The Fellowship Christian Paladins wasted no time jumping ahead early against the East Jackson Eagles, and they kept their foot on the gas throughout the game, finishing with a 55-21 home win on Friday in Roswell.
The Paladins, ranked No. 9 in 2A, moved to 4-2 and 1-0 in Region 8. They’ve won a region title in each of the last six seasons. There were plenty of big plays in the game, but Al Thompson opened the scoring with a 70-yard interception return for a touchdown midway through the first quarter.
From there, the Paladins continued to put pressure on the Eagles, with two-way tackle Josh Petty, a 5-star recruit, responsible for five of the team’s nine pass deflections. The defense also collected a fumble recovery and a pair of turnovers on downs.
“I think we had the best (defensive) effort we’ve had all year,” said Thompson, a junior who also had six carries for 103 yards and a touchdown, all in the third quarter, to lead the team in rushing. “I feel like we crushed them. I just don’t know how else to say it. We put them down. We discouraged them so we could play our best...If we didn’t have all those pass deflections, I don’t know if we take this game. We had so many big pass deflections that were game-changing. People were open, but the pass was deflected. It was great.”
The Eagles jumped on the board thanks to sophomore quarterback Drew Richardson, who turned on the jets and outran the field for a 76-yard touchdown to make it 13-7 with 0:46 left in the first.
Paladins junior Evan Haynes immediately squashed the Eagles’ momentum with 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff and Paladins never looked back. They led 34-14 at halftime and 48-14 after three quarters, leading to a running clock for the fourth quarter.
Paladins sophomore quarterback Jonathan Granby was 9 of 12 passing for 92 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for a 27-yard touchdown. His top target, senior Josh Milhollin, had six catches for 79 yards and a touchdown.
Next week, the Paladins travel to No. 10 Athens Academy in what could wind up serving as the Region 8 championship. Athens Academy beat Providence Christian on Friday in its region opener to improve to 4-2.
The Eagles (6-1, 1-1), off to their best start since 2009, were led by a pair of 100-yard rushers. Richardson had 10 carries for 144 yards and a score on 10 carries, followed by junior Quay Hill (19-141-1).
The Eagles are on bye next week, then travel to Union County (5-1, 1-0) Oct. 20.
East Jackson 7 7 0 7 — 21
Fellowship Christian 20 14 14 7 — 55
F — Al Thompson 70 INT return (kick failed)
F — Jonathan Granby 27 run (Nathan Chapman kick)
E — Drew Richardson 76 run (Gray Albritton kick)
F — Evan Haynes 95 kickoff return (Chapman kick)
F — Josh Milhollin 17 pass from Granby (Chapman kick)
E — Jazeil Lester (Albritton kick)
F — CJ Givers 17 run (Chapman kick)
F — Dontavious Carter 24 run (Chapman kick)
F — Al Thompson 32 run (Chapman kick)
F — Charles Sharp 5 run (Chapman kick)
E — Quay Hill 12 run (Albritton kick)
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