Archive for the ‘Playoff2’ Category

By Score Atlanta

Camden County 34, East Coweta 14: Visiting East Coweta could not contain Camden County’s J.J. Green, who scored two touchdowns to become school’s leading scorer. Camden County’s Antonio Wimbush scored on a 67-yard run in the third quarter. Quarterback Brice Ramsey threw a 25-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter for the hosts.

Colquitt County 26 Newnan 23: Visiting Newnan answered an early 12-0 lead with a Rodney Tennie 20-yard interception return for a touchdown and a Bailey Bryant touchdown pass to J.K. Britt. Colquitt County got a valuable late first half field goal to reclaim the lead. A John Boatwright 18-yard touchdown run would give Colquitt County just enough to edge Newnan.

Lovejoy 36, Marietta 15: Host Lovejoy fell behind 8-0 in the first quarter before scoring 29 unanswered points. Quarterback Alejandro Benefield threw for 152 yards and three touchdowns. Brandon Davis iced the victory when he intercepted a pass in the end zone and returned it …

Continue reading AAAAAA roundup »

By Score Atlanta

Gainesville 61, Kell 42: Visiting Gainesville overcame a 35-21 deficit at the half and outscored Kell by 33 points in the second half. Deshaun Watson carried the offense and accounted for eight touchdowns for Gainesville. T. K. Mize added the other score on an interception returned for a touchdown. Fred Payne also added an interception that led to a Watson touchdown.

Tucker 40, North Paulding 21: Host Tucker amassed 530 rushing yards rushing to dispatch North Paulding. Quarterback Juwaan Williams rushed nine times for 140 yards and three scores. Dallas Rivers had a 90-yard touchdown run and Dominik Sanders scored from 75 yards out. Elijah Sullivan carried the ball four times for 28 yards and a touchdown.

Ware County 20, Union Grove 13: Ware County weathered a late surge by visiting Union Grove late in the fourth quarter. Union Grove scored with six minutes to go on a 2-yard run to pull within a score, but Ware County was able to run out the clock. Xavier …

Continue reading AAAAA roundup »

By Score Atlanta

Monroe Area 21, Grady 20: The Purple Hurricanes overcame the turnover bug to defeat Grady in overtime. Grady’s first score came courtesy of an 80-yard defensive fumble return. Monroe Area fought back down by 14 and tied it up with an 80-yard scoring march in the third quarter. In overtime, Monroe Area quarterback Stanton Truitt plunged in from 1-yard out to give the Hurricanes the victory.

Ridgeland 41, LaGrange 34: Bill Bridges led host Ridgeland with 249 yards on 30 carries. Bridges also tallied three rushing touchdowns. The game was tied at 21 at the half and Ridgeland led 35-28 entering the fourth quarter. A Vonn Bell touchdown run of 21 yards with 9:50 remaining turned out to be the game-winning score.

Continue reading AAAA roundup »

By Score Atlanta

Buford 13, North Oconee 0: Matthew Bonadies kicked 42- and 47-yard field goals for host Buford. A North Oconee fumble was caused by a merciless Buford defense, then Taylor Mitchell found Mikey Bart for a 20-yard touchdown before the half. Neither team scored in the second half.

Cartersville 24, Blessed Trinity 23: Host Cartersville used an interception by Brandon Wells with two seconds remaining on a fake field goal to seal the win. Kalin Heath scored from 20 yards out and Preston Slemp added a 30-yard field goal in the first half. Brandon Long put Cartersville ahead 17-7 on a 5-yard run. Quarterback Brooks Barden scored on a 1-yard run to put Lovejoy on top for good.

Continue reading AAA roundup »

By Score Atlanta

Greater Atlanta Christian 52, Heard County 21: Visiting Greater Atlanta Christian pitched a shut out in the second half to pull the upset of previously-unbeaten Heard County. Kyle Scales paced Greater Atlanta Christian by rushing for four scores of five, seven, five and six yards. Peter Whiteneck hauled in touchdown grabs of nine, 28 and 59 yards from quarterback Rafe Chapple.

Jefferson 35, Westminster 7: Jefferson senior quarterback Bryant Shirreffs ran for 248 yards and went 6-for-8 passing for 81 yards with a 12-yard touchdown strike to sophomore receiver Dalton Hill. Shirreffs bolted 56 yards in the fourth quarter to put the Wildcats away. On the defensive side of the ball, junior Hanon Price lead the Dragons with eight solo tackles.

Lovett 23, Manchester 0: Lovett quarterback Willie Candler totaled 179 total yards and ran for two touchdowns to lead the hosts. Lovett led 6-0 at the half after Candler’s 1-yard run and 9-0 after three quarters, but scored …

Continue reading AA roundup »

By Score Atlanta

Athens Academy 17, Mt. Pisgah 13: Athens Academy fell into a 13-0 deficit in the first half but would score 17 unanswered points. Host Athens Academy’s Austin Schulte was responsible for the two touchdowns. Schulte rushed one yard for a score and threw a 61-yard touchdown pass to Eric Williams for the other.

Landmark Christian 10, Calvary Day 7: Visiting Landmark Christian was propelled by 289 yards of offense and a stout defense. The Landmark Christian defense held Calvary Day scoreless until the last 13 seconds of the game. Jeremiah Kirkland rushed 31 times for 187 yards and a touchdown for the victors.

Savannah Christian 35, Holy Innocents’ 17: Host Savannah Christian was in control from the start, leading 28-3 at the half. Jalen Myrick rushed for a touchdown and also scored a defensive touchdown via a fumble. Savannah Christian rushed for 315 yards and did not attempt a pass for the duration of the contest.

Continue reading Class A roundup »

By S. Thomas Coleman
For The AJC

In a game befitting two of the best programs in the state, Marist outlasted Carrollton, 43-37, in five overtimes to advance to the Class AAAA quarterfinals.

Senior quarterback Myles Willis sprinted in from 15 yards out on the first play of the fifth overtime, and then the War Eagle defense kept Carrollton out of the end zone to preserve the win.

The trip to the third round will be the first for the War Eagles (11-1) since 2008, when they went all the way to the state finals before bowing out to Tucker, 15-3. Carrollton (8-4) was denied its fifth trip to the quarterfinals in the last seven seasons.

The contest was an even battle throughout, with each team converting key first downs to keep drives going, but also coming up with stops to prevent scores as well.

With the game tied at 13 late in the fourth quarter, Carrollton came up with what at the time was the stop of the game when the Trojans forced Marist to punt from the War Eagles’ 33 yard …

Continue reading Marist 43, Carrollton 37 (5 OTs) »

Running back Evan Jones and quarterback Justin Holman provided the touchdowns, but it was the Stephenson defense that made the difference as the Jaguars pulled away in the second half for a 35-6 victory over East Paulding in the second round of the Class AAAAA playoffs Friday in Dallas.

Jones rushed for 171 yards on 22 carries and scored two second-half touchdowns, and Holman had a touchdown run and a TD pass for Stephenson, which advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2006. It was the first road playoff victory for in school history for Stephenson (9-2), the runner-up in Region 6-AAAAA.

East Paulding (11-1) was the Region 5-AAAAA champion and trying to reach the quarterfinals for the third consecutive season. The Raiders fell one game short of tying the school record for victories.

East Paulding came in averaging 394 yards per game, but it was limited to 150 total yards and only 37 in the second half by Stephenson. East Paulding ran 12 plays on its first four …

Continue reading Stephenson 35, East Paulding 6 »

By Michael Alpert

For the AJC

Grayson entered Friday’s second-round game of the Class AAAAAA playoffs with a more renowned defense than visiting North Gwinnett.

But it was North’s that stood firmer and turned three fumble recoveries and an interception into a 28-10 victory and a quarterfinal date next week at Lovejoy.

“We’re not as good on defensively (as we are offensively), but we’ve been scrappy,” North coach Bob Sphire said. “You’ve got to make plays when you have a chance, especially in a game like this at this point in the season.”

Dante Sawyer’s fumble recovery and interception led North’s defense, which forced Grayson to put the ball on the ground nine times and lose three, as well as throw the interception. Preston Green and Bobby Young also chipped in recoveries.

North scored on its first five possessions, the first and third of which began with takeaways. Methodically, with four field goals, then two touchdowns and a safety, the No. 4 Bulldogs (11-1) avenged their …

Continue reading North Gwinnett 28, Grayson 10 »

It was bend but don’t break for M.L. King. Until they broke.

Allatoona could only get two field goals out of drives of 14 and 13 plays in the first half,  but the Buccaneers got two big touchdowns late to upset the Lions 20-19 in the Class AAAAA second round.

The final drive was the biggest one for the No. 10-ranked Bucs (11-1), who had spent most of the game moving the ball on offense but repeatedly running into a stubborn MLK Red Zone defense.

But a couple of fourth-down conversions on the previous scoring drive seemed to give Allatoona some confidence, and the Bucs trailed the No. 2-ranked Lions 19-13 when they got the ball at their own 27-yard line with 3:45 left.

When quarterback Jeremy Uzee was sacked at his own 25, though, leaving the Bucs with a third and 12, the Lions appeared to have them on the ropes.

Uzee was at his best late, however, and he hit Clarence Soleberry for 25 yards and an Allatoona first down. Four plays later, following what many of the MLK players …

Continue reading Allatoona 20, MLK 19 »

North Cobb running back J’Vonte Herrod scored five touchdowns in leading the Warriors over Langston Hughes 42-14 Friday night in Fairburn.

The junior’s third rushing touchdown came with 16 seconds left in the third quarter, when he sprinted past the Panther defense from 38 yards out to put his team ahead 35-14. He caught a 15-yard pass from quarterback Tyler Queen earlier in the quarter to go along with two rushing scores in the first half.

“We thought he could do that all along,” North Cobb head coach Shane Queen said. “In the last few games he’s really grown up. His potential is sky high.”

His fourth rushing touchdown, a 3-yard plunge, came with 9:22 to play. Herrod finished 158 yards rushing on 21 carries and helped the Warriors (10-2) reach the state quarterfinals in football for the first time since 1979.

“This is great for the school and the community,” Queen said. “We pulled up tonight and 200 fans were waiting on us. That fired the kids up.” …

Continue reading North Cobb 42, Langston Hughes 14 »

Continue reading Norcross 27, South Gwinnett 7 »

Senior fullback Ryan Braswell scored two touchdowns and St. Pius X beat Hart County 31-15 Friday night to return to the state Class AAA quarterfinals for the second straight year and for the third time in four seasons, but Golden Lions head coach Paul Standard had a suffer a few surprises on the way.

Braswell, the Lions’ leading rusher and scorer with 1,359 yards and 25 touchdowns, left the game with a sprained shoulder late in the first quarter, and once his pads came off there was anxiety among SPX fans George B. Maloof Stadium.

Add the fact that the Lions (10-2) couldn’t keep Hart County quarterback Dakota Mitchell in check, and this game was more tense than the final score would indicate. Mitchell finished with 124 rushing yards, two rushing scores and 134 passing yards and Standard was mildly surprised so see him play so much because he’d been limited recently by injury.

Ultimately, the Lions’ ground game won out as they went on to rush 52 times for 349 …

Continue reading St. Pius X 31, Hart County 15 »

Cobb County teams went 2-2 against Region 1-AAAAAA in the first round of the playoffs last week. Now Coweta County gets a turn, but it’s unlikely to fare as well against the south Georgia powers. Look for Camden County and Colquitt County to get past East Coweta and Newnan to reach the quarterfinals, where they’ll be joined by Grayson, Lovejoy, Mill Creek, Norcross, North Cobb and West Forsyth. And expect M.L. King, Tucker and East Paulding to win the Region 5 vs. Region 6 battles in Class AAAAA.

Congratulations go out to Joel Norris of Lawrenceville, who was last week’s winner in the High School Football Pickoff contest. Norris was the only contestant to correctly pick the winner in 13 of 15 games. Click here to sign up and participate in this week’s contest.

THE WEEKEND PREDICTIONS

Last week: 62-18 (.775); Playoffs: 62-18 (.775); Overall: 1,593-342 (.823)

CLASS AAAAAA

Winner##Loser

Camden Co.##East Coweta

Colquitt Co.##Newnan

Grayson##North …

Continue reading Predictions: Camden, Colquitt to advance past Coweta teams »

Several playoff teams are hoping to get key plays back from the injured list this week.
North Oconee quarterback Nick Colvin, a preseason all-state pick, and defensive back John Jarrard left with first-half injuries last week and did not return their teams’ 37-14 victory over Ringgold. North Oconee plays at home Friday against Buford, which has played its last two games without injured running back Dontravious Wilson, a Western Kentucky recruit who is Buford’s leading rusher.
Newnan quarterback Bailey Bryant was 9-of-10 passing for 117 yards in the 38-0 victory over Alcovy but did not return after a suffering a shoulder injury in the third quarter.
Chris Tutt, quarterback for No. 1-ranked Thomson of Class AAA, was injured on the first play of last week’s 27-3 victory over Jackson and didn’t return. Malcolm Parrish, quarterback for No. 2-ranked Brooks County of AA, played with an ankle injury in the second half of a victory last week but didn’t seem like …

Continue reading Several playoff teams hoping to get injured players back for second round »