Walton scored on its first five possessions Friday night and coasted into the second round of the Class 7A playoffs with a 49-9 victory over McEachern at Raider Valley in Marietta.
Walton (6-5) will travel next week to face the Region 1 champion, second-ranked Colquitt County, which advanced with a 49-3 first-round win over Brookwood. Walton, the runner-up in Region 3, reached the second round for the fourth consecutive season.
McEachern finished 4-6, its fewest wins in a season since the 2007 team also went 4-6 in Jimmy Dorsey’s final season as head coach. The loss was the Indians’ first in the first round since 2012.
Walton quarterback Zak Rozsman scored on two short runs and threw touchdown passes of 10 yards to Stone McKnight and 15 yards to Rawson MacNeill for a 28-3 lead less three minutes into the second quarter. Kenny Djaha scored on a 27-yard run with 6:28 remaining in the half to increase the lead to 35-3.
“We’ve played well in stretches all year long,” Walton coach Daniel Brunner said. “We’ve talked about finishing games, having poise at the end of games. We put it all together tonight. That’s what we’ve been trying to do all year long. You need to click at this time of the year. If we had to lose some early to get to where we’re at right now, I guess we’re OK with that.”
Rozsman and Djaha put up the biggest numbers for a Walton offense that was efficient in both the passing game (193 yards) and the running game (164). Rozsman was 9-of-13 passing for 134 yards, all but one of which came in the first half. Freshman Jeremy Hecklinski was 2-for-2 passing for 58 yards and a touchdown in fourth-quarter duty. McKnight led the receivers with 70 yards and a touchdown on four catches, and Nic Hester had two catches for 63 yards and a score.
Djaha, limited by injuries for much of the year, ran for a season-high 138 yards on 15 carries. He played in only seven of the Raiders’ 10 regular-games, rushing for 413 yards, and had just 22 carries in the previous three games this month.
Walton took advantage of good field position in building its early lead. Two of the Raiders’ first-half scoring drives began in McEachern territory, and the other three needed two plays or less to get there. McEachern did not help itself, committing 10 penalties for 69 yards in the first two quarters.
“An outstanding effort from the boys,” Brunner said. “They played a complete football game tonight. I’ve known they had it in ‘em, we just hadn’t seen it yet this year. Golly, from top to bottom, offense, defense, special teams, all the way through, we played a complete, selfless, team game.”
After Rozsman’s 3-yard touchdown run gave Walton a 7-0 lead with 10:45 to play in the first quarter, McEachern appeared to have a quick answer in the form of a 95-yard return of the ensuing kickoff by Sutton Smith, but a holding call 10 yards short of the end zone moved the ball back to the Walton 20. McEachern got the ball to the 1 but had to settle for a 19-yard field goal by Kyle Hill to cut the lead to 7-3. The Indians didn’t cross midfield again until late in the half, trailing 35-3.
Most of McEachern’s offense came from the passing of Bryce Archie, who completed 22-of-38 attempts for 184 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The Indians were held to 50 yards rushing on 25 carries and finished with 234 total yards.
“I figured when we got that draw [McEachern], we were going to see one of the most talented teams in the state, and we did,” Brunner said. “I think our boys were up to the challenge, and I’m so proud of them tonight.”
McEachern - 3-0-6-0 - 9
Walton - 21-14-7-7 - 49
First quarter
W - Zak Rozsman 3 run (Conor Cummins kick), 10:45
M - Kyle Hill 19 field goal, 7:34
W - Rozsman 1 run (Cummins kick), 4:08
W - Stone McKnight 10 pass from Rozsman (Cummins kick), 0:35
Second quarter
W - Rawson MacNeill 15 pass from Rozsman (Cummins kick), 9:02
W - KennyDjaha 27 run (Cummins kick), 6:28
Third quarter
W - Rozsman 7 run (Cummins kick), 7:26
M - Da’Twon Rouse 8 pass from Bryce Archie (kick blocked), 0:35
Fourth quarter
W - Nic Hester 36 pass from Jeremy Hecklinski (Cummins kick) 6:59
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