Defense Carries Roswell Hornets Into Quarterfinals

By Mike Blum

ROSWELL, GA -- The first two times Roswell and Peachtree Ridge faced each other in the state playoffs, the games were all even following 48 minutes of football.

The first time in 2006, the game ended in a tie and the two teams shared the state championship. The next year, the teams met in an earlier round, which required overtime to decide the winner. The Hornets won on a hotly-disputed fourth down touchdown call by the officials, with television replays inconclusive.

The Hornets and Lions played again Friday night at Roswell in the second round of the AAAAAAA playoffs, but this time there was no controversy. Roswell’s dominating defense turned in another stellar performance, shutting out the Lions before turning the game over to the second unit with a 29-0 lead midway through the final period.

Peachtree Ridge (6-6) scored twice in the final three minutes to make the final score 29-12, which did not reflect how well the Hornets (12-0) played defensively. In the Lions’ first round playoff victory the previous week, quarterback Fred Payton passed for 339 yards and rushed for 88. But he did not put up those numbers against an unrelenting Roswell defense, which sacked him nine times for 69 yards in losses.

Before the Hornets’ starters went to the bench, the Lions had minus-50 yards rushing. Two runs for 42 yards by Payton, included a touchdown on the last play of the game, was not enough to give Peachtree Ridge positive rushing yards for the game.

The Hornets’ secondary did its job despite some outstanding downfield catches by Lions’ receivers. Until the Hornets substituted, Payton was just 15 of 33 for 170 yards and two interceptions, one of which was returned for an apparent touchdown before being wiped out by a block in the back penalty that had no bearing on the play. The other Roswell interception set up a touchdown.

Justin Ellis, Koby Cumberlander and Max Boyd led the overwhelming Roswell pass rush, with LeAnthony Williams and Xavier McKinney accounting for the interceptions. Williams’ 21-yard touchdown return was nullified by the penalty.

McKinney’s pick came late in the third quarter and led to a touchdown on the first play of the fourth period to put the Hornets ahead 23-0. McKinney accounted for Roswell’s first touchdown of the second half, coasting to a 57-yard touchdown on a punt return, following a wall of blockers into the end zone.

The Hornets put the game away with a scoring drive that covered 121 yards, offsetting 40 yards in penalties that resulted in a first-and-goal from the Peachtree Ridge 42.

Quarterback Malik Willis escaped the Lions’ pass rush to hit Jayden Comma for 32 yards and after another artful scramble on the next play, connected with Tyneil Hopper for 9 yards and the touchdown. Willis recovered from an error-prone first half in which he threw three interceptions, all coming within a few yards of the Peachtree Ridge end zone. He also threw a 68-yard touchdown pass to Christian Ford to give the Hornets a 7-0 lead, and set up a 33-yard Turner Barckhoff field goal with a 44-yard run to make it 9-0 late in the opening half.

Completions by Willis of 31 and 25 yards twice put the Hornets inside the Peachtree Ridge 20 in the first half, but Roswell came away with no points on either occasion. The first of two field goal misses by Barckhoff, who also failed on two of four extra point attempts, ended the first threat, with the third Willis interception of the half killing the second.

The Hornets came up empty twice in the third period, the first after a 32-yard punt return by McKinney to the Peachtree Ridge 23. Barckhoff’s 37-yard field goal was partially blocked, with the Hornets stopped on downs at the Lions’ 14 after a modest drive.

With standout running back Sheldon Evans sitting out the second half with an ankle sprain that sidelined him for the Hornets’ playoff opener the previous week, the Hornets turned to their passing game in the final two periods.

Willis and his receivers responded. Willis completed 8 of 12 passes for 166 yards in the second half, as the Hornets abandoned their short passing game and Willis took repeated shots downfield, several times after scrambling away from the Lions’ rush. He hit a wide open Ford down the field for the Hornets’ lone first half TD, with Ford spinning away from defenders before breaking free down the sideline to the end zone.

A 56-yard deep strike from Willis to Ford started the final Roswell scoring drive, with Comma, Corey Reed and Hopper also catching key passes downfield in the second half and Kentrell Barber contributing a 31-yard reception in the opening period.

Willis finished with 243 yards passing and 89 yards rushing, scoring on a 2-yard run to make it 23-0. Evans carried just seven times for 24 yards, with backup Jujuan White gaining 32 yards on nine attempts. Ford led the receivers with three catches for 139 yards.

The Hornets will be at home in the quarterfinals the night after Thanksgiving against North Cobb, with perennial state power Lowndes a possible semifinal opponent.

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