Pebblebrook is unbeaten through six games for the first time since 2000, but now the hard work begins.
The Falcons completed the non-region portion of their schedule with a 5-0-1 record after a 50-21 victory Friday against visiting North Atlanta. Next up is the start of region play in 3-7A, beginning with a trip to 10th-ranked East Coweta on Oct. 8. The Falcons were a playoff team from the region in four of the past five seasons but finished higher than the No. 4 seed just once.
“The region’s gonna be very, very tough,” Pebblebrook coach Leroy Hood said. “I know some guys in the state feel like this region’s not tough, but with the likes of East Coweta, McEachern, Newnan, us, and even Campbell. Campbell is a much improved team and is probably bigger than anyone in the whole region. We’ve definitely got our work cut out for us.”
Facing a North Atlanta team that had allowed just 7.75 points per game during its 4-0 start, the Pebblebrook was too much for the Warriors to handle.
The Falcons got 305 yards and four touchdowns passing from Qamar Grant and finished with a 491-184 advantage in total offense. Three of Grant’s touchdown passes and 205 of the yards came in the first half as the Falcons built a 29-14 lead.
Briyar Powers had touchdown receptions in the first half of 36 and 12 yards. Craig Adams Jr. scored on receptions of 49 and 56 yards and finished with 163 yards on eight catches.
“We’ve got weapons on the outside,” Hood said. “We go about four or five deep in our receiving corps. A lot of times with receivers, everybody wants the ball, but we’ve just got to teach our kids that some nights you’re not gonna get as many balls as you would on some others.”
The Falcons also got touchdown runs of 31 and 45 yards from Dwight Phillips Jr., who finished with 79 yards on just three carries. John Diaz kicked field goals of 41 and 21 yards, and Daniel Cruz Ortiz kicked a 28-yarder.
Pebblebrook had a chance to make the score even more lopsided, but three trips inside the North Atlanta 15-yard line produced just six points, ending with two field goals and an interception. Those red-zone struggles were a concern for Hood after the game.
“That’s been something that we’ve been working on since the spring,” he said. “It’s something that we struggled with last year. Right now we’re not very good in the red zone, but that’s something that we work on in practice every week. … We’ve just got to go back to the drawing board and keep plugging away, because we’ve definitely got to get better in the red zone, especially going into the region.’
North Atlanta was able to stay close for a while with the help of two interceptions. Connor Hughes returned one 22 yards for a score that cut the lead to 22-14 midway though the second quarter, and Jamie O’Kelley returned another 82 yards out of his end zone to set up an 8-yard touchdown run by Hunter Davis. O’Kelley’s interception, on a fourth-and-goal play from the North Atlanta 3-yard line, stopped a Pebblebrook drive that could’ve made it a 39-14 game, but instead the Falcons’ lead was cut to 32-21.
North Atlanta’s only sustained scoring drive came in the first quarter, when the Warriors went 76 yards in nine plays and scored on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Lorenza Lennon to Randolph Smith that put the Warriors ahead 7-3, their only lead of the game. The key play on the drive was a 10-yard run by kicker Taft Meredith on a fake punt on a fourth-and-3 play at the Pebblebrook 45-yard line.
Pebblebrook answered with touchdowns on its next three possessions to seize control with a 22-7 lead. Interceptions by Jordan Paul and Javari Peeples set up two of those scores.
Lennon passed for 107 yards and had 46 of the Warriors’ 77 rushing yards.
North Atlanta - 7-7-7-0 - 21
Pebblebrook - 10-19-10-11 - 50
First quarter
P - Daniel Cruz Ortiz 28 field goal
N - Randolph Smith 27 pass from Lorenza Lennon (Taft Meredith kick)
P - Briyar Powers 36 pass from Qamar Grant (Cruz Ortiz kick)
Second quarter
P - Powers 12 pass from Grant (kick blocked)
P - Dwight Phillips Jr. 31 run (pass failed)
N - Connor Hughes 22 interception return (Meredith kick)
P - Craig Adams Jr. 49 pass from Grant (John Diaz kick)
Third quarter
P - Diaz 41 field goal
N - Hunter Davis 8 run (Meredith kick)
P - Phillips 45 run (Diaz kick)
Fourth quarter
P - Diaz 21 field goal
P - Adams 56 pass from Grant (Nigel Nerese pass from Grant)
