Johns Creek Holds Off Late Threat From Alpharetta

By Mike Blum

JOHNS CREEK, GA -- The Johns Creek Gladiators remain in contention for a Region 7-AAAAAA title and a home game in the first round of the playoffs, defeating Alpharetta 20-14 Friday thanks to a late defensive stand.

The Raiders, who trailed 17-0 in the second quarter, closed within 17-14 after back-to-back drives of 80 yards late in the second period and early in the third. But the Alpharetta offense punted on its next three series, the last time after failing to capitalize on a roughing-the- punter penalty, before mounting a late threat.

Starting at the Johns Creek 40 following a short punt by the Gladiators, the Raiders drove to the Johns Creek 4 before letting the clock run down to 10 seconds, facing fourth-and- 2. The Gladiators batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage to seal the victory and remain tied for the lead in the region.

The Gladiators are 5-1 in the region and 6-2 overall with games remaining against two of the region’s five non-contenders, none of whom have come close to beating one of the four playoff bound teams.

Johns Creek needs for Alpharetta to defeat Cambridge (5-1) next Friday to avoid a likely 3-way tie for first in the region with Cambridge and Centennial (5-1). If Alpharetta defeats Cambridge, Johns Creek and Centennial are headed for a 2-way tie, with the Gladiators earning the region’s No. 1 seed in the playoffs as a result of regular season win over the Knights.

Barring a major upset, Alpharetta (3-2, 4-3) would get the region’s third seed with a win over Cambridge, while the Bears could finish in a 3-way tie for first or end up fourth in the region with a loss to the Raiders.

The Johns Creek defense limited the Raiders to under 100 yards rushing and just 158 yards passing on 19 completions. Alpharetta receiver Carlos Carriere shredded the Gladiators for 12 receptions, 198 yards and two touchdowns in the wild game between the two teams last year, but was almost invisible Friday, making just three catches for 31 yards and having only a few other passes thrown his way.

The Gladiators, on the other hand, made good use of their primary receiving weapon. Zach Williams continued his standout play, catching six passes for 168 yards and touchdown on a 65-yard halfback pass from Matt Kriteman to give the Gladiators a 17-0 lead midway through the second period.

Running back Matthew Taylor had a big first half for the Gladiators with 12 carries for 111 yards and a 29-yard touchdown, but managed just four yards on eight attempts in the second half, as the Raiders allowed just 1 yard rushing in the final two periods.

The Gladiators’ lone score in the second half came on a 48-yard field goal by Jake Friant after quarterback Zach Gibson completed passes of 23 yards to Williams and 27 yards to Reed Maness.

Friant kicked a 34-yard field goal to start the scoring in the first period after Gibson hit Thomas Tremble for 25 and 22 yards. Gibson finished with 202 yards passing, with the Gladiators amassing 267 yards in the air.

Carriere had a 14-yard reception on fourth-and- 9 from the Johns Creek 37 to keep an Alpharetta drive alive late in the second quarter, with quarterback Matthew Downing scrambling 22 yards for the touchdown.

The Raiders came right back at the start of the second half with a 13-yard reception by Carriere on third drive extending the series. The Raiders overcame a pair of penalties thanks to catches for 10 and 17 yards by Robbie Ruppel, with Ellis Merriweather scoring on fourth-and- goal from the 1 with less than five minutes elapsed in the third quarter.

But the Raiders gained just three yards on their next three possessions, and could not take advantage of their opportunity to pull out a victory in the closing seconds.

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