North Fulton Teams In Line To Make State Playoffs

By Mike Blum

With two weeks left in the regular season, as many as nine North Fulton high school football teams could make the state playoffs. Alpharetta, Centennial and Chattahoochee have clinched playoff berths in AAAAAA while Milton, Blessed Trinity and Mt. Pisgah appear assured of making the playoffs in their respective classifications.

Roswell and Fellowship Christian both reached the championship games in their classifications last year, but each team faces an uncertain playoff future, although both appear likely to return to post-season play. Johns Creek and Cambridge are part of a battle for the final playoff berth in 7-AAAAAA, and Northview still has hopes of tying for fourth in the region, but the tie-breaking possibilities are not favorable to the Titans.

Milton is in position to earn the No. 2 seed from Region 5-AAAAAAA and a home game in the first round
of the playoffs with wins the next two weeks. The Eagles play Friday at Lambert, which is winless in region play, and close out the season at home against North Forsyth next week.

The Eagles are tied with North Forsyth and West Forsyth at 2-1 in the region, with the two Forsyth teams playing each other this week. Milton has already defeated West Forsyth, and should defeat North Forsyth, which lost 47-10 last week against region leader South Forsyth. North Forsyth is 5-3 overall but does not have a win over a team with a winning record this season. Milton is 6-2 with narrow losses to state-ranked North Gwinnett and South Forsyth and wins over Alpharetta, Etowah and Roswell.

Roswell is 1-2 in Region 4-AAAAAAA and tied for fourth, but the Hornets could still get the No. 2 seed and a home playoff game with a victory this week at Woodstock. The Hornets, 2-6 overall against a demanding schedule, close out the season next week at Cherokee, which has not been competitive in region play and is 0-3.

If Roswell defeats Woodstock and Lassiter wins at Etowah the final week of the season, the Hornets will win a tiebreaker over Lassiter for second place, if unbeaten Walton closes out is season with wins over Etowah and Woodstock. The Walton quarterback was injured in Friday’s win over Lassiter, and if the Raiders stumble in his absence, the playoff situation in the region will be up for grabs.

The Hornets can still make the playoffs if they lose to Woodstock, provided Lassiter loses its season finale to Etowah. Roswell lost to Etowah 28-21 last week despite a combined 287 yards rushing and three touchdowns by running back Kamonty Jett and quarterback Cordel Littlejohn. Jett has 1,064 yards and 10 touchdowns this season.

Alpharetta is headed for a region title in 7-AAAAAA at 6-0 in the region and 7-1 overall. The Raiders have
already defeated Centennial, which is second n the region, and closes out the season against Chattahoochee, which has only one region loss but lost its starting quarterback to an injury last week. The Raiders are at home Friday against Dunwoody, which is winless in the region.

Centennial plays at Pope this Friday, and will clinch second place and home field in the first round with a victory. The Knights are 6-1 in the region and 6-3 overall and have won their last six games. The team averages 40 points a game with a deep group of talented skill position players.

Pope is fourth in the region at 3-3, but will finish no better than a tie for fourth with a loss Friday to
Centennial. Both Cambridge and Johns Creek have four region losses each, but both play the region’s
bottom two teams the next two weeks and should finish 4-4. Cambridge (3-4, 3-6) is off this week before closing out the season next week at North Atlanta (1-5 in the region), which has struggled to score in recent region games.

Johns Creek (2-4, 2-6) hosts North Atlanta this week and is at Dunwoody the last week of the season, but has lost its last three games. The Gladiators’ region wins came against Pope and Northview, but they lost to Cambridge.

If there is a 3-way tie between Pope, Cambridge and Johns Creek, the tiebreaker will have to be something other than head-to- head play, as all three teams split against the other two. Northview (2-4, 2-6) will need to beat Chattahoochee at home Friday and win at Pope next week to get to 4-4. The Titans’ only wins have come against Dunwoody and North Atlanta. If they finish 4-4, they will lose a tiebreaker to both Cambridge and Johns Creek, and would need Pope to beat Centennial this week to also finish 4-4. If Pope loses that game, the Titans are all but eliminated from a possible playoff berth.

Chattahoochee (5-1, 6-2) must win its next two games to tie for first, and would need Centennial to lose to Pope to guarantee the region’s No. 1 seed in the playoffs, although the Cougars could also get the top seed if there is a 3-way tie at 7-1.

Senior quarterback Jack Corrigan passed for 1,129 yards and 10 touchdowns and rushed for 688 yards and six scores in 7-and-a-half games, and was having a big night against Pope when he suffered a severely broke leg late in the first half. He had 126 yards passing and 117 rushing when he was injured, with the Cougars rolling up close to 400 yards of offense to take a 39-13 halftime lead.

Freshman Jaylin Smith took over at quarterback in the second half, and the Cougars’ offense managed just one touchdown after Pope closed with 39-34, holding on to win 46-41. Junior Max Webb, an undersized running back, scored on a 13-yard run for the clinching Chattahoochee touchdown, capping a game in which he rushed for 197 yards and four touchdowns.

On the season Webb has gained 1,013 yards on 150 carries with 10 touchdowns, averaging almost seven
yards per attempt. He has rushed for more than 115 yards in each of the last five games and has at least
80 yards in all eight games. Chattahoochee coach Vince Strine said Corrigan “was a great football player for us, and an even better team leader and competitor. Despite the loss of his veteran quarterback, Strine added, “We will be OK.”

Blessed Trinity took a disheartening 25-24 loss on its home field to Marist last week, with the game almost certainly deciding the region champion in 4-AAAA. The Titans (2-1, 6-2), who are off this week, will still finish second in the region with a win next week at West Hall, which lost its most recent game to Marist 41-6.

Mount Pisgah plays for the Region 6-A Division B title Friday night at Mt. Paran, with both teams 6-0 in the sub-region. Mt. Paran (7-1 overall) is fifth in the Class A private school power rankings and Mt. Pisgah (7-1) is seventh, with the top eight teams getting first round byes in the state playoffs. The Patriots will also be at home next week against an opponent from the opposite sub-region, with the winner of Friday’s game against Mt. Paran playing at home next week against the sub-region A winner for the region championship.

The Patriots are coming off a 45-37 win last Friday over Fellowship Christian, getting another huge game
from standout senior quarterback Jacob Cendoya, who rushed for 244 yards and three touchdowns and
passed for 243 yards and three scores. Included were scoring passes of 66 and 64 yards to David Woodward and touchdowns runs of 67 and 74 yards, the latter clinching the win after the Patriots blocked a late Fellowship field goal.

On the season, Cendoya has passed for 1,975 yards and 26 touchdowns and rushed for 1,013 yards and 15 touchdowns, averaging more than 10 yards per carry. He has gained more than 150 yards rushing in four games, leading his team to an average of 43 points per game. Fellowship Christian is 2-4 in the region and 4-4 overall, but is still in contention make the playoffs. The Paladins are 23 rd in the Class A private school power rankings, with the top 24 making the playoffs.

Fellowship should win this week against region rival King’s Ridge, but may need a win in the region
crossover game next week to remain among the top 24.

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