ROSWELL – Sometimes an offense needs to grind it out, banging its head against the wall play after play for long, steady drives to score points.
And sometimes – well, sometimes it just does what Roswell High did on Friday night.
The No. 3-ranked Hornets scored points on five one-play drives and added a pair of additional touchdowns for good measure, rolling to a 49-7 victory over visiting Sprayberry. The win was Roswell’s fifth in a row and inched it ever closer to its first region title since 2019.
The Hornets (8-1, 4-0 Region 7-AAAAAA) will have a week off next week before a huge season-finale clash with Alpharetta in a game that could end up a de facto region title game depending on what the Raiders do next week against Blessed Trinity.
“It means everything to get to this point,” Roswell coach Chris Prewett said. “It means everything to have a shot at that region title and get two home games, possibly three right here. So, it’s one of our season goals to be the 1-seed and give ourselves a shot.”
Against Sprayberry, Roswell wasted no time getting on the board. After the opening kickoff set the Hornets up at their own 34-yard line, quarterback K.J. Smith dropped a pass in to senior wide receiver Ethan Crite for a 66-yard score that would prove to be a sign of things to come for the offense.
Smith and Crite connected on two more touchdown passes in the second quarter to put the Hornets ahead 21-7. Both came on the first plays of their respective drives. On one, Crite caught a slant route across the middle on a play that started at the 13-yard line, broke free from a tackle and scampered into the secondary where Sprayberry had no safety help. The final tally on that score was 87 yards.
The next touchdown pass was a 38-yarder on which Crite came out of the slot, caught the ball over the top of the nickel cornerback and ran into the end zone.
Smith added another touchdown pass before halftime, a 26-yarder to Chris Elko, to put the Hornets ahead 28-7 going into the break.
Smith tallied 280 yards and four touchdown passes before halftime, finishing with over 300 yards, four scores and one interception. Crite’s three receptions tallied 191 yards and three scores.
“The way we prepare is making sure everyone runs their routes and depending on what the defense does anyone can be the guy,” Prewett said. “Whether it’s Ethan or the running back or any of the other receivers, you just have to be ready when your number’s called.”
Perhaps the only question for the offense to answer in the second half was whether junior running back Nykahi Davenport would tally his customary 100 rushing yards. He had just two carries for 4 yards in the first half as a result of Roswell’s passing success, briefly threatening his personal streak of reaching triple digits in rushing in every game he’s played in this season.
It was of no concern.
Davenport added touchdown runs of 59 yards and 84 yards in the third quarter – both on the first plays of their respective drives – to approach 150 yards rushing and two scores for the game. Roswell’s last touchdown came on an 18-yard run by Synkwan Smith in the fourth quarter.
The performance was not without its problems, though, for the Hornets, who Prewett said need to use their off week to correct many of the mistakes they made in this game. They turned the ball over four times, one on a first-half interception by Smith and three on consecutive drives in the third quarter.
At one point, Roswell lost three fumbles on five plays. And while it was of no consequence in this game, Prewett said it would definitely be a talking point this week.
“The execution was lacking at times,” Prewett said. “It’s something you try to fight. Complacency is the biggest enemy right now. Ultimately, we’re dealing with 16-, 17-, 18-year-olds, and we’ve got to continue to push them to get better.”
Sprayberry (2-6, 1-3) scored its only touchdown on a 2-yard run by quarterback Kemari Nix in the first quarter. It plays at home next week against Lassiter.
Sprayberry – 7 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 7
Roswell – 7 – 21 – 14 – 7 – 49
First Quarter
RHS – Ethan Crite 66 pass from K.J. Smith (Brett Gonda kick)
SHS – Kemari Nix 2 run (Caleb Prickett kick)
Second Quarter
RHS – Crite 87 pass from Smith (Gonda kick)
RHS – Crite 38 pass from Smith (Gonda kick)
RHS – Chris Elko 26 pass from Smith (Gonda kick)
Third Quarter
RHS – Nykahi Davenport 59 run (Gonda kick)
RHS – Davenport 84 run (Gonda kick)
Fourth Quarter
RHS – Synkwan Smith 18 run (Gonda kick)
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