Hornets Fall During Overtime Thriller In Football Championship Game

By Mike Blum

After the outcomes of state championship games the last two years, three of Roswell’s four high school football teams will not shed any tears when the Georgia Dome comes down in 2017 to make way for a new stadium next door.

The Roswell Hornets suffered a heart-wrenching 23-20 loss to Grayson in the 7A title game Saturday night, the second straight season the Hornets took their only defeat of the season in Georgia’s final high school game of the year.

It was the third time in the last two years that a team from Roswell lost in overtime in a championship game, as the Hornets suffered the same fate as Blessed Trinity in 2015 and Fellowship Christian the day before the Hornets’ second straight championship setback.

Roswell led Grayson, the state’s top-ranked team, from midway through the first quarter until the final minute of the game, when the Rams scored a touchdown and two-point conversion to take a 20-13 lead with 1:04 on the clock.

The second-ranked Hornets (14-1) responded with a 7-play, 70-yard drive that produced a touchdown on the game’s final play to tie the game 20-20 and force overtime. It was the third time a Roswell playoff game has ended regulation in a tie in a playoff game against a Gwinnett County opponent since 2006, with the Hornets tying Peachtree Ridge in the 2006 championship game, and winning in a rematch the next year in an earlier round playoff contest.

Roswell defeated Grayson 30-26 in the semifinals last year, scoring on a 35-yard pass with 10 seconds left in the game. The Rams (14-1) had the ball first in overtime and had to settle for a field goal after having first-and-goal from inside the Roswell 5-yard line. It was the first successful attempt of the night for the Grayson kicker, who missed the extra point try after his team’s first two touchdowns.

Roswell did not gain a yard, as quarterback Malik Willis was tackled for no gain on the first play and missed receivers on the next two. Turner Barckhoff, who had been one of Roswell’s most important contributors in the championship game to that point, missed a 32-yard field goal wide right from the left hash mark, ending what had been a memorable struggle after three mismatches in title games earlier in the day.

Prior to his miss, Barckhoff had kicked two field goals, including a 47-yarder on the final play of the second period to give the Hornets a 10-6 halftime lead. He also connected from 29 yards in the fourth quarter to make it 13-6 and sent the game into overtime with his second PAT kick.

More impressively, Barckhoff twice made touchdown-saving tackles on Grayson returns, the Ram’s most effective weapon for most of the game. He tripped up Jaquavius Lane on a kickoff return at the Grayson 41 after the first Roswell TD, and drove speedy punt returner Jamyest Williams out of bounds at the Roswell 49 following a 36-yard punt return later in the opening period.

Williams, one of a large number of talented transfers who joined the Rams since the end of last season, caused problems for the Hornets with his speed, but had an 81-yard touchdown run and two long punt returns nullified by penalties, as the Rams excelled in holding and blocking in the back on returns.

Grayson was penalized 11 times for 105 yards, with the Hornets flagged 10 times for 55 yards, including one very odd intentional grounding call that almost prevented Barckhoff from making his long field goal to end the first half. Roswell’s penalties were not as dramatic as those called on Grayson, but proved costly on at least one offensive series in the first half.

The Hornets controlled play for most of the game, with the Roswell defense limiting Grayson to six points until the Rams put together two scoring drives in the final period. Grayson managed just 6 yards rushing due in part to five sacks, but a 10-yard run by Williams may have been the key play of the game.

Trailing 13-6 early in the fourth period, the Rams faced third-and- 9 from their 4 when Williams picked up the first down. Grayson converted two more third downs, including a third-and- 10, before Lane got behind the Roswell secondary to catch a 62-yard touchdown pass from Chase Brice to close within 13-12 with 6:36 to play.

The Hornets came close to making a big play on their next possession. But Corey Reed, who scored Roswell’s first touchdown on a 26-yard reception, could not come down with a beautifully thrown deep ball from Willis inside the Grayson 35.

The Rams got the ball back at their 39 following another block in the back penalty on a punt return, and Justin Ellis and Max Boyd teamed up for a 10-yard sack on first down. But Brice completed five straight passes for 71 yards, the last one a 35-yard wide receiver screen to Lane, who went into the end zone untouched. Brice hit Lane for the two-point conversion to make it 20-13 with 1:04 on the clock.

Roswell started from the 30 and used up 25 seconds on a 9-yard reception by Christian “Scooby” Ford before finally calling timeout. From that point, the Hornets displayed outstanding clock management, gaining 41 yards on four plays that required only 23 seconds. Willis ran for 9, hit Reed for 13, running back Sheldon Evans for 8 and Reed again for 11.

After an incomplete pass, Roswell had one last shotfrom the Grayson 20 with five seconds left, and Willis connected with Kentrell Barber on a slant just outside the Grayson 5. The Rams’ defender, who was stationed at the goal line, made a play on the ball instead of going for the tackle, and Barber got past him into the end zone for the touchdown as time expired, providing a memorable finish to an explosive fourth quarter after a mostly defensive struggle for three periods.

Roswell went 78 yards on its second possession to take a 7-0 lead. Willis hit Ford for 47 yards to the Grayson 30 before teaming up with Reed for the touchdown. The Roswell defense forced three straight three-and- outs to start the game before a 36-yard punt return by Williams set the Rams up at the Roswell 49. Brice hit DeAngelo Gibbs, one of the best of Grayson’s many transfers, for 34 yards and a touchdown to make it 7-6.

The Hornets could have had more than 10 points in the half, but fumbled at the Grayson 43, had a drive stalled by back-to- back penalties after reaching the Rams’ 25 and had another threat halted inside the Grayson 40.

Back-to-back sacks by Koby Cumberlander and Sam DiRoberto backed the Rams up to their 6, and the Hornets got the ball at the Grayson 43 with about one minute left in the half. Willis scrambled for 11 yards and hit Barker 9 to the 30 after the strange grounding call, with Barckhoff drilling a 47-yarder as time ran out.

Defense dominated on both sides in the third quarter, which ended with Brice stuffed on a sneak on fourth-and-1 from the Grayson 34. The Hornets got to the 14 on a 24-yard pass from Willis to defensive standout Xavier McKinney, who was playing offense due to an injury suffered during the game by leading receiver Jayden Comma. The Hornets went ahead 13-6 with 10:15 to play on Barckhoff’s 29-yard field goal.

Willis completed 18 of 28 passes for 263 yards, with Reed catching seven for 78. The Hornets were held to just 61 yards rushing, with a rugged Grayson defense limiting Evans to 31 yards on 21 attempts and Willis managing 29 yards on 12 carries.

The Roswell defense, led by DiRoberto, Cumberlander, Justus Harris and McKinney, who had the game’s only interception early in the third quarter, allowed just 11 first downs and 242 yards, 163 of that total in the final period.

Roswell graduates 20 starters plus Barckhoff, and most of those 21 are expected to play in college, with the Hornets featuring a number of Division 1 prospects.

The Hornets are 28-2 the last two seasons under coach John Ford, who has revived a Roswell program that went 3-17 the two seasons before he took the head coaching job in 2013.

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