Alexander’s Marvin McGhee III knocked in five three-pointers enroute to a game-high 17 points as Alexander (2-1) handed Archer (3-1) its first lost of the 53-50.
Jaylon Brown scored 12 while Bryce Robinson and Xavier Thornton each put in 8 points as Alexander capitalized off of several Archer turnovers in the second half and held the Tigers 42 points below their season average.
Brent Smith scored 16 and Areyon Johnson had 14 off the bench while CJ Hines finished with 11 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal for Archer.
Georgia Week 3 of high school football was played over the weekend with only a handful of games cancelled or postponed due the approaching Hurricane Irma. Most of those games were in the southeastern coastal portions of Georgia after mandatory evacuations were issued. Here is a look at some the games of interest from Week 3 in Georgia
Cartersville’s (4-0) Trevor Lawrence passed for over 280 yards and 3 touchdowns while Rico Frye rushed for over 100 yards and two touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass as class 4A Cartersville defeated 7A Westlake (1-2) 38-5. Â EJ Turner caught a pair of touchdown passes for the Purple Hurricanes who won their 34th consecutive game.
Mays (2-1) won its second consecutive game since a season opening loss to Stockbridge with a 32-20 region 5-6A victory over Langston Hughes (2-1). Jaquez Milam connected with Christian Royalston on a 42-yard pass to give Langston Hughes an early 7-0 lead. Later Mays pulled to within 7-6 on a touchdown run by Tyree Nelson. Mays took a 12-7 into halftime after quarterback Jaquez Evans hooked up with Amir Abdur Rahman on a 56-yard touchdown pass. Â In the third quarter the team quickly exchanged touchdowns as Langston Hughes’ TJ Portress briefly gave the Panthers an 14-12 lead on a 4-yard touchdown run. On the ensuing kickoff Ihbin Tophia returned it 80 yards for a touchdown for an 18-14 lead. The Raiders expanded the lead to 25-14 on Nelson’s second touchdown run of the game. Antoino Grier block a punt and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown and 32-14 Mays lead in the fourth quarter. Langston Hughes completed the scoring with a Tyrea Swanson 10-yard touchdown run for the final 32-20 margin.
Meadowcreek (3-0) improved to 3-0 for the first time in the programs 32-year history with a 29-27 win over Forsyth Central (0-3). Meadowcreek, located in Norcross, Ga in Gwinnett County, is 73% Hispanic. The Mustangs have one of the largest offensive lines in Georgia averaging around 320 pounds which paved the way for two rushing touchdowns by Chauncey Williams (180-plus yards rushing). Jeremiah Caldwell had a receiving touchdown while Alonzo Howard returned an interception for a touchdown. Meadowcreek led 26-6 at one point before Forsyth Central rallied. The Bulldogs closed to within 26-20 on a late third quarter touchdown run by Devron Orasn. Meadowcreek added its cushion early in the fourth quarter on a field goal by Christopher  Linares to put the Mustangs up 29-20. Forsyth Central added another Orasn touchdown to make it 29-27 however on their next possession were unable to convert a fourth down which sealed the victory for Meadowcreek.
Cedar Shoals (3-0) defeated North Oconee (1-2) in dramatic fashion 13-6. Ken Johnson rushed for two touchdown but it was his 5-yard touchdown with 38 seconds remaining in the game that propelled the Jaguars to the victory. Cedar Shoals has won the last two meeting between the two schools.
Stephenson (1-2) defeated Southwest Dekalb (2-2) 31-18 in a sloppy game featured five fumbles between the two teams . Ira Henderson return the second half kickoff 86 yards fro a touchdown to jump start Stephenson after trailing 6-0 at the half. Â Stephenson’s Deshon Stoudemire caught a pair of touchdowns, one from Ga’von Wray another from Daren Parker. Justin Tomlin passed for three touchdowns for Southwest Dekalb.
Georgia High School FootballÂ
Stockbridge (3-0) for the second consecutive week allowed their opponent to score on their opening possession and for the second consecutive week after that they did not allow their opponents to score again. Dutchtown (2-1) jumped out a 7-0 lead after Shanaan McKoy’s short touchdown run capped the Bulldogs opening drive. Stockbridge pulled to within 7-6 after a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown by Demaje Carter. Marquez Ezzard added a touchdown run in the fourth quarter for the final 13-7 margin. Dutchtown’s final drive ended with an interception to cap another stingy night of Stockbridge defense which has allowed only 14 points in three games this season. It was Stockbridge’s eight consecutive victory over county and region foe Dutchdown. Lovejoy (41.5), Dutchtown (41) and Mays (36.1) are all averaging 36-plus points in games this season when not including their game against Stockbridge in which all were held to single digits (Mays was shutout).
Grayson (3-0) defeated John Curtis (LA) (1-1) 22-9 on the strength of a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns. Quarterback DJ Irons rushed for a touchdown then hooked up with Jalen Rivers an 21-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter as the Rams overcame an early 9-3 deficit for the win. Grayson collected its second victory over an out-of-state opponent this season and have International School of Broward (FL) and Ramsay (AL) remaining on the schedule. Â Grayson has won 17 consecutive games, including two over Alabama power Hoover, since losing to IMG Academy (FL) in their 2016 season opener.
Colquitt County (4-0) shutout Roswell (1-2) 28-0 to win its third consecutive game. Ty Leggett rushed for two touchdowns in the second half while Nigel Hillery rushed for a touchdown in the fourth quarter for the final margin.
Dacula (1-2) picked up its first win of the season by snapping  Arabia Mountain’s three-game win streak with a 9-0 shutout victory. Jalen Perry rushed for the lone touchdown of the game and Zachary Gerts connected on field goal for Dacula. Arabia Mountain (3-1) had a short touchdown run called back for holding in the first half and missed a field goal in the second half.
North Gwinnett has won three in a row since losing its season opener to Walton
North Gwinnett (3-1) won their third straight game defeating Norcross (2-2) 35-14. North Gwinnett’s Tyler Goodson rushed for over 240 yards and three touchdowns. Jimmy Urzua, who took over as quarterback for injured starter Cade Fortin in the first quarter of the Milton game, has led the Bulldogs to all three victories. Urzua and Devin Crosby each rushed for touchdowns as North Gwinnett amassed over 330 yards rushing as a team.
New Manchester (2-1) shutout Creekside 23-0. AJ Taylor rushed for over 100 yards and two touchdowns while Eddie Ellis caught a touchdown for New Manchester. Creekside (0-3) has been been shutout in all three games being outscored 89-0.
Other Scores/Notes of Interest:
Woodstock (2-1) became the fourth Georgia team to score 70-plus points this season in their 77-49 shootout victory over Kennesaw Mountain (2-1). Rockdale County (75 vs Berkmar), Habersham Central (72 vs East Hall) and Mountain View (71 vs Osborne) are the others.
Jenkins (3-0) defeated Liberty County (1-2) 43-41; Jenkins quarterback Javonte Middleton passed for three touchdowns.
Class 7A Tift (4-0) handed former region foe and defending 6A state champion Valdosta (1-3) its second straight loss with a  20-10 victory
Abbeville (SC) defeated Lincoln County (1-2) 28-24
Cedar Grove (3-0) shutout Columbia (1-2) 33-0
Peachtree Ridge (0-3) struggles to begin the season continued after losing 47-28 to Newton (3-0).
McEachern earned its first victory of the season with a win over Jonesboro
McEachern (1-2) defeated Jonesboro (2-1) 49-10
Douglas County (3-0) won it’s region opener on the road shutting out Northgate (2-1) 21-0
Hapeville Charter (3-1) shutout Wesleyan (3-1) 35-0
Games of interest postponed/cancelled due to Hurricane Irma:
Camden County at Glynn Academy
Grady at Ware County
Shiloh at Lowndes; The concern with this game was Shiloh having to travel back Gwinnett County after the game in heavy traffic due to Hurricane Irma evacuations from Florida.
The Norcross Blue Devils opened their defense of the 2012 Georgia 6A title with a disgraceful 55-0 loss on national TV at the hands of the nations No.1 team Booker T. Washington (FL). Booker T. Washington is still ranked No.1 and are undefeated through a nationally laden schedule with Florida powers included. The Tornadoes are playing in the 4A Flordia state Finals (Florida has 8 Classes) and are in the driver’s seat for the “National Title”.
Norcross suffered their second loss in three games to the North Gwinnett Bulldogs 36-17 after leading at halftime. Since the 1-2 start Norcross has ripped off 11 consecutive wins. The Blue Devils get their shot at North Gwinnett and redeeming their national respect again in the Georgia 6A state finals. Georgia has 15 teams that have seen the national ranked at some point this season and will have at least ten finish nationally ranked due to the overall strength of Georgia. Norcross is adding to that strength despite taking one of the worst losses in Georgia vs Out-Of-State games in recent years (since 2007) and are making their second consecutive trip to the finals in the Georgia finals. Previously Norcross has never advanced beyond the quarterfinals prior to last year in the schools history.
Norcross defeated Colquitt County 14-9 in the semifinals to advance. Colquitt County is the first team to reach the semifinals five consecutive years Georgia history in the highest classification yet are 1-4 in those games. Norcross’ Myles Autry had been quiet most of the season coming off a knee injury sustained in the playoffs last season. Trailing 9-7 Autry took a screen pass, darted then juked free to the end zone for what would wind up being the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter. It was Autry’s second touchdown of the season. Norcross led 14-9 after Autry’s heroics and held on for the win. Jordan “Speedy” Noil intercepted a pass and returned it 44 yards to seal Norcross’ victory in the final moments.
Colquitt County led 6-0 after a pair of Jose Vega field goals. Colquitt would lead at the half after Vega hit another field goal answering a James Keeling one-yard touchdown for Norcross. Norcross’ quarterback A.J. Bush set up the score with a 52-yard run. Colquitt held their 9-7 lead into the fourth quarter with 10:18 remaining when play was suspend due to lightning.
Other games west of Norcross had been suspended earlier as storm cells entered Georgia from the northwest and moved east. After the delay Autry entered his own form of lightning to carry Norcross to the state finals.
North Gwinnett turned the ball over three times in the first half yet took a 14-7 lead to the locker room at halftime. The Bulldogs and the Indians would experience an almost 90-minute halftime as the game was suspended during halftime due to lightning.
McEachern turned an early turnover from North Gwinnett into points when senior starting quarterback Ty Clemons hit T.J. Rahming on a 26-yard touchdown for a 7-0 lead 19 seconds into the game. North Gwinnett answered right back with a C.J. Leggett 3-yard touchdown run to even the score at 7. Leggett rushed for nearly 300 yards in the game and has nearly 800 yards rushing with nine touchdowns in the postseason.
After the lengthy halftime, McEachern knotted the score at 14 on a Bailey Hockman touchdown pass to Trey Scott from 38 yards out. C.J. Leggett raced in from 50+ yards for another touchdown giving the road-weary but road-warrior Bulldogs a 21-14 lead. Michael D’Angola would add two more field goals, he missed early in the fourth quarter, for a 27-14 with under four minutes remaining. McEachern quickly put together a 4-play 60-odd yard drive to pull within six at 27-21. McEachern capped the drive on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Hockman to Artise Clark for the final margin as the point off D’Angola’s leg proved to be enough. It was the second game D’Angila has won with his leg as North Gwinnett skated by Archer 34-32 on an A’Angola field goal in the closing moments.
More information to come.
North Gwinnett became the first team to win four road playoff games to advance to the state finals nd are in the finals for the first time since 2007 (all under Head Coach Bob Sphire). Charlton County is in 1A Public won three road games to advance to the state finals. 1A Public plays one less round that 6A in Georgia.
Class 6A and 5A semifinals may be one of the toughest in the nation as far as semifinal brackets go. Colquitt wins on the road, Norcross is the defending champion, Tucker averaged close to 50 points a game during the regular season yet only 26.6 points per game in the postseason, McEachern has their quarterback back with plenty of playmakers, Creekside is inspired and North Gwinnett plays to the final horn. Those are just a few of the things that the Georgia High School Football quarterfinals offered up.
We begin in 6A where there no undefeated teams yet all are currently ranked nationally ranked or have been this season. 44-7 is combined record of the semifinal teams with all seven losses coming to playoff teams. North Gwinnett is the only one-loss team in the field. North Gwinnett’s only loss was to Collin’s Hill and defeated Norcross in the regular season. Norcross’ non-Georgia loss came to the top nationally ranked team Booker T. Washington (FL). Booker T. Washington is undefeated and are in the Florida Class 4A semifinals. Colquitt County has two losses with only one to a team from Georgia, Camden County. Colquitt’s other loss was to Hoover (AL) who is undefeated, nationally ranked and will face Auburn (AL) in the Alabama 6A finals. McEachern’s losses were to region opponents North Cobb and Hillgrove. North Cobb lost to Colquitt County in the second round and Hillgrove lost to North Gwinnett in the quarterfinals. Hillgrove defeated Camden County in the second round.
North Gwinnett is the only one-loss team in the Georgia 6A semifinals.
McEachern defeated Collins Hill 35-32 to advance. McEachern jumped out 21-3 lead but needed an 86-yard punt return for touchdown by Taj Griffin and a late interception to seal their semifinal slot. Griffin finished with 153 yards rushing and a touchdown. Alizee Chubbs rushed for two touchdowns and Bailey Hockman passed for a touchdown. Ty Clemons returned to action for the Indians coming off an ankle injury passing for 10 yards and rushing for -5 yards. Tyler Herman passed for two touchdowns, Tyler Henderson rushed for a touchdown and Dwayne Smith returned a punt for a touchdown for Collins Hill. McEachern will host North Gwinnett in the semifinals after winning the coin flip between two teams that are both three-seeds out of their regions. McEachern won the only previous meeting between the teams in 2011 in the Georgia Dome.
North Gwinnett did what they have done all season, find ways to win. The Bulldogs came from behind for the second week in a row in the playoffs to advance with a 35-31 victory over Hillgrove. CJ Leggett toted the mail for North Gwinnett rushing 40 times for 141 yards and four touchdowns. In the end it was North Gwinnett’s defense setting up the go-ahead touchdown with a fumble recovery leading to Hayden Sphire hitting Daniel Imatorbhebhe for a touchdown with a little over a minute remaining to give North Gwinnett the 35-31 lead. Hillgrove would have several shots at the end zone on their final possession but North Gwinnett’s secondary answered the bell each time knocking down pass after pass sealing the win with an interception as time expired. Hillgrove’ Richarde Bagley rushed for four touchdowns but was playing at the quarterback spot when he fumbled late in the fourth quarter setting up North Gwinnett’s final touchdown. Justin Denton caught a touchdown pass from Elijah Ironside for Hillgrove. North Gwinnett is a co-Region 7 champion and will play at McEachern in the semifinals in their fourth consecutive road playoff game.
Colquitt County jumped out early on Dacula and cruised to a 42-17 victory. Daniel Mobley passed for three touchdowns and rushed for another. Bull Barge, Colquitt’s leader in tackles, returned an interception for a touchdown and running back Sihiem King rushed for a touchdown. Kiel Pollard caught a touchdown and rushed for a touchdown as the Packers improved to 12-3 in road playoff games since 2009 under head coach Rush Propst. Colquitt will go for their 13th road under Props win next week at Norcross. Norcross defeated Colquitt in a scrimmage earlier this year in August, last year in a scrimmage in Moultrie and in the semifinals at Norcross.
Norcross held Lowndes rushing attack under 100 yards and advanced with a 28-7 victory. Norcross’ quarterback AJ Bushed rushed for a touchdown and passed for two touchdowns while Josh Boyd added a rushing touchdown. Lowndes’ only touchdown came on Austin Dixon to Malik Roberts pass in the fourth quarter. Norcross will host Colquitt County.
In 5A… three of four teams are undefeated and Gainesville, the lone team with a loss, is the defending champion.
Deshaun Watson leads Gainesville into their third consecutive semifinals.
Mundy’s Mill gave Gainesville everything they wanted but in the end it was too much Gainesville and Deshaun Watson. Watson was a part of all six of Gainesville’s touchdowns as the Red Elephants advanced to the semifinals for the third consecutive season. Watson played most of the game with a slightly injured left (non-throwing) shoulder. Rodney Smith rushed for over 200 yards and two touchdowns for Mundy’s Mill. Mundy’s Mill finished the season 8-5, their best record in school history. Gainesville’s only lost was to 3A semifinalist Buford with a victory over ML King (out-of-state win over Florida 7A playoff team Blanche Ely) in the playoffs. Gainesville will travel to undefeated Tucker in the semifinals after Tucker won the coin toss.
Joe Farrar rushed for two touchdowns, Duke Shelly returned an interception for a touchdown and Eric Webber continued his steady work in the kicking department adding two field goals as Tucker shutout Ware County 29-0. Tucker is the region 6-5A champion where three of the four teams in that region advanced to the second round of the playoffs, Stephenson and Mays are the others. The Tigers have a victory over 3A Cedar Grove (eliminated in the second round). Tucker will host Gainesville in the semifinals in their fourth consecutive home playoff game.
Creekside defeated North Paulding 41-14 on the road to advance to the semifinals. Felix Harper passed for a touchdown and Dexter Knox rushed for four touchdowns for the Seminoles. Creekside remains undefeated and will face Kell in the semifinals. Creekside defeated three class 6A teams two of which made the playoffs in Langston Hughes (eliminated by McEachern in second round) and Westlake (eliminated by Camden County in first round). The Seminoles were region champions and defeated playoff region opponents Whitewater(lost to Warner Robins in the first round) and McIntosh (lost to Northside-Warner Robins in first round) in the regular season. In addition to their victory over North Paulding they defeated Harris County and an improving Lakeside-Evans in the postseason. Creekside will host Kell in the semifinals.
Kell jumped up on Warner Robins early and often. After Warner Robins added some late touchdowns Kell advanced with a 52-28. Kell’s Jay Moxey rushed for three touchdowns while Julian Burris and Itabari Mason added rushing touchdowns. Burris also returned a kickoff for a touchdown for the Longhorns. Kell will travel Creekside in the semifinals after Creekside won the coin toss in what will be the teams first-ever meeting. The Longhorns have regular season victories over 6A Lassiter (region champ) and 5A Creekview, both were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Kell defeated Allatoona and Mays in the playoffs prior to downing Warner Robins.
It was a regular season tune up listed on both teams schedule as a scrimmage between two of Georgia’s nationally known boys basketball programs. The respect was shown by both teams especially from host Norcross. Prior to the game there was a moment of silence for Terrell Coleman the Miller Grove freshmen who suddenly lost his life during a playing basketball game in late October. The Blue Devils continued to extend their hospitality and thoughts by having a donation box set up at the entrance for the Coleman family the entire evening.
Once the game started you never knew it was a scrimmage as both teams dived on the floor for loose ball, hustled until the whistle and took the game as though it counted in the standings. Gameplay was disjointed at times and there were a number of whistles that either side didn’t agree with preventing the game from developing a rhythm. There were close to 50 fouls called in the game and both teams combined for 40 free throw attempts in the first half.
“We don’t know anything but one speed,” Miller Grove head coach Sharman White said. “We wanted to see where we were and what we need to work on and we got a great opportunity to see what we need to work on.”
After all it was the defending 6A and 5A champions on the floor. It was nip and tuck in the first quarter with Miller Grove leading 12-11 heading into the second quarter. The Wolverines extended their lead to 9 at halftime with pressure defense and offensive rebounding that lead to multiple second chance points for a 35-26 lead.
In the third quarter the Wolverines opened the flood gates racing out on a 7-2 run to open the quarter forcing Norcross to call time out with 5:56 remaining trailing 42-28. The Norcross timeout did not stop the bleeding as Miller Grove would not let up extending their lead to 21 points at one point in the third outscoring Norcross 20-11 in the quarter.
“We just started connecting plays,” White said about his teams third quarter push. “We didn’t make just one play and then not make another one for a couple of trips, defense, offense, we’d get a score we’d get a stop and then we’d get a score and that’s how you get runs and that’s what we did.”
Norcross’ Tim Cameron nailed a three-pointer as time expired for the 64-57 final, that would be as close as Norcross would get after the third quarter outburst by Miller Grove.
The Wolverines finished with three double figure scorers in Keith Pinckney (19), James Walker (12) and Deven Dorsett (11). 13 of Pinckney’s 19 came in the second half. Norcross was led by Justin Kornegay’s 10 while Cameron and Farrar-the only player to foul out, totaled 9 each.
Miller Grove will officially begins their trek for a sixth consecutive state championship when they take on Buford in the Jared Cook Classic at North Gwinnett on November 23rd. The Wolverines are ranked nationally by Max Preps in the preseason at No. 19.
Norcross begins official play when they travel to Florida to play in the Montverde Championship Series beginning on November 22nd against Osceola and Montverde Academy. Montverde is the top-ranked team in boys basketball poll by Max Preps.
Other Scrimmage Scores:
Girls:
Norcross 56 Tucker 53 Final
McEachern 83 Douglas County 53 Final/Tuesday
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