Brookwood freshman Braden Tyson scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 9-yard run with 6:16 remaining and the Broncos’ defense made the one-point lead stand up for a 21-20 victory over McEachern in the teams’ season opener Saturday in the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Meanwhile, AJ Watkins did a little bit of everything for Norcross against Marietta. From breaking off long touchdown runs to throwing deep touchdown passes to catching screen passes for first downs, the senior tallied 234 all-purpose yards (94 passing, 109 rushing, 31 receiving) in a 45-23 victory.
On Friday, Langston Hughes, the defending 6A champion, defeated Carrollton 39-34 in a game that came down to a tackle at Hughes’ 1-yard line.
It was the first game in the modern recruiting era between teams with consensus five-star quarterbacks. Hughes’ Air Noland was 12-of-21 passing for 159 yards and two touchdowns, one for 25 yards to Jovanni McGee for the winning touchdown with 1:11 left.
Carrollton’s Ju Ju Lewis, who was 20-of-30 for 186 yards, led his team on a final drive, but Hughes prevailed when Tory Arnold and others tackled Jordan White at the 1 at the end of a 2-yard pass play.
Buford relied on special teams and defense to outslug and eventually overwhelm national power St. Frances Academy of Baltimore 18-0 Friday in its 2023 season opener.
Buford, the top-ranked team in Class 7A, received 154 yards passing and two touchdowns from quarterback Dylan Raiola, the University of Georgia commit playing his first game for the Wolves.
“It was special,” Raiola said after the game. “To get in there and endure it was special. To have the whole community come out and love on our football teams a lot.”
Here’s a look at this week’s scoreboard:
About the Author
