Alpharetta Too Much for Roswell

Alpharetta thoroughly dominated Roswell on both sides of the ball Friday night, handing the winless Hornets their seventh straight loss with a 38-19 victory

Although the score might indicate otherwise, the Hornets (0-7, 0-3 Region 6-AAAAA) were never in the ball game. Trying to put last week's crushing loss to Centennial behind, Roswell was hoping to do some damage to Alpharetta (7-1, 4-0), the top team in 6-AAAAA, and yet again came away on the losing side.

Quarterback Joshua Dobbs and running back Jalen Simmons shredded the Hornets' defense and were able to lead the Raiders on early drives. A touchdown just a couple of minutes into the game put the Raiders up for good and there would be no turning back.

After taking the early lead, the Dobbs threw a touchdown pass to Carlos Burse to push the lead to 14-0 and it wasn't until a field goal late in the first quarter that Roswell would get on the board. 

Roswell couldn't keep up with Alpharetta's quick backs, as they were able to drive down the field for a field goal, making it 17-3, and a 1-yard touchdown pass to Simmons left the Hornets in the dust. At halftime the score was 24-3 in favor of the Raiders. 

The third quarter started slowly, with both the Hornets and Raiders trading possessions and the quarter dragged on with no change. After a series of costly penalties during a promising drive, Roswell gave up the ball to the Raiders, who drove down the field. Connecting with Simmons, Dobbs threw a touchdown pass with time winding down in the third to increase the lead to 31-3. 

The Hornets were down, but not out and quarterback Ryan Monty would not let his team leave Alpharetta's menancing grounds without points. Monty led a drive early in the fourth quarter, including a first-down conversion to Bennett Barton. Roswell would score on the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run from Corey Wilson. Wilson's touchdown brought the Hornets within 31-10. 

Recharged, the Hornets' opted for an onside kick following the touchdown and with the recovery, they looked poised to make a late run. A costly fumble recovered by the Raiders would put an end to that hope and on the ensuing drive, Simmons would again score, putting the Raiders up 38-10 with less than 9 minutes left in the game. 

Again, refusing to cede the game to Alpharetta, the Hornets were led by running back Jonathon Harrigan who helped lead Roswell down to the 1-yard line. However, a strong goal-line stand by Alpharetta ended the threat. The Hornets defense was then able to stuff the Raiders, forcing a safety to make the score 38-12.

The Hornets did manage one final solid drive. Replacing Monty was senior quarterback Casey Culver, who threw a touchdown pass to Barton that would prove to be the final score of the game.

Roswell heads to Northview for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff next Friday. After a week off, Alpharetta seeks to continue their winning ways against Centennial on Oct. 21 for senior night.

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