Sports
FROM THE PREP ZONE BLOGS AT AJC.COM
The high school bloggers at ajc.com include Todd Holcomb (Class AAAAAA), Chip Saye (AAAAA), David Purdum (AAAA), Stan Awtrey (AAA), Adam Krohn (AA) and S. Thomas Coleman (A).
Class AAAAAA
Marietta scored the upset of the night Friday in AAAAAA with a victory against eighth-ranked North Cobb. The Blue Devils’ Ian Shannon kicked a 49-yard field goal with two seconds left to win 24-21.
Although both teams are 7-2, the outcome didn’t have great significance on the Region 4 standings.
North Cobb (6-1 in region play) can still clinch the title — which would be the school’s fifth in history and first since 2007 — with a victory next week against Campbell (4-5). Meanwhile, Marietta (5-2 in the region) still must beat Harrison (5-3, 4-3) to make the playoffs as a No. 4 seed.
Here’s what else we learned Friday in AAAAAA and the other classifications:
- No. 1 Colquitt County (a 31-15 winner over Brunswick) and No. 7 Camden County (a 28-7 winner over Lowndes) set up their Friday showdowns for the Region 1 title.
- Hughes (a 37-0 winner against Tri-Cities) of Region 3 and Alpharetta (a 42-20 winner against Centennial) of Region 6 clinched region titles.
- Lassiter moved within one victory of the Region 5 title by beating Roswell 17-10. Lassiter (6-3, 5-1) will clinch the title with a victory next week against Etowah (7-2, 4-2). Etowah could win the title with a victory, depending on other region results.
- Archer finished 10-0 with a 34-21 victory against Grayson, but the big news in Region 8 was South Gwinnett's 30-28 victory over Brookwood. If South Gwinnett (4-5, 3-4) beats Parkview (3-6, 3-4) next week, the loser of the Grayson-Brookwood game will be out of the playoffs. Those two schools had won every Region 8 title since 2004.
Class AAAAA
- Warner Robins put itself in position to win its first region title since 2004 with a 28-18 upset of second-ranked Northside-Warner Robins. The Demons can clinch the championship with a victory at Lakeside-Evans next weekend. Northside still has a shot at the title, but the Eagles must beat Evans in the finale and hope Warner Robins loses.
- Gainesville avenged a 2012 upset loss to Loganville with a 63-0 victory to set up a showdown with rival Flowery Branch for the Region 8 championship next weekend. Defending region champion Flowery Branch and defending state champ Gainesville are undefeated in region play. The winner will earn the title, while the loser will settle for second place.
- The region play-in pairings for subdivided 4-AAAAA and 7-AAAAA are set. The winners of the eight games will advance to the state playoffs, while the losers will be finished for the season. In Region 4, it will be Northgate vs. Mundy's Mill, Whitewater vs. Union Grove, Drew vs. McIntosh and Ola vs. Creekside. The 7-AAAAA lineup includes Cambridge vs. Kell, Northview vs. Riverwood, Pope vs. Sequoyah and Sprayberry vs. Creekview.
- East Paulding's playoff hopes were in trouble after a loss to Rome two weeks ago, but Rome's 21-20 loss to Villa Rica opened the door for East Paulding to return to the playoffs. East Paulding, the defending 5-AAAAA champion, will earn a playoff berth (as the No. 3 seed) if it beats Allatoona next weekend. The Raiders could also get in with a loss, but they would need Rome to lose to Woodland-Cartersville.
Class AAAA
- Gilmer defeated Cedartown 38-35 to clinch a spot in the Region 7 championship game. An interception late in the fourth quarter set up the winning field for Gilmer and helped the Bobcats overcome another big performance from Cedartown running back Nick Chubb. Chubb rushed for 281 yards and four touchdowns and had an interception and forced a fumble for the Bulldogs. Johnie Flakes scored four touchdowns for Gilmer.
- Any questions about defending champion and top-ranked Sandy Creek not living up to expectations were answered in a dominating 24-7 victory against No. 2 Carrollton. The Patriots possessed the ball for more than 32 minutes and limited the Trojans to 88 total yards. Carrollton entered the game averaging 50.2 points per game, but went 0-for-7 on third downs. Sandy Creek has won 41 consecutive region contests and clinched its sixth consecutive region championship.
- No. 4 Monroe Area captured the Region 8 title with a 28-21 victory against Chestatee. The Purple Hurricanes were missing seven players, who were suspended for fighting in last week's game against Madison County, including starting quarterback Stanton Truitt. Kwan Brooks rushed for 110 yards and a score, and Michael Gallup threw for a touchdown and rushed for another for Monroe Area.
- Westover and Veterans clinched the schools' first region titles. Westover knocked off Worth County to seal the 1-AAAA title. Veterans handed No. 6 Mary Persons its first loss 10-0 to capture the 2-AAAA title. The Warhawks' defense limited Mary Persons to 74 total yards. Veterans opened the season with three consecutive losses, but won its next six games to earn a home playoff game, under coach David Bruce.
- No. 10 Wayne County upset No. 5 Statesboro 7-6 to earn a spot in the Region 3 championship game against Burke County. Burke County scored eight rushing touchdowns in a 62-0 rout of Butler.
- Pickens running back Shannon Brooks rushed for 276 yards and three touchdowns in the Dragons' 41-21 victory against River Ridge. Brooks has 1,529 rushing yards, breaking the school record for rushing yards in a season.
Class AAA
- North Oconee running back Kawon Bryant became the second player in Georgia to surpass the 2,000-yard mark this season during a 46-29 victory against rival Oconee County. Bryant, a junior, rushed for 297 times and four touchdowns. He has 2,257 yards and 39 rushing touchdowns.
- White County defeated West Hall 14-0 and will finish No. 2 in Region 7 if it defeats Banks County. The Warriors (7-2) scored on two passes, one a halfback option, and posted their third shutout of the season.
- No. 1-ranked Buford took a 35-0 halftime lead and rolled up 497 yards of offense in a 70-6 victory. Evyn Cooper carried twice for 129 yards and two touchdowns. The Buford defense recovered three fumbles and intercepted two passes. Buford plays at North Hall in the season finale next week.
- North Hall ran for 548 yards in a 63-7 victory against Banks County. Zac Little had 89 yards and two touchdowns, and Andrew Smith ran for 82 yards and two touchdowns for North Hall (8-1).
- No. 4 Carver-Columbus (8-1) accumulated 486 yards and defeated Peach County 44-9 to clinch the Region 2 championship. The Tigers ran the ball at will and led 24-0 after the first quarter.
Class AA
- Region 3 was decided when the Laney Wildcats defeated the Dublin Fighting Irish 26-0. The Wildcats improved to 7-2 overall and 5-0 in region play, while the Fighting Irish fell to 6-3 and 4-1. The Wildcats won their first region championship since 2004.
- The No. 5-ranked Calhoun Yellow Jackets defeated the Model Blue Devils 41-9 to win the 7-AA title. The Yellow Jackets (8-1, 6-0 in 7-AA), have won 10 consecutive in the series against Model (7-2,5-1) and outscored Model 409-62 during the streak. It's the Yellow Jackets' 13th consecutive region title, dating to 2001.
- The No. 1-ranked Lamar County Trojans locked up Region 4 by beating Macon County. The Trojans (9-0) improved to 6-0 in the region, with Macon County falling to 4-2 in the region. It's Lamar's third consecutive region title.
- No. 3-ranked Greater Atlanta Christian and No. 2 Lovett both won easily, setting up a showdown next week for the Region 6 title. Lovett is 8-1 and 4-0 in the region, and GAC is 9-0 and 4-0.
Class A
- Holy Innocents' (6-4, 4-2) rallied from deficits of 21-7 and 28-21 with less than five minutes left in regulation to stun previously unbeaten No. 6 Landmark Christian (8-1, 4-1), 29-28. Landmark Christian sophomore quarterback/kicker Stockton McGuire's 52-yard field-goal attempt fell a few feet short as time expired, setting off a midfield celebration for Holy Innocents' players and fans in what Bears coach Ryan Livezey called one of the best games he has witnessed as a coach or a fan, according to the school's web site.
- Our Lady of Mercy coach Mike Earwood called it the biggest win in the program's history after the Bobcats (4-5, 3-2) knocked off No. 10 Darlington (7-2, 4-0) 31-28 in Fayetteville. Mercy built a 28-7 lead on the strength of a 40-yard interception return by senior Delfayeo Matthews, an 80-yard touchdown run by junior Jordan Thomas and a 10-yard run by senior Albert Wilson.
