Roswell Falls To Colquitt County In Football Championship Game

By Mike Blum

Roswell, GA -- The Roswell Hornets battled Colquitt Country, the defending state Class AAAAAA champions and top-ranked team in 2015, for more than three quarters.

But on a night when near-perfection was required, the Hornets made a few too many miscues.

Colquitt held the explosive Hornets scoreless in the second half and used three field goals over the final 24 minutes to pull away for a 30-13 victory in the title game Saturday night at the Georgia Dome.

“They are really good,” Roswell coach John Ford said of Colquitt, one of the country’s most highly-rated teams. “We made too many mistakes and settled for three points when we needed seven. You can’t do that against those guys.”

Both teams scored three times in the first half, but the Packers went into halftime with 21 points, while the Hornets twice ended up with field goals after having first-and-goal on each occasion. The Roswell defense held the high-scoring Packers without a touchdown in the second half, but Colquitt clamped down on the Hornets after Roswell mounted a scoring threat in the third period trailing 24-13.

The Hornets managed a first down at the Colquitt 25 after quarterback Quintarius Neely picked up five yards on fourth-and-4. Neely suffered a leg injury and was out for one play before returning to the field with a slight limp. After two incomplete passes, the Hornets attempted a third field goal, but Turner Barckhoff was just short from 43 yards.

Colquitt followed with a 17-play, 71-yard drive that produced six first downs and consumed sizeable chunks of the third and fourth quarters. A 26-yard field goal gave the Packers a 27-13 lead, and the Hornets managed just one first down on their next two series.

The Packers added a late field goal after the Hornets failed on fourth down from the Roswell 29 for the game’s final score. Colquitt went 15-0 for the second straight season.

The championship was expected to be a shootout between two high-scoring teams, and that’s how things played out early in the game. On the second play from scrimmage, Roswell receiver A.J. Smith got behind a Colquitt defender and Neely hit him with a perfectly thrown deep ball along the sideline that turned into an 81-yard touchdown.

The Packers responded with a quick 80-yard drive to tie the game, and after a pair of penalties pinned the Hornets deep in their territory, Colquitt needed only four plays to go 56 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.

Keyed by a 26-yard keeper by Neely and a 39-yard strike to receiver Kendrick Jackson, the Hornets drove to the Colquitt 3, but two runs lost two yards and Barckhoff kicked a 22-yard field goal after a third down pass fell incomplete.

The Roswell defense stopped the Packers near midfield on successive possessions, but two costly penalties against the Hornets negated sizeable gains, with another series stopped on a key third-down play by the Colquitt defense.

The Packers put together their third scoring drive of the half to take a 21-13 midway through the second period, but the Hornets came right back. Neely connected on three passes for 52 yards and tailback Sheldon Evans added a pair of runs for 28 yards as the Hornets reached the Colquitt 7. But Neely was tackled for a loss on first down and tackled at the 3 on third-and-goal from the 11, and Barckhoff booted a 20-yard field goal to pull the Hornets within 21-13 at the half.

The Roswell defense had several chances to make possible game-changing plays in the second half, but Justus Harris and Xavier McKinney were unable to come down with potential interceptions, and the Packers kicked field goals after a pair of lengthy drives. Koby Cumberlander had a pair of quarterback sacks to put the Packers in holes on both series, but their multi-pronged attack overcame second-and-17 and second-and-21 situations.

Roswell’s defense yielded 440 yards, but the Packers’ 30 points was their lowest total of the season. The Hornets finished with 395 yards, but converted only four of 13 first downs and struggled once they got within range of the Colquitt goal line.

Neely completed 15 of 30 passes for 232 yards, but other than the two early big plays to Smith and Jackson, the Packers took away the Hornets’ deep passing game, blanketing leading receiver Jayden Comma.

Evans battled for 104 yards on 21 carries, with Neely adding 70 yards before being sacked on the game’s final play.

The Hornets finished the season 14-1 with dominant wins over rivals Centennial, Milton and Walton and four playoff victories – three against Gwinnett opponents and one against perennial power Camden County.

Roswell graduates only nine senior starters along with punter/placekicker Jack Pigott, but the senior class includes Neely, Jackson, offensive linemen Cameron Whiteman and Will Stepelfeldt and defensive standouts Tre Lamar, Tyrone Hopper and Marcelino Ball.

Evans and Comma lead the offensive returnees, which includes most of the line. Among the returning defensive starters are McKinney, Harris and LeAnthony Williams in the secondary, linemen Cumberlander and Max Boyd and linebacker Sam DiRoberto.

“We’re disappointed now but that will pass,” a somber Ford said after the loss. “This was a great year and I’m proud of these guys. We’ll have a different team next year, but we’ll be back.”

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