mitchell on 4th-and-long on the following Troup possession, however, which ended with Mitchell in the end zone. Mitchell scored again on a 30-yard run in the fourth quarter, and Fannin added a late 11-yard TD run for the final points of the night. Bray went 5-of-5 on PATs.
Perry 49, Rutland 7
Four second-quarter touchdowns gave No. 3 ranked Perry a 35-0 advantage at halftime of its Week 6 matchup with Region 4 foe Rutland, and the visiting Panthers cruised to a 49-7 victory to remain undefeated. Daequan Wright put Perry on the board in the opening frame on a wildcat carry, and quarterback Armar Gordon connected with Wright for a 25-yard touchdown just seconds into the second quarter. Dakarai Anderson ran in the successful 2-point conversion attempt for the 15-0 lead, then hauled in a pass from Gordon following Caleb Wilson’s red-zone interception of Rutland for another score. The Panthers defense came up with another takeaway moments later, and Casson Clark capitalized with a trip to the end zone. Just before the break, Gordon found Brantley Gibson for his second touchdown pass of the night.
3A
Liberty County 22, Johnson-Savannah 20 (OT)
Liberty County’s successful 2-point conversion in overtime gave the visiting Panthers their first win of the season. Johnson’s Amarion Scott found the end zone on the Atom Smasher’s overtime drive, but quarterback Keon Edwards was stopped short on the 2-point attempt. With the window open for Liberty County, quarterback Carlos Singleton connected with Paul Brown for a 14-yard completion to the 1-yard line, and Mason Diaz ran in the ball on the next play and on the 2-point conversion. Marques Johnson led the Panthers’ run game with 108 yards on 15 carries, including a 51-yard touchdown run, and Nolan Bacon finished with 132 yards on 19 carries and a score for the Atom Smashers.
2A
Temple 41, BEST Academy 16
Visiting Temple got its first win of the season with a comfortable 41-16 victory over A-Public’s BEST Academy. The Tigers, who are now 1-3 on the year and 0-1 in region play, have a home game next week against Region 5 foe Heard County, and the Eagles will host Lakeside-Atlanta out of Class
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