Fleming Lifts Cedar Shoals To Tournament Championship

Cedar Shoals defeated Morgan County 61-59 to win the 2015 Sweet South Tournament in Madison, GA. Tournament MVP Phlan Fleming scored the game-winning field goal with one second remaining to lift the Jaguars to the victory.

Fleming finished with a season-high 27 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. AJ Jones tallied 11 while Snipe Hall chipped in 10 in the victory.

“These last two games (Phlan) has been playing on that D-1 level,” Jaguars head coach L’Dreco Thomas said.

Fleming led Cedar Shoals with 22 points in a 48-44 victory over 1A-Private No.2 Southwest Atlanta Christian in the second game of the tournament. Fleming drew the defensive assignment of covering highly-touted De’Andre Ballard and held the explosive junior to three points in the first half, Ballard finished with 21 points.

Fleming averaged 20.3 points and 6.3 rebounds over the tournament and is beginning to show signs of becoming a very good two-way player for the Jaguars.

Winning the Sweet South tournament championship capped a thrilling week for Cedar Shoals head coach L’Dreco Thomas as his 100th career victory came in the tournament opener over Strom Thurmond (SC)- the Jaguars lone out-of-state opponent this season.

“100 was a miletone. Makes me remember all the kids I’ve coached, they laid a great foundation,” Thomas said. “We beat two good teams this week and won a championship in a championship atmosphere. I hope that helps us down the stretch.”

Cedar Shoals (14-2) returns to action Friday January 8th against region foe Salem.

Spartanburg Holds Off TL Hanna; Byrnes Wins

Spartanburg avoided the sting of an upset-minded TL Hanna Yellow Jacket nest 38-35 to advance to the semifinals. The Vikings played with standouts Tavien Feaster and Taravis Scott for the first time in the playoffs as each sat out last week with injuries.

Feaster finished with over 180 all-purpose yards and a touchdown. Scott caught nine passes for over 160 yards and three touchdowns.

Austin Scott passed for over 350 yards and four touchdowns for top-seeded Spartanburg.

In the end however it was about Louis Rodgers and the Viking defense. Rodgers recorded three straight sacks on TL Hanna’s last drive to seal the victory.

Spartanburg (12-1) host fourth-seeded Lexington next Friday in the 4A-DII semifinals. Lexington defeated Blythewood 30-13 to advance. The winner faces the winner of two-seed Northwestern (12-1) and eleventh-seeded Nation Ford (9-4). Northwestern won the regular season meeting over Nation Ford 48-25.

Byrnes pulled away from Sumter for a 35-14 victory. The Rebels scored 21 unanswered points after being tied 14-all in the third quarter. Micah Young passed for four touchdowns to Demarcus Gregory (2), Bouvier Howard and Chavis Dawkins.

Fifth-seeded Byrnes host ninth-seeded Dorman in the 4A-DI semifinals. Dorman manhandled top-seeded Dutch Fork 49-19. Byrnes (12-1) defeated Dorman in the regular season  31-7.

The bottom of the bracket held form as the winner faces the winner of two-seed Fort Dorchester (13-0) and third-seeded Goose Creek (9-3). Fort Dorchester won the regular season meeting 20-13.

 

Roswell Gets Solid Win, Down Camden County

The Roswell Hornets have been trending up all season. The Hornets, ranked No.12, took on their first nationally ranked opponent for the first time in recent history against No.84 Camden County in the National High School Football Top 100 

The Hornets jumped on the Wildcats early and then kept the Wildcats at bay to get the win.

Underrated, yet respected running back Sheldon Evans capped Roswell’s opening 80-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to put the Hornets up 7-0 with 8:21 left in the opening frame. Evans finished with a quiet 181 yards and two touchdowns but was a vital part of the Roswell offense against a stiff Camden defense that made sound adjustments in the second half.

After punting on its opening possession Camden County forced Roswell to punt yet muffed it, Roswell’s Mitch Stone recovered the muff. Roswell cashed it in for a touchdown on a 6-yard pass from Quintarious Neely to AJ Smith to push the lead to 14-0 with 2 minutes left in the fourth. The touchdown pass by Neely capped his 11-of-11 start throwing the football, mainly on short passes and long screens.

Evans found the end zone again with six seconds gone by in the second quarter racing in from 34-yards out to give the Hornets a 21-0 lead.

Camden never got anything going on offense and were forced to punt and then threw and interception. Roswell turned that interception into points with a 32-yard field goal from Turner Barckhoff to push the margin to 24-0 with 2:57 left in the first half.

Camden, desperate for points and now having to somewhat abandon its run heavy Wing-T offense, answered for the first time with a 62-yard drive with a  34-yard touchdown pass from Antonio Hamilton to Kevon Brewington just before the end of the half for 24-7 halftime score.

Camden was unable to get points on its opening possession of the second half and Roswell went up 31-7 on a 10-yard touchdown run by Quintarious Neely with just over four minutes gone by in the third quarter.

After a punting showcase by each team the rest of the third and into the fourth quarter, Camden continued to fight scoring midway in the fourth quarter on a 12-yard touchdown run by Harrison Poole with 6:25 left in the game. Roswell would eat the clock and finish the drive and game with a Barckhoff 39-yard field goal for the final 34-15 margin.

Neely finished with 216 yard passing with one touchdown, Neely also rushed for a touchdown while Evans rushed for 180 yards and two touchdowns.

Roswell (12-0) will host Collins Hill in the 6A quarterfinals next week. Camden County (10-2) will look to build off a successful bounce back season in which both of its losses came to teams in the 6A quarterfinals (Colquitt County was the other), following a 5-5 effort in 2014 which resulted in missing the playoffs.

 

Langston Hughes and Tucker Will Complete Georgia 6A Bracket

The first round of the Georgia high school football playoffs began on Friday, the second round bracket will be completed tonight shy of midnight as the winner of Langston Hughes (5-5) and Tucker (7-3) will fit in the final piece of the puzzle.

Both teams have played solid schedules in the regular season, Tucker took on an OOS (out-of-state) foes Godby (FL) and Blackman (TN). Langston Hughes stacked its non-region schedule with the likes of Mays. Grayson and Creekside, two of which advanced to the second round of the Georgia playoffs in its respective class.

Tucker runs the ball at a clip of upwards of 300 yards a game on the legs of leading rusher Chris Broadwater. Langston Hughes throws it off the arm of Isaiah Green at a clip upwards of 285 yards per game.

Stephenson Holds Off Mays, Wins Region Title

The excitement was in the air Friday night at Lakewood Stadium as Stephenson and Mays squared off for the Region 6-5A championship. Each team couldn’t wait to kick the game off as matters escalated during pregame warmups as both teams exchanged words, smack talk and noise in advance of the opening kickoff.

After a scoreless first quarter, Stephenson opened the scoring with a 29-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead. Mays would drive right back down the field yet missed a 30-yard field goal attempt. Stephenson then marched 80 yards in 16 plays (14 rushing plays) capped by a Trestan Kinsler 4-yard touchdown run to put Stephenson up 10-0. That score held until halftime.

Mays’ Randrecous Davis is held back by an official during pregame warmups. Davis caught a touchdown pass in the game

Mays opened the second half with a 22-yard field by Trenton Jamison to pull the Raiders within 10-3. After forcing a three-and-out Stephenson’s punt went for minus-2 yards to their own 18. Two plays later BJ Phillips hit Randrecous Davis for an 18-yard touchdown pass however the extra point was blocked leaving the score 10-9 with just over seven minutes remaining in the third quarter.

The defensive battle continued the remainder of the game, fittingly it was the defense that won the game in the end for Stephenson. After Stephenson punter Justin Smith mishandled the snap, Mays took over with just over one minute remaining in the game at the Stephenson 25 with no timeouts. Mays was unable to use the miscue as the Stephenson defense, led by Michael Pitts, Aaron Sterling and Amari Andrews, recorded three of the Jaguars 10 sacks on Mays’ final possession including a fourth down sack by Amari Andrews on the games final play sealing the victory and first region championship since 2009. the 10 sacks were the most Mays allowed in a game this season.

Stephenson enters the playoffs 9-1 without a loss a Georgia opponent, as the Region 6-5A top seed and will host Rome in the first round. Mays (9-1) is the No.2 seed will host Creekview in the first round of the playoffs.

Colts Rout Lake Weir In Regular Season Finale

For years homecoming opponents are suppose to be easy victories where alumni gather for festivities, fun and cheering proudly in support their team in an “expected” victory. In Thursday night’s regular season finale North Marion took that to another level against Marion County foe Lake Weir (5-5; 0-4).

The Colts kicked off the homecoming weekend in grand fashion by jumping all over Lake Weir early and often to the point that multiple mercy rules were activated. By the end of the first quarter the Colts had set a new Marion County record* for points in a quarter with 53 as they led 53-0. The second quarter was played with a running clock which only saw the Colts score one touchdown on a 63-yard Cameron Mackey run making the score at halftime 60-0.

The third and fourth quarters were played with ten minute running clocks yet still saw North Marion put up three more touchdowns to take a 74-0 lead. Lake Weir would score on a 94-yard touchdown pass in the waning moments for the final 74-6 margin.

When the dust settled Cameron Mackey rushed for two touchdowns with a touchdown reception. Sophomore sensation Justin Watkins rushed for two touchdowns, eclipsing 1,000 yards rushing for the season on his first carry-a 60-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. D’monte Reaves caught two touchdown passes while backup quarterback Dreqwan Williams rushed for a touchdown. It wasn’t all offense for North Marion as the defense was in on the scoring posting 18 points on two safeties. Jordan Woods returned a fumble 20 yards for a touchdown and Elijah Vuckovich returned an interception 65 yards for a score for the defense.

“We took it personal,” head coach Stephen Field said after the victory. North Marion (9-1; 2-0) was coming off its poorest performance of the season in a 38-14 loss to Hoover (AL) on national television last Thursday.

Field stated earlier in the week, “any opponent ahead of us right now will have to feel the improvements we made from the Hoover game. We took that loss personal as a staff and a team.” Check the box on that one as Lake Weir felt the wrath.

The 74 points by North Marion tied a school record for points in a game*.

“It’s pretty awesome breaking a county record, it’s a great feeling for our kids,” Field said yet was also quick to acknowledge the groundwork laid prior to his arrival.

“(North Marion) is the way it is because Craig Damon (former North Marion Head Coach and Athletic Director) built it this way,” Fields lamented. “Craig is a guy that’s my mentor in many ways and I’m glad to keep going what he did.”

North Marion opens the 5A playoffs at home against Menedez in the 5A regional quarterfinals next week at Stan Toole Memorial Stadium in Sparr. Menedez (5-5; 3-2) lost to Mantanza 28-20 Thursday night to close the regular season.

*According to Richard Burton of Florida Football Records (follow on Twitter)

Broadwater, Tucker rush past Lovejoy

Chris Broadwater has broad shoulders but it  was his legs that again powered the Tucker Tigers past Lovejoy in a key region 2-6A game in Georgia. Broadwater rushed for over 150 yards and four touchdowns as the Tigers victory pulled Tucker into a three-way tie for first in the region with Lovejoy and Newton. Newton as of Friday night has the head up for first place with one game remaining in the regular season.

Tucker (6-3; 3-1) jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first half after Broadwater touchdowns of 24, 21 and 5 yards. Lovejoy gained momentum as the first half ended. Santo Dunn returned a kickoff 56 yards and caught a 29-yard pass to the Tucker five setting up a 5-yard touchdown run by quarterback Trevaro Hardy for a 21-7 halftime score.

Dunn continued to impact the game stripping Chase Tyson of the ball on a punt return, Dunn returned it 32 yards for a touchdown in the opening moments of the third quarter to pull Lovejoy within seven, 21-14. Broadwater and Tucker answered right back as Broadwater finished the Tigers ensuing drive with a 17-yard touchdown run to put the Tiger up 28-14.

The youthful Lovejoy (4-5; 3-1) team would respond as Hardy hit junior Malik Route on a screen, Route did the rest racing 58 yards for a touchdown to again pull Lovejoy within seven at 28-21 late in the third.

As the third quarter ended Tucker drove deep in to Lovejoy territory but faced a fourth down as the fourth quarter opened. The Tigers leaned on dependable kicker Adam Lippy and the junior delivered with a 31-yard field goal on the opening play of the fourth quarter to put Tucker again 31-21, that held as the final points in the 31-21 Tucker victory.

Tucker will close the regular season next week against Lakeside-Dekalb while Lovejoy will face Alcovy. Newton will take on win-less Rockdale and a shot to lock up the region 2-6A championship to close its regular season. Newton defeated Tucker but lost to Lovejoy during region play this season and therefore hold the tiebreaker going into next week.

Hoover’s 31 straight points powers win over North Marion

The Hoover Bucs entered their out of state contest with North Marion (FL) with plenty on the line. The Bucs picked up eight points towards the tiebreaker and will finish as the Region 3 runner-up after a 38-14 victory over the visiting Colts.

North Marion got it started early on a 66 -yard touchdown pass from  Caleb Seiler to Freddie Swain for a quick 7-0 lead in the first quarter. From there Hoover used short fields, a strong running game with timely passing and third down conversions to to rip off 31 unanswered points to close the first half with a 31-7 halftime lead. Quarterback Chris Vacarella rushed for two touchdowns,  CJ Sturdivant and Vonte Brackett scored on rushing touchdowns and Barret Pickering added a 27-yard field goal during Hoover’s explosion.

After a stagnant first  half after the opening touchdown, the Colts offense came to live on their second possession of the third quarter by going 98 yards in 15 plays scoring on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Seiler to Swain to pull within 31-14 but would get no closer. Hoover added another rushing touchdown from Gailen Richardson early in the fourth quarter for the final 38-14 margin.

North Marion (8-1; 2-0) was lead by Justin Watkins 134 yards rushing on 25 totes while Swain finished with five receptions for 87 yards and two touchdowns receiving.

Vonte Brackett finished with 77 yards rushing (71 in the first half) and Vacarella was 10-of-18 for 122 yards passing without a touchdown or interception.

Hoover was able to use the field position game to it’s advantage and went 6-of-7 in the red zone, a missed field goal on their third possession of the game was the only time the Buccaneers did not score int he red zone. North Marion was unable to convert on third downs throughout the night finishing 1-of-14.

Hoover will begin the Alabama 7A playoffs next Friday while North Marion will host Lake Weir to close their regular season in Florida before hosting the first round if the 5A Florida playoffs on November 13th.

Georgia Remains Without National Select Championship; Carolina Notes

The National Select 7-on-7 National Championships were held over the weekend in Hoover, AL for the 15th straight year.

11th-seeded Louisville Male (KY) became the lowest seeded team in the events history and the first team from Kentucky to win the event after defeating Hoover in the winner-take-all championship game 20-16.

Hoover needed to defeat Male twice in the championship finals to win and forced the winner-take-all game by defeating Male 27-24 in the first game on a late interception. It was the first 7-on-7 tournament win in Male’s history engineered by quarterback Hayden Shelton and receiver Zach “Z” Smith doing most of the damage via the long ball on multiple occasions.

As for the state of Georgia it was again another empty trip. 6A schools (highest classification in GA) Colquitt County, North Gwinnett, Grayson, Valdosta, Lassiter and Centennial represented Georgia. Georgia was the second-most represented state in the field behind Alabama’s nine schools.

Colquitt County won their pool and entered the double-elimination portion of the event as the fifth seed, the highest seed of all Georgia schools, advancing to the loser’s bracket finals after falling to Mallard Creek. In the loser’s finals the Packers lost in a beatdown to Hoover 42-2. Colquitt posted an overall record of 10-3.

Lassiter entered tournament play as the eighth-seeded team after posting a 5-2 pool play record. The Trojans won their first two tournament games over 25th-seeded Foley (AL) and 24-seed Mandeville (LA) before falling to the losers bracket after losing to top-seeded Hoover. Lassiter bowed out in their next game losing to 10th-seed Byrnes (SC), finishing with a 7-4 overall record.

13th-seeded Grayson bowed out quickly losing each of its first two games in tournament play to 20th-seeded DeSoto Central (MS) and 29th-seeded Centennial. Grayson finished with a 4-5 overall record. Centennial, the lowest seeded team from Georgia, were eliminated by 14th-seeded Clay-Chalkville (AL) in their next game. The Knights finished with an overall record of 2-8.

17th-seeded North Gwinnett won its tournament opener against 16th-seeded Wheaton North (IL) before falling to the loser’s bracket after losing to top-seeded Hoover. The Bulldogs were then eliminated by 31st-seeded Glendale (MO) in their next game and finished with an overall record of 4-6.

Valdosta played in arguably the toughest pool of the event with Mallard Creek, Hoover and Byrnes in the pool. The Cats started slow in pool play with an 0-3 record before rebounding to finish 3-4 and seeded 21st. Valdosta was bounced in their first two games by 12th-seeded Stanhope Elmore (AL) and 28th-seeded Carver-Montgomery (AL) posting an overall record of 3-6. Valdosta’s showing was a slight disappointment considering they had showed well in previous National Select Qualifier tournaments over the summer, including a runner-up finish in the South Carolina Qualifier in Spartanburg, SC in late June.

Georgia is too powerful of a high school football state to not have a school win the biggest 7-on-7 event in the nation since its inception in 2001. Lovejoy (GA) pulled out of the Georgia Qualifier due to qualifying for another event in its first year. Lovejoy finished as the runner-up in that event losing 16-5 to Ribault (FL) in the title game. Lovejoy is the only Georgia school to hold the top seed in the National Select 7-on-7 Championships, doing so in 2012, yet did not win the event.

CAROLINAS UPDATE:

Mallard Creek (NC), Spartanburg (SC), Byrnes (SC), Hillcrest (SC) represented the Carolinas in this years event. Spartanburg earned the two-seed in tournament play after posting an undefeated 7-0 record in pool play. The Vikings won their first two tournament games before losing 25-24 to seventh-seeded Oxford (MS), on an outstanding play by the Oxford receiver, in the winner’s bracket quarterfinals. In the loser’s bracket the Vikings eliminated 31st-seeded Glendale (MO) before bowing out to 19th-seeded Bergen Catholic (NJ) 31-20 in a game with multiple controversial calls. The Vikings finished 10-2 overall.

Mallard Creek posted a 6-1 record in pool play losing only Hoover. In tournament play the Mavericks advanced to the winners bracket finals, defeating Hoover along the way. Mallard Creek fell to the loser’s bracket after falling to 11th-seeded Male (KY). Mallard Creek would bow out of the tournament in their third game against Hoover (AL) in the loser’s bracket finals. The Buccaneers won 26-20 on one of the best plays of the entire weekend where a Buccaneers player caught a deflected pass in the back of the end zone with no time left for the game-winning touchdown, eliminating the Mavs. Mallard Creek finished with an overall record of 11-3; two losses to Hoover (AL).

Byrnes got off to a 3-0 start in pool play before finishing 4-3 to enter the tournament as the ten-seed. The Rebels defeated 23rd-seeded Spain Park (AL) before falling to the loser’s bracket after a loss to seventh-seeded Oxford (MS). The Rebels defeated 16th-seeded Wheaton North (IL) and eighth-seeded Lassiter (GA) before being eliminated by fifth-seeded Colquitt County (GA). The Rebels posted an overall record of 7-5.

Hillcrest (SC) entered the tournament as the 18-seed after going 3-4 in pool play. The Rams made a quick exit losing to 15-seed Naperville Central and 31-seed Glendale (MO) in tournament action.

Mallard Creek, Spartanburg and Byrnes all showed that Carolina high school football can hold its own. Mallard Creek will face Byrnes in regular season action on September 4th and Spartanburg and Byrnes will tangle during the regular season on October 2nd, making for an interesting run among the top teams in South and North Carolina.

North Marion Releases New Uniforms For 2015 Season

The North Marion Colts continue to up their marquee value. Months away from breaking in a newly upgraded football and track facility, the Colts, on Sunday revealed new threads that they will wear this fall.

North Marion (FL) Colts

North Marion (FL) Colts

North Marion will wear Nike uniforms after previously wearing Under Armour.

North Marion has made the state playoffs 15 seasons in a row and will be entering its second season under head coach Stephen Field, replacing Craig Damon now with the FHSAA. Damon was recently promoted to the position of Assistant Executive Director for Eligibility and Compliance Services.

North Marion, which is in Sparr, FL despite being listed as Citra, FL nationally, will play their first-ever out-of-state game this fall when they travel to Hoover, AL to take on nationally known and respected Hoover October 30th.

North Marion wide receiver Freddie Swain and Hoover defensive back PJ Hall will highlight the matchup. Both are being recruited by multiple colleges despite not being household names.

Hoover is the defending Alabama 7A state champions, North Marion bowed out in the regional quarterfinals last season in Florida.