Sixth-ranked North Cobb took the lead on a 35-yard touchdown pass with 1:55 remaining and escaped with a 22-19 victory Friday night when Kennesaw Mountain threw an incomplete pass from the 1-yard line on the final play of the game.
North Cobb (6-2, 3-0) retained sole possession of first place in Region 5-7A, and the Warriors can claim their third consecutive region championship with a victory at Cherokee next weekend. Kennesaw Mountain (6-2, 1-2) could have moved into a tie for first with a win but instead fell into a tie for fourth place with Cherokee.
“They were the hungrier team tonight,” North Cobb coach Shane Queen said of Kennesaw Mountain. “They probably deserved to win the football game. We’re not satisfied. We’re going to go back to work in the morning and fix a lot of things.”
After Kennesaw Mountain had taken a 19-14 lead on a 3-yard run by TJ Jenkins with 6:01 remaining in the game, the Warriors took possession at their 31-yard line. The Warriors drove 69 yards in seven plays, overcoming three false-start penalties along the way, and reclaimed the lead on a 35-yard pass from Nick Grimstead to Yasin Muhammad. Grimstead’s pass to David Eziomume for the two-point conversion made it a 22-19 game with 1:55 remaining.
Kennesaw Mountain wasn’t done, however. The Mustangs moved 79 yards and had the ball at the North Cobb 1-yard line with eight seconds remaining, but Cayman Prangley’s pass went off the hands of an open Earl Kyle in the end zone as time expired.
“Kennesaw Mountain gave us all they had,” Queen said. “Coach [Caleb] Carmean and his staff had a great game plan. I’ll be honest with you, they outplayed us for 47 minutes and 55 seconds. We were lucky that the kid dropped the ball in the end zone. If they make that play, they win. I thought he caught it, but hats off to them for having a great game plan and we were lucky enough to hang on.”
Grimstead was efficient in the passing game, completing 11 of 15 attempts for 187 yards. He was 3-for-3 for 72 yards on the game-winning drive. He also rushed for 62 yards on 12 carries. David Mbadinga ran for 87 yards on 13 carries.
Prangley was shaken up twice on the Mustangs’ final drive, disrupting the offensive flow a bit, and three times in the game. He didn’t have his usual passing night, completing just 11 of 28 passes for 139 yards, but he ran for 114 yards on 20 carries.
“Cayman Prangley is the toughest kid in the state of Georgia,” Carmean said. “The way he plays the game is the way that you hope every kid in high school would play the game. Every play, he plays like it’s his last, and I’m just so proud of how he is as a player and a person.”
Jenkins rushed for 107 yards on 18 carries, and Cayden Lee had nine receptions for 127 yards.
Both teams scored on their opening possessions of the game. Kennesaw Mountain went 80 yards in 14 plays, with Prangley’s 1-yard keeper giving the Mustangs a 7-0 lead. North Cobb answered with a nine-play, 70-yard drive capped by Grimstead’s sneak from the 1.
North Cobb took its first lead when Grimstead threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Darius Dye on a fourth-and-7 play to make it 14-10 with 3:13 to play in the half. Kennesaw Mountain got second-quarter field goals of 27 and 32 yards from Ty Roland, the second one coming on the final play of the first half to cut the lead to 14-13.
North Cobb - 7-7-0-8 - 22
Kennesaw Mountain - 7-6-0-6 - 19
First quarter
K - Cayman Prangley 1 run (Ty Roldan kick), 6:50
N - Nick Grimstead 1 run (Javy Morales kick), 3:16
Second quarter
K - Roldan 27 field goal, 6:35
N - Darius Dye 28 pass from Grimstead (Morales kick), 3:13
K - Roldan 32 field goal, 0:00
Fourth quarter
K - TJ Jenkins 3 run (kick failed), 6:01
N - Yasin Muhammad 35 pass from Grimstead (David Eziomume pass from Grimstead), 1:55
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