Knights Rally In 4th Quarter For Key Win Over Gladiators

By Mike Blum

ROSWELL, GA -- One week after letting a 14-point fourth quarter lead slip away against the Alpharetta Raiders, the Centennial Knights turned the tables against 7-AAAAAA opponent Johns Creek High School, scoring 14 points in the final period to erase a 17-7 and defeat the Gladiators 21-17 Friday night on their home turf.

The Knights scored touchdowns on both their fourth quarter possessions and stopped a late Johns Creek
threat that reached the Centennial 29. The Centennial defense held on three consecutive plays after the
Gladiators had second-and-1, with the big one a pass breakup in the end zone by Centennial cornerback
Justice Turner against standout Johns Creek receiver Zach Williams.

On fourth-and- 1, Johns Creek tried a direct snap to running back Nate Hope, but the snap sailed over
Hope’s head and wound up as a 35-yard loss for the Gladiators. Williams was on the receiving end of both Johns Creek touchdowns. He broke a tackle to turn a slant pass into a 67-yard touchdown on the third play of the second half to give the Gladiators a 10-7 lead, and caught a 23-yard scoring strike from quarterback Zach Gibson to make it 17-7 on the second play of the final period.

Gibson was 21 of 42 for 358 yards, but the Gladiators could not muster any semblance of a ground
game, finishing with minus-13 yards that included the huge loss in the game’s final minute. Not counting
that play, Hope carried 12 times for 22 yards before chasing down the bad snap. Centennial sported a more balanced attack, rushing for 136 yards and passing for 184. Running back Emeka Nwanza carried 20 times for 89 yards and receiver Blane Mason had three rushes for 67 yards, including a 49-yard run on a backwards swing pass early in the second quarter for the only touchdown of the first half.

Mason scored the go-ahead touchdown with 3:51 to play, snagging a 16-yard pass from Max Brosmer on
third-and- 9. Mason also had an 11-yard gain on another backwards swing pass on the winning drive,
which needed to cover only 40 yards after a short Johns Creek punt. Mason got behind the Johns Creek
defense to take in a nicely-thrown 32-yard pass from Brosmer for an apparent touchdown on the second play of the series, but it was nullified by a penalty (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app).

The Knights got back in the game on an 80-yard scoring drive earlier in the fourth quarter capped by a 2-
yard run by freshman Julian Nixon out of the wildcat formation. Nixon also contributed to the big play of
the drive, a fourth-and- 3 completion for 27 yards to Jacob Albright out of the wildcat to the Johns Creek
22, and gained five yards on fourth-and-1 from the Johns Creek 31 to keep the winning drive alive.
After Brosmer threw his eighth interception of the season on Centennial’s first series, the Knights
primarily utilized a short passing game mixed in with the determined running of Nwanze.

Brosmer was 19 of 26 for 157 yards, with Albright catching three passes for a team-high 60 yards, and Mason and Cal Dickie having five receptions each for a modest 75 yards combined. Williams had a huge game for the Gladiators, catching nine passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns. The Knights mostly tried to cover him one-on- one and had problems containing him at times, but Turner and Malcolm Gallagher both made some big plays on incomplete passes intended for the standout Johns Creek receiver.

Both teams moved the ball in the first half, but Centennial was able to sustain just one drive, while Johns
Creek was plagued with untimely penalties. The Gladiators had three scoring threats ended by penalties,
one of which included a nullified 34-yard pass from Gibson to Williams that would have given them a 10-
7 lead late in the second quarter, two plays after a roughing the punter call against the Knights extended
the drive.

The lone Johns Creek score in the first half came after a 72-yard pass from Gibson to Matt Casey to the
Knights’ 12, but the Gladiators settled for a 26-yard field goal by Luke Venco. After the Gladiators had
their touchdown nullified, they drove inside the Centennial 20 before another penalty stalled the drive.

A second roughing-the- punter penalty against Centennial aided an 80-yard drive by the Gladiators that
increased their lead to 17-7. A few plays before the Johns Creek punt, the Knights thought they scored a go-ahead touchdown with a recovery in the end zone of a muffed punt by the Gladiators, but the play was ruled a touchback and Johns Creek kept possession.

Both teams are 1-1 in region play and appear in good position to make the state playoffs. Centennial (1-
3 overall) has already played the region’s best team (Alpharetta) and a playoff contender, while Johns
Creek (1-3) is looking better after Pope easily defeated Cambridge Friday night. The Gladiators won
their region opener over Pope last week.

Chattahoochee is the only team other than Alpharetta with a 2-0 region record, and faces a key game in
two weeks at Centennial after hosting Cambridge next Friday. The Gladiators host Chattahoochee on Oct. 6. Johns Creek plays at Northview next Friday.

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