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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | forsythnews.com
ForsythKickoft
North Atlanta at
Forsyth Central
When, where: Friday, 7:30 p.m., at
Thermopylae Stadium in Atlanta.
Records, rankings: Forsyth Central is 4-3
overall, 2-2 in Region 7-AAAAA, Div. B, and
unranked; North Springs is 1-6, 1-3 and unranked.
Series history: Central leads 6-2.
Last meeting: Central won 35-22 in 2013.
What to know: Things didn’t go so well for
North Springs the last time they played a wish
bone/triple-option team from Forsyth County ear
lier this season in a 21-14 loss to Class A Pinecrest
Academy.The Spartans did, however, beat local
rival Riverwood, 24-17, a team that Central han
dled easily earlier this season. Last Friday,
Cambridge routed North Springs 64-7.
Quarterback Tyler Reid is a running threat that the
Bulldogs will have to be wary of.
Central was expected to struggle at Sprayberry,
which had Auburn commit Bailey Sharp on the
offensive line and running backs Rakeem Myricks
(small-school Div. 1 offers) and sophomore Trey
Sermon (early interest from Georgia). The Yellow
Jackets took care of business to improve to 5-0 in
Region 7-AAAAA, Div. B, with a 34-7 win. Shaun
Diebel again was Shaun Diebel, running for 138
yards, including a 71-yard run to set up Sabrian
Howard's touchdown. Central coach Shane
Williamson termed the Bulldogs' final two games
as must-win, though that much is obvious —
Central i$ 2-2 in the sub-region, tied for third with
Cambridge.The Bulldogs need a win at North
Springs on Friday to make Cambridge’s Oct. 31
trip to Cumming meaningful. At the very least,
beating North Springs would guarantee Central its
first .500 season since 2008 under Chris Bennett.
Maxwell Projection: Central by 11.
u Centennial at
North Forsyth
When, where: Friday, 7:30 p.m., at Raider
Valley in Coal Mountain.
Records, rankings: Centennial is 4-3 overall,
4-2 in Region 6-AAAAAA and unranked; North is
1-6, 1-5 and unranked.
Series history: Series tied 2-2.
Last meeting: North Forsyth won 28-24 in
2013.
What to kinow: Centennial, quietly, is in the
mix with Northview, Lambert and West at 4-2 in
Region 6-AAAAAA, though based on scores
against 0-7 Habersham Central (42-39 win) and
Alpharetta (39-0 loss), the Knights would have to
be considered the weakest of that bunch. Still, get
a win at Raider Valley on Friday and Centennial
will be a game up on either Lambert or West with
two home games against West and Northview
remaining. Sophomore quarterback Casen
Conway led an improbable comeback in the
Knights’ 28-21 win over Lambert on Sept. 12, com
ing off the bench in the second quarter to throw
for 212 yards and two scores and run for two
more touchdowns, including the game-winner
with 1:31 left.
North finally got a win last Friday by edging
Johns Creek, 14-13, thanks to a blocked extra
point on the Gladiators’ first touchdown.The
Raiders were already struggling before Zac Slaton
and Mason Quarles were lost for the season with
injuries, but Jesus Torres stepped up against ‘
Johns Creek to rush for 101 yards and a touch
down and fullback Jamal Davenport added 65
yards. Turnovers have killed North all season, but
the Raiders were able to sustain another drive just
before halftime, converting two fourth downs,
before Lance McGonigle scored from 12 yards
out. Raiders coach Jason Galt said it was a mon
key off North's back just to get a win—can the
Raiders build on that?
Maxwell projection: Centennial by 15.
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&>¢ » Horizon Christian
‘33(‘ Pl at Kings Academy
When, where: Friday, 7:30 p.m., at Kell High
School in Marietta.
Records, rankings: Horizon is 2-5 overall and
1-1 in GICAA,; Kings Academy is 3-4 and 3-0.
Last meeting: Kings Academy won 51-7 in
2013.
What to know: Both teams come in nursing
their wounds. Horizon has lost two straight, the
most recent a 56-6 loss to Johnson Ferry Christian
Academy in which the Warriors were never in the
game. Johnson Ferry threw five touchdown pass
es in the first half and cruised the rest of the way
as Horizon struggled to get anything going on
offense. That's been a theme for the Warriors in
their past four games in which they're averaging
just 8 points per game. Kings Academy has lost
two straight, the most recent a 34-0 loss to Faith
Baptist Christian Academy in which the Knights
were held to three yards rushing on 10 carries.
One team figures to get back on track this week.
Kings Academy is led by senior quarterback
Hamilton Armour. He's completed 43.2 percent of
his passes (54 for 125) for 874 yards with 12 touch
downs and five interceptions. Armour also leads
the Knights with 179 rushing yards and four
touchdowns on 65 carries. Armour’s favorite tar
gets are Simeon Buhler (12 rec., 173 yards, 3TDs),
Darrien Zackery (7 rec., 170 yards, 2TDs) and
Daniel Matteson (6 rec., 153 yards, 2TDs). Kings
Academy also has a weapon in junior running
back Joseph Cellino who has rushed for 159 yards
on 34 carries.
@E Pinecrest Academy at
€ Fellowship Christian
When, where: Friday, 7:30 p.m., at Paladin
Field in Roswell.
Records, rankings: Pinecrest is 5-2 overall,
2-1 in Region 6-A, Div. B and unranked; Fellowship
Christian is 3-4, 2-1 and unranked.
Series history: Fellowship leads 3-1.
Last meeting: Fellowship won 21-14 in 2011. -
What to know: Two teams collide coming off
disappointing losses and have plenty at stake
Friday. Both are a part of a four-way tie for first
place in Region 6-A, Div. B with Mount Pisgah
Christian and Whitefield Academy, which happen
to be who Pinecrest and Fellowship lost to last
week. Pinecrest put forth a valiant defensive per
formance against Mount Pisgah but lost 21-14.
Fellowship lost a close 17-13 game to Whitefield.
The winner Friday would be in good shape for a
favorable match-up against a Div. A team in its
regular season finale on Nov. 7. Pinecrest, for its
part, is still in good shape in the overall playoff
picture sitting at No. 7 in the latest GHSA Power
Ratings for Class A private school football.
The Paladins will have to stop Fellowship’s run
oriented attack led by quarterback Shane Young.
He leads Fellowship with 502 rushing yards on 88
carries with four touchdowns. He's also thrown for
326 yards and three touchdowns. Running backs
Andrew Minkert (407 yards, STDs) and Tyler
Mattheson (246, 6TDs) share the load with Young.
And if Young does throw, chances are it's going to
wide receiver Dalton Depew (161 yards, 2TDs)
and Jake Williamson (126 yards, TD). Williamson
also gives Fellowship a weapon in the kicking
game. He's made 7 of 9 field goals this season
with a long of 50 yards. Jake Hardin is
Fellowship’s leader on defense with 69 tackles,
seven tackles for loss, two sacks and an intercep
tion.
Maxwell Projection: Pinecrest by 18.
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FOSTER LANDER
Sports writer
BRIAN PAGLIA
Sports editor
-
Central
Kings Academy
Lambert
Centennial
Pinecrest
Alpharetta
"
299
__GAMES
Central at North
Springs
Horizon Christian
atKings Academy
Lambert at West
Centennial at
North Forsyth
Pinecrest at
Fellowship Chr.
South at
Alpharetta
Last week
Gverall
S 4 g Lambert at
W% West Forsyth
When, where: Friday, 7:30 p.m., atThe Den in
Cumming. !
Records, rankings: Lambert is 4-3 overall, 4-2
in Region 6-AAAAAA and unranked; West is 4-3,
4-2 and unranked.
Series history: Series tied 1-1.
Last meeting: Lambert won 33-14 in 2013.
What to know: West and Lambert have been
mirror images of one another this season. Both
the Wolverines and Longhorns started 1-2; both
have gone 3-1 since then. West pulled an upset
over South last Friday; Lambert pulled an upset of
its own at Northview at the same time. Both
Lambert coach Louis Daniel and West coach Adam
Clack feel their respective teams are starting to
play to the level they're capable of, with better
execution on both sides of the ball. Drew Cole has
provided some stability at quarterback for the
Longhorns, allowing running back Trevor O'Brien’s
numbers to tick upward. Speaking of O'Brien—the
senior led the county in rushing last season at
West before moving this summer to Lambert, and
now returns to The Den with a chance to beat his
old teammates and coaches.
West looked like a totally different team in last
week’s upset at South Forsyth. The Wolverines
were mostly in control from start to finish, as
Hampton McConnell made throws in key situa
tions and broke the game open with an 80-yard
touchdown to Nate Schmitz. Lambert's defense
will be confident they can hold McConnell,
Schmitz, Austin Reid and GrantTorgerson in check
after shutting out DJ Pearson and his bevy of
offensive weapons last week. A physical West
defense held Matt White to 3-for-9 passing in the
first half; Tyler LaFlamme got his usual 100-plus
yards, but the Wolverines tackled well on the few
occasions he broke past the first level.
Maxwell Projection: West by 2.
South Forsyth
at Alpharetta
When, where: Friday, 7:30 p.m., at Alpharetta
Stadium.
Records, rankings: South is 5-2 overall, 5-1 in
Region 6-AAAAAA and unranked; Alpharetta is
6-1, 6-0 and unranked.
Series history: Alpharetta leads 4-0.
Last meeting: Alpharetta won 38-14 in 2013.
What to know: South takes on an Alpharetta
team that's seemingly been on cruise control the
past three weeks in victories against Habershaiy
Central (52-3), Centennial (39-0) and
Chattahoochee (56-7). The Raiders are a senior-lad
en bunch, led by N.C. State commitment and
quarterback Austin King who completes 57.4 per
cent of his passes (96-for-167) for 1,321 yards with
12 touchdowns and six interceptions. Leading
rushers Miles Smith (502 yards, 12TDs) and
Lemuel Cobbs (481 yards, 3TDs) are both seniors.
So are King’s top targets in Rustin Suter (24 rec.,
356 yards, 3TDs), Ryan Kopec (4TDs) and James
Marbaugh. And of course there’s Alpharetta’s
defensive force in senior Andrew Butcher, the
Tennessee commitment who has 34 tackles, 8.5
tackles for loss and six sacks this season.
South, meanwhile, is coming off a disappoint
ing 27-14 loss to West Forsyth for its first region
loss. War Eagles running back Tyler LaFlamme was
productive as usual, rushing for 128 yards and
two touchdowns on 26 carries. Despite a slight
drop-off from his first five games, the senior is still
the top rusher in Class AAAAAA with 1,189 yards.
Quarterback Matt White completed 15 of 30 pass
es for 177 yards spreading it around to Cameron
Kline (6 rec., 71 yards), Jalen Camp (4 rec., 47
yards) and Drew Witalis {3 rec., 39 yards). And
despite the loss, South could still contend for a
region title with a victory. If not, Alpharetta would
only need to win one more game to secure its sec
ond straight region title.
Maxwell Projection: Alpharetta by 20.
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