Norcross used three touchdown passes from Dillon Mohammed to Jashaun Clarke on Friday night, but it wasn’t until backup kicker Elijah Frey put the extra point through the uprights that the Blue Devils could almost breathe a sigh of relief.
The Blue Devils emerged with a 27-26 road win over Peachtree Ridge. The win puts Norcross (4-1, 1-0) on target to meet Class 6A No. 4 North Gwinnett for a possible Region 7 championship showdown later this season. It leaves Peachtree Ridge (2-3, 0-1) in the same position as a year ago when the Lions were part of a three-way tie for first place.
“They got big plays, so we were able to hang in there,” Norcross coach Keith Maloof said. “That’s all we do, hang in there. It was a heck of a high school football game. Our team fought when they were down and came up with enough points to win the ball game.”
Peachtree Ridge had taken the lead with 7:11 left to play after Sedric Addison powered his way in for a touchdown on fourth-and-goal at the 1. But the extra point was no good, leaving the Lions ahead 26-20.
Norcross then began to slow-walk the final seven minutes. The Blue Devils went for it on fourth-and-5 at their own 38 when Mohammed and Clarke connected for a 7-yard gain and first down.
“I was about to punt it and I’m looking down and my guys are going, ‘Let’s go for it. Let’s go for it,’” Maloof said. “Sometimes these things don’t work out and then you’re beating your head, but now I’m glad we did what we did because the guys stepped up tonight.”
The winning march continued, with Kobe Robinson carrying the ball repeatedly – seven times on the drive – until Mohammed and Clarke hooked up for a14-yard touchdown with 52 seconds left.
“I didn’t want to leave any time on the clock,” Maloof said. “When we scored there was too much time on the clock.”
It almost came back to bite the Blue Devils because Peachtree Ridge was able to push the ball into position to try a game-winning 42-yard field goal, but it fell short.
“I’m so happy for our kids because thy get to live with this for the rest of their lives,” Maloof said. “They’ll be sitting in a dorm room talking about how they beat Peachtree Ridge when they were down. These guys will be able to brag a little bit about what they’ve done so far. We’ve got to finish and continue to get better because there’s a lot of football trams in front of us.”
Mohammed was back after missing last week’s game with a leg injury. He was unable to run but completed 18 of 27 passes for 291 yards. Clarke, who filled in at quarterback last week and ran for 225 yards, was back at home and caught eight passes for 165 yards.
“(Clarke) is just one of those players that somebody better grab in a hurry because they’re going to lose out on this kid if they don’t grab him,” Maloof said. “That dude … I don’t know if I’ve seen very many high school players do what he does.”
Patterson rushed 24 times for 89 yards and one touchdown.
Peachtree Ridge quarterback Darnell Kelly completed 18 of 27 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns. Bryce Green caught six passes for 136 yards and one touchdown and rushed 12 times for 48 yards. Addison ran nine times for 74 yards and one touchdown.
Peachtree Ridge came up with the first big play when Robinson had the ball stripped at the line and Mikael James picked it up at the 12 for a scoop-and-score and a 7-0 lead.
The final six minutes of the half were loaded with impactful plays.
It began when Peachtree Ridge drove 82 yards 12 plays and scored on third-and-goal via 10-yard pass to Kobe Hokes, giving the Lions a 14-0 lead at 6:16.
Norcross answered in dramatic fashion. On fourth-and-6, Mohammed shook off the rushers and found a well-covered Clarke in stride for a 40-yard touchdown. The kick failed, leaving Peachtree Ridge up 14-6 with 1:55 remaining.
On the first play after a touchback, Peachtree Ridge quarterback Kelly flipped a pass in the right flat to Green, who turned upfield an zipped past a couple of defenders for an 80-yard touchdown. The extra point failed and the Lions led 20-6 with 1:40 left.
But Norcross countered with a 70-yard drive aided by a 64-yard pass to Clarke. Mohammed then found Clarke for a 7-yard touchdown. The PAT was good, cutting the Peachtree Ridge lead to 20-13 at the half.
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