Roswell Rolls Into High School Football State Semifinals

By Mike Blum

Roswell led North Cobb 21-0 at the half of a 7A state quarterfinal playoff game Friday night at Roswell and wound up winning by the seemingly comfortable margin of 42-21.

For much of the second half, however, things got a little dicey for the Hornets, who won their first two playoff games almost uncontested. North Cobb scored twice in the final four minutes of the third quarter to cut Roswell’s lead to 21-14, and got the ball on its next possession at the Hornets’ 45.

But Roswell safety Xavier McKinney, one of a number of standouts on an exceptional Hornets’ defense, intercepted a North Cobb pass on the next play. Even though the Hornets did not score after the interception, one of four turnovers they forced on the night, it reversed the momentum that had been entirely in the Warriors’ favor since midway through the third quarter, and enabled Roswell to flip the field position advantage.

Turner Barckhoff punted the Warriors into a hole inside their 5, and the Hornets got the ball back at their 47 after a three-and- out series by North Cobb.

Roswell running back Sheldon Evans, who played less than one half in the Hornets’ two previous playoff games because of an ankle injury, then rescued what had been a struggling Hornets’ offense in the second half. He gained 28 yards on the first play, added 18 more yards on three runs, and after an incomplete pass, fought his way for seven yards and the touchdown to make it 28-14 with 6:45 to play.

Another three-and-out by the Roswell defense, including a third down sack by Justin Ellis, one of six for the Hornets, enabled the offense to get the ball near midfield, and it took only one play for the Hornets to put the game away.

Quarterback Malik Willis, who totaled 325 yards of offense and had a hand in five of the team’s six touchdowns, faked a quick out to wide receiver Christian “Scooby” Ford, who got behind the North Cobb secondary for 51 yards and a touchdown.

With a 35-14 lead and only 5:30 to play, the Hornets (13-0) appeared safe, but North Cobb (10-3) had one more comeback left. On a simple swing pass meant to gain five or six yards and a first down, speedy North Cobb receiver Imad Strozier got loose down the sidelines for 62 yards and a score, and the Warriors recovered the onsides kick.

Even with the aid of two 15-yard penalties against the Hornets, North Cobb was unable to capitalize on the opportunity and gave the ball back to the Hornets with 2:37 to play. Willis accounted for the final score when he broke through the line and outran the Warriors’ defense for 72 yards and his second rushing touchdown.

Willis also scored on a 24-yard run early in the second period, the third of three Roswell touchdowns in a span of 4:40 in the first half. Willis hit Corey Reed for 14 yards and Jayden Comma for 10 yards for a pair of touchdowns less than a minute apart, with a Roswell fumble recovery at the North Cobb 15 setting up Comma’s touchdown.

An interception by LeAnthony Williams at the Warriors’ 44 led to the first Roswell score, and a Roswell sack at the North Cobb 6 resulted in the Hornets getting the ball back at the Warriors’ 35. Willis shot through the middle on a quarterback draw before weaving his way through the North Cobb defense from the 24.

Willis completed 14 of 25 passes for 186 yards and three touchdowns, but was just 1 of 6 for minus-1 yard in the second half before teaming up with Ford midway through the final period. The Roswell quarterback also had 139 yards rushing on 13 carries and two scores, and had a 54-yard touchdown early in the third quarter nullified by a penalty on the Hornets away from the play.

Instead of taking a 28-0 lead, Roswell had to punt, and the Warriors got a receiver behind the Hornets’ defense for 82 yards and a score to close within 21-7.

“If we score there the game is over,” Roswell coach John Ford said of the touchdown that was called back. “That was a 14-point swing on a ticky-tac penalty.”

The Hornets did little offensively in the third quarter after the Willis touchdown was nullified, and the Warriors closed within 21-14 on the final minute of the period following the recovery of a Willis fumble at the Roswell 17. Drew Tejchman, who caught the 82-yard scoring pass, went 17 yards to score untouched on crossing pattern to cut Roswell’s lead to a touchdown.

“They’re a good team,” Ford said of the Warriors, who finished second in Region 3 and were ranked eighth in 7A. “We knew they would make a run in the second half. When you get to the quarterfinals, you expect to have a fight on your hands. ”

With North Cobb’s ground game completely shut down by the swarming Roswell defense, the Warriors had to rely solely on their passing attack, even though quarterback Will Lovett was under constant pressure, most of it coming from Ellis and Koby Cumberlander.

The Warriors wound up with minus-25 yards rushing, minus-55 after Lovett kept for 30 yards on their second play from scrimmage. Thanks to a number of big plays, Lovett passed for 337 yards, but 20 of his 38 attempts fell incomplete, and he was intercepted twice.

Roswell finished with 487 yards, with Evans and Willis teaming up for exactly 300 yards rushing. Evans carried 26 times for 161 yards, 101 of that total in the second half.

“It was good to get Sheldon back,” Ford said of his senior running back, who went over 1500 yards rushing for the third straight season.

The Hornets will play Region 2 champion Westlake (10-3) in the semifinals on Friday, Dec. 2, with the game to be played at a neutral site, since neither team’s stadium has sufficient seating capacity.

Image via Patch