Archive for the ‘Playoff1’ Category

By S. Thomas Coleman
For the AJC

Cole Seagraves traveled four hours away from home to find redemption.

Colquitt County’s senior quarterback passed for a school-record 354 yards and rushed for another 46 as the Packers (8-3), the fourth seed from Region 1AAAAAA, held on to edge McEachern (8-3), 30-28, at Walter H. Cantrell Stadium in Powder Springs.

Seagraves was once one of the state’s hottest recruits as a junior. But when he struggled early this season, he was replaced as the starter and eventually ended up in a platoon at the position with junior Daniel Mobley. But with Mobley out with a shoulder injury, the job was all Seagraves on Friday night. He did not disappoint.

He hit on his first seven passes in leading the Packers to a 14-10 lead early in the second quarter. On its first possession, after McEachern began the scoring with a 39-yard field goal by Dennis Dominquez, Colquitt marched 76 yards in nine plays out of a variety of spread formations. Seagraves …

Continue reading Colquitt County 30, McEachern 28 »

By Score Atlanta

Brookwood stormed back from deficits of 21-0 in the first half and 21-6 in the fourth quarter to stun host Lassiter 24-21. Brandon Morrow kicked two field goals to keep the Broncos within striking distance, and they struck with a vengeance in the final six minutes.

Josh Brown rushed for a touchdown, Zach Moon added a 2-point conversion, then Moon tossed a game-tying scoring pass to Ky Priester with eight seconds remaining. After forcing overtime, Brookwood maintained its momentum with an interception by Colin Cotter. That set up Morrow’s third field goal of the game, the clincher from 32 yards out.

Camden County 52, Hillgrove 17: Visiting Hillgrove led Camden County 10-7 in the second, but Camden County would score 35 unanswered points to regain the lead. Antonio Wimbush scored three rushing touchdowns to fuel the Camden County rally. Senior J.J. Green added a 73-yard touchdown run for the victorious Wildcats.

East Coweta 25, Newton 20: Visiting East Coweta …

Continue reading AAAAAA roundup »

By Score Atlanta

Allatoona 24, Heritage-Conyers 21: Visiting Heritage led twice, but could not hold on. Quarterback Jeremy Uzee scored on a quarterback sneak and threw a touchdown pass to Clarence Soleberry. T.J. Herron scored Allatoona’s other touchdown on an 8-yard run. Heritage-Conyers missed a 47-yard field goal with 30 seconds remaining to tie the contest.

Harris County 31 Northgate 14: Host Harris County led by 10 at the half and was able to hold on to that lead and advance. Cornerback Taquon Marshall intercepted a first quarter pass and took it in for a touchdown for Harrison County’s opening score. Running back Esais Chatman led the way with 205 yards and added two touchdowns.

Kell 19, Southwest DeKalb 14: Julian Burris hauled in a 48-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matthew McGuigan to give the host Longhorns the lead with just 25 seconds left. Running back Khalil Bell scored on a 5-yard run and Brendan Langley caught a 28-yard pass from McGuigan to lead Kell …

Continue reading AAAAA roundup »

By Score Atlanta

Grady 27, River Ridge 17: Grady managed to hold off River Ridge, which had pulled to within 21-17 late in the fourth quarter after trailing 21-7. Quarterback Kivon Taylor iced it for the visitors with a 1-yard touchdown run. Jamond Glass added an interception return for Grady and Hakeem Todd rushed for a 37-yard score.

Marist 56, Gilmer 0: Marist quarterback Myles Willis ran for an 83-yard score and threw for two more as the host War Eagles rolled. Gray King got the scoring started with a 42-yard run in the first quarter. Marist led 35-0 at the half. Gilmer mustered just 87 total yards of offense. Marist rushed for 378 yards, led by Willis’ 133.

Ridgeland 45, Washington 21: Ridgeland broke open a 17-14 game at the intermission by extending its lead over Washington with a huge second half. Darrell Bridges ran wild for host Ridgeland with 202 yards and five touchdowns on 22 carries. He had scoring runs of six, eight, 11, 15 and 39 yards. Noah Cooper added 87 …

Continue reading AAAA roundup »

By Score Atlanta

Blessed Trinity 35, White County 14: In a rematch of a 21-19 regular-season thriller, Blessed Trinity prevailed in more convincing fashion over White County. With home-field advantage this time, Blessed Trinity got 256 passing yards and two scores from Spencer McManes. Nathaniel Maggio caught both touchdowns while C.J. Brazil added 104 receiving yards. Sam Roberts had two interceptions for the Titans.

Buford 41, Cedar Grove 27: Montgomery VanGorder threw three touchdowns to lead host Buford past Cedar Grove. VanGorder connected with Mikey Bart from nine yards out in the second quarter then tossed 28-yard and 44-yard scoring strikes to Jaylen Mize and David Curry, respectively, in the second half. Deion Sellers had two rushing touchdowns and a kickoff return for a score to keep Cedar Grove competitive.

Johnson-Savannah 32, Chapel Hill 23: Running back Corbin Mitchell scored on a 43-yard touchdown run to give the visiting Atom Smashers a comfortable lead with …

Continue reading AAA roundup »

By Score Atlanta

Calhoun 42, Wesleyan 10: The visiting Wolves were no match for Calhoun, which raced to a 35-3 halftime lead. Wesleyan was led by quarterback Will Anderson, who had 150 passing yards and one touchdown. Linebacker Rhett Delk added eight tackles and kicked a field goal for the Wolves in defeat.

Lovett 27, Coosa 0: Lovett rolled up 374 total yards, including 293 on the ground. Lovett quarterback Willie Candler threw for 81 yards and rushed for 82. Candler threw one touchdown pass, a 24-yarder to Arthur Winborne. Grant Haley ran for 85 yards, including a 14-yarder to open the scoring.

Westminster 34, Pepperell 0: Westminster posted its first shutout of the season as it rolled over host Pepperell. A dominant defensive showing also featured interception returns for touchdowns by Harrison Woodward and Joe Bridges. Connor Bennett opened the scoring for Westminster with a 25-yard touchdown run and quarterback Jake Forte added a 2-yard scoring plunge in the fourth quarter.

Continue reading AA roundup »

By Robert Haddocks

With their big-play weapons, South Gwinnett torched Milton for four first-half touchdowns, but was held scoreless with only one first down in the second. But the Comets defense was up to the task and held off a rally by Milton to win 27-20 and advance to the second round of the Class AAAAAA playoffs.

No. 2 seed South Gwinnett (9-2) will travel to No. 1 Norcross (11-0) Friday.

Down seven points with 1:32 left, Milton mounted a drive, but with 22 seconds left on first down at the Comets 35, Reggie Carter sacked quarterback A.J. Bush to preserve the victory. The Georgia-bound linebacker was all over the field and came up with several stops, none bigger than his last.

“Big time players make big time plays in big games,” South Gwinnett coach John Small said. “He always seems to come up big at the right time.”

Carter was not alone. South Gwinnett was considerably smaller than the Eagles, whose starting offensive line averages 285 pounds, but the Comets …

Continue reading South Gwinnett 27 Milton 20 »

By David Purdum / For the AJC

Jacorey Lewis rushed for 343 yards and scored five touchdowns, but Mill Creek needed a 25-yard field goal from Bryson King with seven seconds to play to advance past resilient Alpharetta, 41-39, Friday in first-round playoff action.

Trailing for the first time all night, Mill Creek converted a 4th-and-10 from its own 16 en route to setting up King’s winning kick. King had a kick blocked earlier and also was thwarted by a botched snap on a field-goal attempt, but the sophomore was pure on the winning kick.

Alpharetta (7-4) took its first lead, 39-38, on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Josh Dobbs to Daniel Clements, followed by a two-point conversion from Dobbs to Adam Schildhammer with two minutes to play.

But a banged-up Raiders’ defense couldn’t come up with a stop when it needed it most. Alpharetta lost star defensive end Naim Mustafaa, a Georgia commitment, to a leg injury in the second quarter and also played without suspended receiver …

Continue reading Mill Creek 41, Alpharetta 39 »

By Michael Alpert

For the AJC

Fourth-ranked North Gwinnett’s quick-strike second quarter keyed its 49-19 win over visiting Johns Creek in the first round of the Class AAAAAA playoffs.

The Bulldogs’ victory in their ninth consecutive season in the playoffs advanced them to face Grayson in next week’s second round, where their playoff run ended last year against against Colquitt County.

Increasingly, coach Bob Sphire senses his Bulldogs can rival their best-ever season of 2007, when they reached the AAAAA final against Lowndes.

“These kids know the deal,” said Sphire, who has coached North to at least the quarterfinals four times in his seven seasons. “They know what it takes to win at this point in the season.”

The Gladiators (8-3) matched North’s first-quarter touchdown with one early in the second, but couldn’t stop the Bulldogs (9-1) from scoring on their first three possessions of the second quarter — all on passes — and turning a 7-7 tie into a 28-7 halftime advantage they …

Continue reading North Gwinnett 49, Johns Creek 19 »

It turns out, M.L. King has been hiding quite a quarterback on its bench.

In just his second start, Roland Rivers stepped in for the injured Monquavious Johnson and went 16-of-21 for 337 yards and four touchdowns – running for one more – to lead the Lions to a 34-14 win over Sequoyah (7-4) in the first round of the Class AAAAA playoffs.

Except for one self-destructing drive that ended up handing the ball back to Sequoyah 8 yards from the end zone and resulted in the Chiefs’ first score, the Rivers-led Lions (11-0) were unstoppable through the first half and into the second.

MLK scored touchdowns on four of its first five possessions, with Rivers having a hand in all four, three through the air and one on the ground. The biggest beneficiary of Rivers’ impressive debut was Demarquis Polite-Bray, who had six catches for 190 yards and two touchdowns, from 58 and 71 yards out. Donald Clark added four catches for 85 yards and two scores of 34 and 58 yards.

“Once MJ …

Continue reading M.L. King 34, Sequoyah 14 »

The playoff drought is over for North Cobb.

The Warriors intercepted Valdosta quarterback Shelby Wilkes five times, including three in the decisive second quarter, and went on to rout the visiting Wildcats 42-14 Friday in the first round of the Class AAAAAA playoffs.

It was the first victory in the state playoffs for North Cobb since 1959, when it beat Dade in the Class C semifinals. North Cobb’s last postseason victory came against Wheeler in a region playoff game in 1979. The Warriors had been 0-12 in the playoffs since.

North Cobb (9-2), the No. 2 seed from Region 4-AAAAAA, will play its second-round game at Langston Hughes next weekend. Valdosta, the No. 3 seed from Region 1, finishes the season at 7-4.

North Cobb broke the game open with three touchdowns in seven minutes late in the first half to take a 28-7 lead and wasn’t threatened the rest of the way.

Cameron Albright intercepted Wilkes and returned it 18 yards for a touchdown with 8:28 to play in the half, giving …

Continue reading North Cobb 42, Valdosta 14 »

Derrick Craine ran for 212 yards and scored all three Wolverine touchdowns, and Union Grove held off the Bearcats inside the 10 in the game’s final minute to move on in the playoffs.

Bainbridge fumbled near midfield on the game’s opening possession, and from there Union Grove assembled a nine-play drive to get the ball into the end zone. Craine scored from 17 yards out to give the Wolverines the early lead.

The Bearcats’ Cameron McDowell intercepted a long pass at the 50 and returned it all the way to the Union Grove 14. Seven plays later, quarterback McDowell scored on a 1-yard keeper to even the game in the first minute of the second quarter.

Charles Valentine returned the ensuing kickoff 70 yards to the Bainbridge 27 but the Wolverines could not capitalize on that drive or another before halftime inside the 30. The Bearcats started their last two first-half drives inside their own 5, although the second one came after another interception that stopped a Union Grove …

Continue reading Union Grove 21, Bainbridge 14 »

It wasn’t perfect for Sandy Creek, but it was close enough.

The No. 1-ranked Patriots moved at will all night and routed visiting Eastside 55-0 Friday night in the first round of the Class AAAA playoffs.

Sandy Creek (11-0) rolled up 669 total yards, including 489 rushing, in a game that finished with a running clock under GHSA mercy rules.

Tailback Delvin Weems led the Sandy Creek offensive parade, rushing for 221 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries. Fellow runner Eric Swinney finished with 145 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 13 carries.

“It was all on the line,” said Weems. “The holes were just wide open.”

Eastside (7-4), just one week removed from a 35-0 win over then-unbeaten Monroe Area, finished with 174 total yards and moved inside the Sandy Creek 30-yard line just once.

Sandy Creek wasted two first-half possessions with turnovers but it hardly mattered.

Quarterback Cole Garvin completed 13 of 17 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns, both to senior …

Continue reading Sandy Creek 55, Eastside 0 »

There were several times Friday when St. Piux X defenders had problems keeping track of Dawson County receivers, but the Tigers never figured out a way to slow SPX fullback Ryan Braswell or the Golden Lions as St. Pius won 72-28 at George B. Maloof Stadium.

Braswell ran for four touchdowns, junior Nick Ruffin ran for two and added an interception, and the Golden Lions had three 100-yard rushers while racking up a school-record 525 rushing yards as No. 7 St. Pius (9-2) rolled in a run vs. pass game. The Lions had 538 yards  of total offense on 51 plays, an average of 10.6 per snap.

Dawson County (6-5) came out throwing, and senior quarterback Tyler Dominy passed for 309 yards and four touchdowns – three to Bruce Clark.

But St. Pius scored the first nine times it had the ball and added a special teams score as well in a 100-point first round AAA state playoff game. The only time the Lions didn’t score when they had the ball came in the final minute, when time …

Continue reading St. Pius X 72, Dawson County 28 »

Carver-Atlanta bowed out of the Class AAAA playoffs Friday, losing 17-14 to Dalton at Lakewood Stadium in Atlanta.

Catamounts linebacker Robert Hardaway sacked quarterback Jordan Holden on fourth down to stop the Panthers’ last-minute drive and preserve the win. Carver had driven from its own 12-yard line into Dalton territory with less than three minutes to play.

Aside from a two-point conversion in the second quarter, Holden did not play for the first three quarters. He entered the game after Daniel Palacios gave the Catamounts the lead for good with a 31-yard field goal to open the final period.

Tevish Clark started ahead of Holden, who had led the team to nine wins and thrown for 1,290 yards and eight touchdowns this season.

“We felt like Tevish would give us the best chance to win this week because he is more of a run-pass threat,” Carver coach Darren Myles said.

Carver lost top rushers Montavious Taylor and Derrick Johnson to leg injuries in the second quarter. …

Continue reading Dalton 17, Carver-Atlanta 14 »