Roswell Hornets
In The ATL
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The High School Football regular season is almost over.
Let’s take a look at how the top teams in metro Atlanta are doing before they head into the playoffs. I’m going to start with 6A.
#1 Grayson: The Rams (8-0) beat Rockdale County 58-10 last week. The defending 6A state champions are led by backup junior quarterback David “Deuce” Smith.
Four-star senior QB and UNC commit Travis Burgess suffered a season ending knee injury in the third game of the season.
“Hearing him go down, it was sad at one point,” Smith said. “Then it was excited like, ‘Your time is now,’ then it’s nervous butterflies, like, ‘Oh, shoot, it’s a big game coming up.”
In the Rockdale game, Smith threw five touchdown passes in the first half. Jovanni Watts returned a punt 52 yards for a touchdown. Jonathan Stafford had three catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns.
Next: 10/24 vs. South Gwinnett (5-2)
#2 Buford: The Wolves (7-0) beat Dacula 58-7 last week.
Dayton Raiola, the younger brother of Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola, was 9-of-11 passing for 184 yards and four touchdowns, two to Torre Costin.
D.J. McCoy rushed for 92 yards. Deion Miller had seven solo tackles.
Next: Friday at Central Gwinnett (3-3)
#3 Carrolton: The Trojans (8-0) made it to the state championship game in 2024.
Last week they beat Chapel Hill 56-7.
Rontre Welch returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown and caught a 46-yard TD pass a few minutes later.
Jay Hagan returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown.
C.J. Cypher was 9-of-9 passing for 180 yards and three touchdowns. Mason Holtzclaw was 8-of-11 passing for 69 yards and a touchdown.
Next: Friday vs. East Coweta (1-6)
#5 McEachern: The Indians (7-0) used to be an elite program and they have returned back to that in 2025.
Last week, they beat Pebblebrook 51-14. McEachern led 34-0 in the first half. Calvin Pittman was 8-of-9 passing for 165 yards and three touchdowns, and Coby Pittman was 5-of-8 for 83 yards and a touchdown.
Jacorey Shockley had five receptions for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Next: Friday at
#10 Hillgrove (7-0)
Now let’s take a look at 5A.
#1 Hughes: The Panthers (7-0) had a bye last week.
They lost the 5A state championship game last season to Milton. The closest game they had this season was a 13-point win over the #6 team in 6A, Douglas County.
Next: Friday vs. #10 Northgate (7-0)
#3 Gainesville: The Red Elephants (7-1) beat #5 Milton last week, 28-16.
Nigel Newkirk rushed for 166 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries.
Kharim Hughley was 12-of-19 passing for 117 yards and a touchdown. Marshall Leonard, Kadin Fossung and Jamarion Matthews combined for five tackles for losses.
Next: Friday vs. Chattahoochee (1-6)
#6 Roswell: Last week, the Hornets (6-1) beat Chattahoochee 57-13.
Trey Smith was 19-of-21 passing for 195 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown on five carries.
Dre Cousey had five receptions for 98 yards and two touchdowns.
Next: Friday vs. Lanier (5-3)
Now we will take a look at 4A.
#1 Creekside (8-0): The Seminoles made history in their game last Friday.
They beat Drew 91-0, which is the widest victory margin in a GHSA game since 1967.
They did not score an offensive touchdown in the second half.
The closest game they had this season was a 20-point win over Rome in the season opener.
Next: 10/24 at Jackson-Atlanta (6-2)
Championship Contenders
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We are in the second half of the high school football season. Teams have started region play and we have an idea of what playoff seeding might look like. I’m going to take a look at 7A to see what teams are serious championship contenders.
#1 Collins Hill: The Eagles (6-0) are the most talented team in the state. Five-star wide receiver/corner back and No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2022, Travis Hunter suffered an ankle injury last week. It was thought to be serious, but his head coach Lenny Gregory said he didn’t think it was severe.
“We don’t think it’s a season-ending thing,” he said. “We’re praying for good news obviously and I think, from everything we’re hearing, he’s going to be just fine.”
Collins Hill also has four-star quarterback and the No .10 recruit in the state, Sam Horn. In the same game, a 63 – 0 win over rival Peachtree Ridge he became Gwinnett County’s all-time leading passer. If Hunter returns, they will win the state championship. Junior tight end and four-star recruit Ethan Davis is the go-to playmaker while Hunter is not playing.
#2 North Cobb: The Warriors (5-1) only lost came in the season opener against the #1 6A team, Buford. They have steamrolled their opponents in their five consecutive victories. This is one of the most talented teams in Georgia.
Four-star cornerback and Georgia commit Marquis Groves-Killebrew is the best player on the team. They have another four-star and UGA commit on the team, wide receiver De’Nylon Morrissette.
Wide receiver Samuel Mbake is also a four-star recruit and the No. 25 player in Georgia. Three-star defensive end and Michigan commit Joshua Josephs helps generate a pass rush.
#3 Milton: The Eagles (6-1) lost to North Cobb, 40 – 14 in Week 2.
The top player on their team is three-star tight end and Michigan State commit Jack Nickel.
They also have a three-star inside linebacker Maurice Clipper Jr. who is committed to Tennessee.
The backfield has a couple more three-star players, quarterback Devin Farrell and running back Jordan McDonald.
Milton does not have the elite talent like the top two teams, but they can compete with anyone else. They are in the same region with #9 Roswell and they play later this month.
#4 Mill Creek: The Hawks (6-0) have looked dominant so far. The closest margin of victory is 14 points. They have not been challenged this season.
The season finale is against Collins Hill so we will learn a lot about them from that game. Surprisingly, they do not have any players ranked in the top 100 recruits in the state.
Junior quarterback Hayden Clark has passed for 1,137 yards, 9 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.
#9 Roswell: The Hornets (6-1) are my dark horse team to make a deep playoff run.
The lone loss was on the road to #6 Walton. They have a very good defense and are led by senior quarterback Robbie Roper. He’s thrown for 1,619 yards, 20 TD’s and 4 picks. He’s also rushed for 225 yards and 3 scores.
They have two running backs, Ryan Hill II and Nykahi Davenport that have over 300 yards rushing.
Bringing Home The Hardware
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2016 Georgia state championships are in the books and eight champions have been crowned. This is the last year it will be held at the Georgia Dome before moving next door to the new Mercedes Benz Stadium and there were some memorable games.
The first game was the single A private school championship played Friday morning between Eagles Landing Christian Academy and Fellowship Christian School. The game went to double overtime with the ELCA Chargers winning 34-27.
The Class A public game was very one sided. Macon County beat McIntosh Academy 35-0. Macon County only led 7-0 until the final seconds of the 3rd quarter before scoring on four consecutive possessions. This is their second state championship and first in 20 years.
The AA game was also not close. Benedictine defeated Fitzgerald 49-26. Benedictine scored on its first five possessions to take a 35-6 first half lead. This is their second state title and first since 2014. They are the first Savannah school to win two state championships and this is their first undefeated full season since starting football in 1908.
The AAA game featured two metro Atlanta teams, Cedar Grove from Dekalb County and Greater Atlanta Christian from Gwinnett County. The Saints took a 23-3 lead with 1:09 left in the first half after Tre Shaw returned an interception 34-yards for a touchdown. Cedar Grove beat GAC 30-19 to win their first state title.
Cartersville and Thomson played for the AAAA championship. The Purple Hurricanes destroyed Thomson 58-7. This was the second-most points scored in GHSA finals history. Cartersville has won 30 consecutive games since they have had two consecutive 15-0-championship seasons.
The 5A game saw perennial power Buford match up with Rome. Both teams have the same Wolves mascot. Rome iced the game by scoring on an 18-yard naked bootleg on fourth-and-inches with 1:12 remaining in the 4th quarter. They won 16-7 giving Rome their first title since opening in 1992. Before East and West Rome merged to form Rome High they combined for seven state titles from 1965 to 1985.
Valdosta beat Tucker 17-7 in the 6A championship. The Wildcats scored on their first two possessions to take a 14-0 lead. This is Valdosta’s first title since 1998 but they did extend their state record to 24 state championships. Alan Rodemaker became the first Valdosta head coach to win a state title in his first season.
The final game was the heavy weight 7A match up between Grayson and Roswell. This is the first year of 7A and it looks like Gwinnett County will continue to dominate the state’s largest classification. The Grayson Rams are ranked in the top 5 nationally.
The Hornets from Roswell were undefeated, ranked No. 2 in the state and appeared in their second consecutive state championship. The Hornets dominated the game and led for most of it. Grayson took their first lead of the game with 1:04 remaining. The Hornets scored on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Malik Willis to Kentrell Barber on the final play of regulation to tie the game 20-20. The Rams won in overtime 23-20. This is Grayson’s second state title and first since 2011 when they were led by Robert Nkemdiche. Head coach Jeff Herron became the first coach to win state titles at three Georgia schools (Oconee County & Camden County were the others).
