South Paulding’s Jamarion Wilcox scored two of his three touchdowns in the final six minutes of the game and the Spartans survived two Harrison go-ahead or game-tying scoring opportunities in the last 1:37 to escape with a 28-20 victory in the teams’ season opener Friday at Cobleigh Stadium in Kennesaw.
Wilcox, a consensus three-star senior with a reported 25 college offers, broke a 14-14 tie with a 6-yard touchdown run 5:37 remaining, The Spartans appeared to have the game under control when, after forcing a Harrison three-and-out on its next possession, they drove the ball to the Hoyas’ 18-yard line. When Harrison stopped Wilcox a yard short on a fourth-and-3 play, the Hoyas regained possession and set the stage for wild closing two minutes.
After a 4-yard gain on first down, Harrison quarterback Braylan Ford threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to Brady Kluse and Rudolph Gleason converted the game-tying extra point. However, South Paulding was penalized for roughing the kicker, and Harrison opted to accept the penalty and go for two points to take the lead. The Hoyas tried to run to the right side of center, but South Paulding stopped the play at the 1 to preserve a one-point lead.
On the first play of South Paulding’s next possession, Wilcox ran 86 yards up the middle for a touchdown and a 28-20 lead with 1:20 remaining. Wilcox finished with 236 yards rushing, 194 of which came in the second half, on 26 carries and had four catches for 29 yards.
Harrison had one last chance, driving to the South Paulding 7-yard line, but Ford’s pass intended for Kluse on the final play of the game was incomplete.
“Our thing was we had to answer the bell,” Spartans coach Sumo Robinson said. “Every time they changed the momentum on us, we had to change it back. So that was a big thing for us, handling adversity, coming into hostile territory. And that’s good for us because it gave us one to grow on.”
Ford did not start the game and did not enter until the Hoyas’ final drive of the first half, after a 2-yard touchdown run by Albert McCoy had given the Spartans a 14-0. He provided a much-needed spark, immediately driving the Hoyas 88 yards in five plays, throwing a 37-yard touchdown pass to Kluse that cut the deficit to 14-7 with 28 seconds remaining in the half. Harrison had just 60 yards of total offense in its first three possessions.
“You’ve got to give [Harrison coach Josh] Cassidy credit,” Robinson said. “His teams are always ready to play and they’re going to fight to the bitter end every time. They’re resilient, they work their tails off, and they’re going to fight.”
Ford completed his first eight passes and finished 14-of-23 for 262 yards with three touchdowns. Alexander Perry led the running game with 73 yards on 14 carries. Kluse had four receptions for 142 yards.
Big catches by 5-foot-5 junior DJ Reese set up both of the Spartans’ first-half touchdowns. His 36-yard reception in traffic on a second-and-22 play moved the ball to the Harrison 8 and led to Wilcox’s first touchdown, a 5-yard run. Reese’s 46-yard catch two possessions later was followed on the next play by McCoy’s run that made it 14-0..
South Paulding quarterback Kasen Weisman, a three-star recruit committed to Kansas, was 12-of-16 passing for 178 yards. McCoy had 42 yards rushing on six carries, mostly in the first half.
South Paulding, ranked No. 8 in Class 6A, finished with a 459-390 advantage in total offense.
South Paulding - 7-7-0-14 - 28
Harrison - 0-7-7-6 - 20
First quarter
S - Jamarion Wilcox 5 run (Rabon Latham kick), 4:11
Second quarter
S - Albert McCoy 2 run (Latham kick), 1:30
H - Brady Kluse 37 pass from Braylan Ford (Rudolph Gleason kick), 0:28
Third quarter
H - Reggie Brigman 30 pass from Ford (Gleason kick), 3:18
Fourth quarter
S - Wilcox 6 run (Latham kick)
H - Kluse 80 pass from Ford (run failed), 1:37
S - Wilcox 86 run (Latham kick), 1:20
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