This is Score Atlanta's Gwinnett Prep Beat for last week. Enjoy.
North Gwinnett was at it again last week, once again hosting a nationally-ranked out-of-state powerhouse, and once again the Bulldogs left the field victorious. One week after “one heck of a challenge,” from Bob Jones of Alabama, head coach Bob Sphire and his team welcomed in Crenshaw of Los Angeles, California for a nationally-televised tilt on ESPNU. Entering the game, Sphire said that the “community (was) going to be really excited,” and it was after Brandon McGowan returned a third quarter fumble 43 yards to put North Gwinnett up 14-12. The Bulldogs recorded two interceptions in the second half and used a Jeff Hatley field goal to reach the final margin of 17-12. Ethan Kilgore had a first half score and CJ Uzomah played mostly at QB in the second half as the Bulldogs rallied to a victory.
The win over Crenshaw capped a hectic stretch for North Gwinnett where, over the last five weeks, saw the Bulldogs host the Atlanta Falcons’ Friday Night Lights scrimmage, then host Grayson in a televised scrimmage on Fox 5. The Bulldogs then opened the season against Lassiter in the Georgia Dome as part of the Corky Kell Classic, only to return home the next week to face Bob Jones in the Progressive Football Challenge then host Crenshaw on ESPNU. Coach Sphire said of the stretch, “no rest for the weary,” but also intimated that he wouldn’t have it any other way. “I can’t blame anybody but myself (for the schedule). This was the plan when I was hired.” North Gwinnett will a much-needed off-week to enjoy its new No.2 Class AAAAA ranking before hosting Collins Hill next week.
Speaking of Collins Hill, the Eagles were ranked in the Class AAAAA top ten just one week after upsetting Roswell 13-9 and Brookwood invaded “The Hill” for a huge Region-7/Region-8 match-up. The Broncos and Eagles went back and forth, needed two overtimes before the Broncos escaped The Hill with a 45-38 win. Collins Hill QB Taylor Heinicke passed for 399 yards but it wasn’t enough to finish off the rally as Brookwood made one last defensive stand in the second OT to steal the win. Nick Thompkins had 149 yards rushing for the Broncos while Jamaal Cole also broke the century-mark with 124 yards and three TDs.
One interesting note about Collins Hill’s football squad: this year’s edition features a European flavor with senior TE/DE Ville Tanskanen. Coach Kevin Reach said of Tanskanen, a native of Finland, “he’s been very solid for us.”
In a rematch of the 2006 Class AAAAA state championship game, Peachtree Ridge nudged off Roswell for a 24-17 win thanks to a Billy Best-to-Ahmaad Harris 5-yard connection for the game-winning score with under one minute to play. Peachtree Ridge improved to 2-0 and will face Newnan in this week’s Georgia Public Broadcasting Friday Night Game of the Week.
Norcross improved to 2-0 and Parkview fell to 0-2 as the Blue Devils won 14-0, giving coach Maloof his 100th career win. Seth Hinsley and Kendrix Huitt both scored rushing touchdowns for Norcross. In other games, Kent Rollins of South Gwinnett threw two second-half TD passes and ran one in from thirty yards out as the Comets held on to beat ML King 44-41. Duluth improved to 2-0 with a 24-14 win over Northview and GAC knocked off Druid Hill 48-7 to improve to 2-0 after going 1-9 last year.
Outside of the gridiron, Collins Hill softball hurler Kayla Floor tossed a no-hitter as the Eagles defeated Duluth in a Region 7-AAAAA contest. Floor K’ed 12 in five innings of work and received some help offensively from McKenzie Halstead and Brittany Roley. In other softball news, Brandi Jones of Brookwood was impressive on the mound and at the plate in a 3-2 win over Parkview. Jones was 2-3 at the dish and picked up the win over the Lady Panthers. North Gwinnett creamed Peachtree Ridge on the softball diamond 11-3 thanks to 11 Lady Bulldog hits, including four from Lacey Najafi. And finally Grayson Rams pitcher Kanani Cabrales struck out eleven batters in a 4-1 win over Newton. Cabrales went seven innings, allowing just three hits, while collecting three hits at the plate herself. Shelby Smith scored twice for Grayson.
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