Roswell’s Four Schools Achieve Historic Football Season

By Mike Blum

The 2016 high school football season has been the most successful ever collectively for the four Roswell teams, who combined for a 36-4 record, three outright region championships and one tie for first in region standings.

Roswell and Fellowship Christian both went 10-0, with Blessed Trinity and Centennial posting 8-2 records. Roswell, Blessed Trinity and Centennial begin play in the state playoffs at home Friday night, with Fellowship Christian receiving a first round bye.

Here's a look at Friday’s games:

Pebblebrook at Roswell

The Hornets (10-0) spent most of the 2016 season as the state’s top-ranked team and open the AAAAAAA playoffs against a team that will be the weakest opponent they have faced this season. The Falcons went 5-5, with their five wins coming against teams that went a combined 5-44.

Pebblebrook was competitive in only one of its five losses, a 10-7 defeat against region champion Westlake. This will be the Falcons’ first playoff appearance since 2007, with the team’s last winning season in ’09.

The Hornets went undefeated in the regular season for the second straight year, and reached the finals last season before losing to Colquitt County. All but one of Roswell’s 10 wins this season came against playoff teams, but the Hornets have struggled twice in the past three weeks against Etowah and Cherokee, dominating their other eight opponents.

Roswell is a veteran team, with 20 of its 22 starters plus kicker Turner Barckhoff all seniors. Roswell’s defense, which had three senior starters last year sign scholarships with Division 1 schools, has been exceptional all season, allowing just over seven points a game, with no opponent scoring more than 14 against the Hornets.

Safety Xavier McKinney and cornerbacks LeAnthony Williams and Justus Harris lead a talented secondary that has shut down every passing attack the Hornets have faced, but have allowed a number of big plays. Roswell’s defensive line and linebackers have put relentless pressure on opposing passers and held several teams to minus yards rushing.

Offensively, the Hornets have not been quite as explosive as they’ve been the past few seasons, with senior transfer Malik Willis inconsistent in the passing game for much of the year. Willis has passed for more than 1600 yards and 16 touchdowns, with only three games with more than 200 yards passing. He has been more effective as a runner with 700 yards and an average of seven yards per carry.

Three-year starter Sheldon Evans has added around 1,350 yards and 17 touchdowns, putting his totals over the last three seasons to over 5,000 yards and 67 rushing touchdowns. Jayden Comma leads the receivers with 31 catches for 525 yards and 8 TDs.

The Hornets have a very favorable playoff draw, with either 5-5 Peachtree Ridge or 4-6 Archer, a team Roswell beat 47-0 at Archer earlier this season, the second round opponent. The winner of Friday’s Tift at North Cobb game is the Hornets’ likely quarterfinal opposition, with either unbeaten Norcross or Lowndes waiting in the semifinals.

No. 1 Grayson, Mill Creek, Colquitt and McEachern are all in the opposite half of the bracket.

Northgate at Centennial

The Knights (8-2) have their first home playoff game since 2002, which was also the last time Centennial won a playoff game. The Knights tied Johns Creek for first in 7-AAAAAA, but a loss to the Gladiators left Centennial with the region’s second seed.

An offense that averages 480 yards and almost 40 points a game has keyed the Knights’ success, led by senior quarterback Casen Conway, who has passed for almost 2,000 yards, rushed for 700 and had a hand in 23 touchdowns.

The Knights are a quick strike team, with a group of small, quick backs giving the team the ability to break a big play at any moment. Cal Dickie averages 10 yards per carry, and joins Tyreke Smith and Malcolm Gallagher for a combined 25 rushing touchdowns. Dickie also has 300 yards and five TDs as a receiver, with Blaine Mason the team’s top threat in the passing game with 750 yards and five scores on 38 catches.

Centennial is improved defensively over recent seasons, but is still vulnerable to a productive offense, and Northgate (8-2) has had some big games offensively against other playoff teams from Region 5. Northgate’s defense has kept most of its opponents in check, but has yielded 146 points in four games against its four strongest region opponents. The Vikings are from Newnan.

If Centennial wins Friday, the Knights will travel to Valdosta next week to play the state’s top ranked team in 6A.

Chapel Hill at Blessed Trinity

Despite the loss of a large and talented senior class that led the Titans to an overtime loss in the AAA state championship game, Blessed Trinity is again a title contender after winning Region 7-AAAA and going undefeated against in-state opponents.

The Titans (8-2), ranked sixth in AAAA, have gotten big performances from four sophomores, three of whom are major contributors on both offense and defense. Tailback Steele Chambers has taken over for four-year starter Milton Shelton and rushed for 1175 yards and 17 touchdowns, while also ranking among the team’s leading tacklers.

Ryan Davis, who started as a freshman, leads the team in receiving with 34 catches for 495 yards and five TDs and does double duty on defense at cornerback. J.D. Bertrand, also a freshman starter last year, has been a key part of the offense at tight end and is one of the Titans’ defensive leaders, but missed about half the season due to injury.

Sophomore Jake Smith has taken over at quarterback for three-year starter Conor Davis, and has had a very efficient season, passing for 1162 yards and 11 touchdowns against only four interceptions.

A veteran offensive line has been a major factor in the Titans’ offensive success, with the team’s excellent defense a mixture of sophomores, juniors and seniors. As usual, the Titans also sport a strong kicking game, with Brooks Hosea enjoying a solid senior season as the team’s punter and placekicker.

The Titans host a 5-4-1 Chapel Hill team that won its last two games to make the playoffs. Tyre Shelton rushed for 415 yards and five touchdowns in last week’s victory, scoring on runs of 60, 73, 36, 63 and 42 yards. The Panthers went 2-18 the last two years and their only playoff win came in 2008. The Douglasville team plays in a strong region and was outscored 137-47 by 5-AAAA’s top trio.

If Blessed Trinity wins Friday, the Titans will host either Carver of Columbus or Cross Creek from suburban Augusta in the second round, with both teams 6-4. Either Mary Persons or Stephens County, both 8-2 and state ranked, are the most likely quarterfinal opponents, with either No. 1 Cartersville or No. 3 Woodward Academy possible roadblocks in the semifinals.

Fellowship Christian

The Paladins will be the No. 3 seed in the Class A private school playoffs and have a first round bye. They will host either 6-4 Mt. Vernon or 7-3 George Walton in the second round.

Fellowship completed a 10-0 regular season last week with a 28-14 win at Mt. Zion Carrollton, which came into the game ranked No. 1 in the Class A public school power rankings. The Paladins broke a tie with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Senior quarterback Jack Hardin and senior running back Andrew Minkert both rushed for two touchdowns each, with Trey Robinson setting up one of two fourth quarter scores with an interception.

Hardin passed for 1109 yards on only 60 completions with 14 touchdowns, with senior Ryan Reid his main receiver, catching 37 passes for 805 yards and 10 TDs. Minkert and senior Andrew Johnson give Fellowship a strong 1-2 running punch, combining for more than 1650 yards rushing and 21 touchdowns.

This will be Fellowship’s first playoff appearance since 2007, when the Paladins went 11-2 and reached the quarterfinals.

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