Ever since the school was created in south Fulton County in 1988, Westlake has always had talent -- from Anthony Mitchell, who was the first Lion to play in the NFL, winning a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens in 2001, to Adam “Pac Man” Jones, to Cam Newton.
Yet, before Friday, the Lions had advanced to the state quarterfinals just twice and the semifinals just once.
Make that three trips to the quarterfinals. For the second week in a row, Westlake (10-1) outcoached and overwhelmed a proud program from south Georgia. After knocking off Houston County 42-10 in the first round of the state playoffs last week, the Lions pummeled Richmond Hill (9-3), the No. 2 seed from Region 2-6A, 55-13.
The Wildcats came in averaging more than 35 points per game and had gone north of 50 in their last two games, including a 56-0 win over Lakeside-Evans last week. But the Westlake defense forced two turnovers, bottled up one of the state’s top rushers in senior RB Ashaud Robertson (1,463 yards coming into the game) and had four sacks.
It was the first time Richmond Hill had yielded at least 50 points since a 56-34 loss to Brunswick in 2017, and their worse loss since a 49-7 defeat at the hands of Glynn Academy in 2015.
“They’re tough to match up with,” said Richmond Hill head coach Matt LeZotte of Westlake. “From a personnel standpoint, they are the most talented team in the state of Georgia.”
Westlake head coach Bobby May said the difference between this team and past Westlake squads boils down to one word: selflessness.
“I think in the past there has been some selfishness, players thinking too much about themselves and their stats,” said May, in his second season as head coach. “But this group of kids has bought into what we’ve told them, that we’re better as a team when you realize it’s not about you and we play together.”
Westlake has won seven consecutive region championships and sports a roster with more than a half dozen players committed to FBS Power Five programs. And the Lions flexed those muscles to put the game away in the second quarter when they scored 21 points to blow open a one-score game.
Westlake led 13-0 late in the first quarter after a 10-yard touchdown run by sophomore QB R.J. Johnson and a 60-yard punt return by Nate Wiggins (LSU commit). But the Wildcats got on the board with just seconds left in the period when sophomore quarterback Ty Goldrick hit junior tight end Ryan Steele with a 21-yard touchdown pass on third-and-13. Senior kicker Britton Williams’ point after kick cut the Lion lead to 13-7.
But that would be Richmond Hill’s last points until the game’s final play from scrimmage, as Westlake pushed the lead to 34-7 by halftime. The Lions quickly turned two Wildcat turnovers into 14 points. First, after Richmond Hill fumbled at Westlake’s 40-yard line midway through the second quarter, 6-foot-4 senior receiver Dacari Collins (Clemson commit) scored from 43-yards out after catching a skinny post from Johnson and dragging three Wildcat defenders nearly 20 yards into the end zone.
Richmond Hill muffed a pooch kick on the ensuing kickoff, and Westlake recovered at the Wildcats’ 29-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Johnson hit 6-foot-5 senior receiver Leo Blackburn on a deep post over the middle, and the Georgia Tech commit outleaped two defenders for the score to push the lead to 27-7.
Then with just six seconds left before halftime, senior Corzavius Smart, the 6-foot-1, 230-pound back-up to 1,000-yard rusher Zina Mulbah – who missed the game with an injury – blasted through the middle of the line on a zone power run, bounced outside to the far sideline and outran the Wildcat secondary for a 75-yard touchdown.
“Corzavius is a perfect example,” May said of the team’s unselfish nature. “He doesn’t like to start. He had to start last week too because Zina was out, and he kept telling Zina he has to hurry up and come back. He is perfectly fine with his roll.”
Then there is senior WR Jaquez Smith. The 6-2, 200-pounder, rated a 4-star prospect by all of the recruiting services, is committed to Indiana and has more than two dozen offers from Power Five programs. Yet, his 25-yard touchdown reception late in the third quarter to push the Westlake lead to 48-7, was his first of the season.
“But he has never complained,” May said. “Not once.”
And when junior ATH Jakari Christian put the finishing touches on the win with an 80-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter, all of the offensive starters were at the edge of the sideline to greet him as he came off the field.
The Lions will host Region 6 champion Allatoona (11-0) next week.
“This team doesn’t care who gets the credit, who scores the touchdowns,” May said. “They just want to win a state championship.”
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