ROSWELL – If there were any questions whether Roswell was prepared to maintain its offensive and defensive prowess in the postseason, the Hornets answered them in spades on Friday in the first round of the playoffs.
Facing off against 4-seed Lanier, Roswell erupted for 28 points in the second quarter and cruised to a 55-8 win to advance to the second round of the Class 6A state playoffs. Running back Nykahi Davenport rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns, his 10th consecutive 100-yard rushing game this season, and quarterback K.J. Smith passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another.
The Hornets defense was suffocating, allowing just 154 total yards, 85 passing and 71 on the ground, and intercepting one pass.
“This is what we’re trying to do every week,” Roswell coach Chris Prewett said after the game. “We’re physical all week in practice and these guys have bought into that. Every week we’re just trying to get a little bit better and put together a complete game.”
Roswell fell behind early in the first quarter on a Ben Haynes field goal that put Lanier up 3-0. It took just four plays for the Hornets to take their first lead of the game, and they didn’t look back.
Smith hit Chris Elko for a 22-yard pass to go ahead 6-3, and the route was on. Smith connected with Dylan Williams for a 26-yard touchdown pass three minutes later, Synkwan Smith got in on a 24-yard run to open the second, and Davenport put the game out of reach with scoring runs of 34 yards and 60 yards to make it 34-3 with 3:20 left in the second quarter.
Davenport has played in 10 of his team’s 11 games this season and has reached 100 yards in each. He is averaging over 150 yards per game with just over 1,500 rushing yards and 17 rushing touchdowns this season.
“He’s really continued to get better all year,” Prewett said. “He puts in 100 percent in the weight room, and he’s just become a backbone for our offense. We really don’t think about the numbers and how many he’s got. Those are hard to keep up with. We just want him to keep helping us win each week.”
Smith added another touchdown pass to Elko, this one a 32-yarder, going into halftime to make the score 41-3. Elko finished with two catches for 72 yards and two scores. Smith was 7-of-14 passing for 149 yards to go with his two scores.
With the win, Roswell advances to the second round of the playoffs where it will face Allatoona, which shut out Douglas County. Lanier’s season comes to an early end in coach Tyler Maloof’s first season with the program.
Prewett’s attention continues to just be seeing his team get better each week.
“We can’t get caught up or anything,” he said. “We’ve got another one next week. We have some lofty goals this year. We want to win a state title, and we’ve given ourselves a chance to keep moving forward.”
Lanier – 3 – 0 –2 – 3 – 8
Roswell – 13 – 28 – 7 – 7 – 55
First Quarter
LHS – Ben Haynes 33 field goal; 8:03
RHS – Chris Elko 22 pass from KJ Smith (pass failed); 6:37
RHS – Dylan Williams 26 pass from Smith (Brett Gonda kick); 3:21
Second Quarter
RHS – Synkwan Smith 24 run (Gonda kick); 11:05
RHS – Nykahi Davenport 34 run (Gonda kick); 8:35
RHS – Davenport 60 run (Gonda kick); 3:20
RHS – Elko 32 pass from Smith (Gonda kick); :23
Third Quarter
RHS – Smith 7 run (Gonda kick); 5:51
LHS – Safety; 2:00
Fourth Quarter
LHS – Haynes 35 field goal; 6:54
RHS – Alex Smiley 7 run (Gonda kick); 2:21
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