The defending Class 3A state champions Cedar Grove Saints jumped to a 21-0 lead and cruised to a 34-13 victory over the Stephenson Jaguars at James R. Hallford Stadium in Clarkston on Friday night.

The Saints (1-0) held a 13-0 lead at the end of the first half in a defensive struggle between the two DeKalb County rivals meeting for just the eighth time.

Cedar Grove and Stephenson were tied 0-0 after one quarter as both defenses kept their opponents out of the end zone during the period.

Darrell Neal got the Saints on the board with his eight-yard run to the end zone capping an eight-play, 45-yard drive with 10:03 to play in the first half. The point after try was no good and Cedar Grove led 6-0.

The Saints held the Jaguars (0-1) deep in their own territory and forced a bad punt to take over at the Stephenson 26. The Jaguars defense had the Saints facing a third and 11 at the 27 when Cedar Grove struck for the second score of the game.

Quarterback Xavier Dennis dropped back and tossed picture perfect pass to Devon Barnes in the right corner of the end zone for the touchdown with 1:20 left in the half. Luis Dominquez tacked on the point after for a 13-0 lead going into the half.

A 47-yard punt by Cedar Grove’s Kortney Cox that rolled to the Stephenson three-yard line with 8:30 left in the third quarter set up the next Saints’ score.

On the first play the football popped into the air just outside the goal line where Cedar Grove defensive tackle Rashad Cheney caught it and fought his way over the goal line for the defensive score. Dennis connected with Jadon Hazelwood for the two-point conversion pass to make 21-0 with 8:30 left in the third quarter.

Gav’on Wray led the Jaguars back down the field throwing 23 yards to Izaiah Salaam and 16 yards to Darren Parker. Parker was hit late on the sidelines and 15 yards were tacked on to the play putting the ball at the Cedar Grove 14.

Jevon Goff finished off the drive going around the right end for 14 yards and the touchdown. Darian Tisdale tacked on the point after to close the gap to 21-7.

Cedar Grove answered right back driving 83 yards in 9 plays. Darrell Neal had back-to-back carries of 13 and 32 yards to put the Saints in striking distance with just over a minute to play in the third quarter.

Facing third and goal at the Stephenson five-yard line, Dennis rolled right and hit Haselwood in the front corner of the end zone for the touchdown. The Saints held a 27-7 lead with 1:08 to play in the third quarter.

Interference on an interception in the end zone kept the next Saints drive alive with a first and goal at the Jaguars’ 10-yard line. Four plays later Neal (18 carries, 83 yards) scored his second touchdown of the night with a one-yard run. Dominguez was good on the PAT for the 34-7 lead with 5:31 to play.

The Jaguars closed the final gap to 34-13 as Wray connected with Deshon Stoudemire for an eight-yard touchdown pass with 30 seconds remaining.

Dennis finished the game with 128 yards passing (16 of 21 passing) and two touchdowns and 71 yards on 11 carries on the ground.

Jevon Goff finished with 62 yards rushing and a touchdown on 14 carries to lead the Jaguars.

Miller Grove 49, Clarkson 0

Coming off the program’s first playoff appearance during the 2016 season, the Miller Grove Wolverines behind the four touchdowns passing performance by Jamaal Roach defeated the Clarkston Angoras 49-0 in the 2017 opener at James R. Hallford Stadium on Friday night.

Roach connected on touchdown passes of 17 yards to Caleb Tannor, 13 yards to Shawn Collins, 29 yards to Kameron Myers in the first half as the Wolverines built a 33-0 lead at the break. Richard Young had a 10-yard touchdown run to open the scoring and Larry Miller finished off the first half with a one-yard run with 33 seconds left in the first half.

Roach added a 15-yard toss to Jalen Stuckey early in the fourth quarter and Jaquareus Montford scored on a 25-yard run to close out the scoring.

Roach hit on 17 of 21 pass attempts for 173 yards and the four touchdowns while Richard Young ran for 129 yards on 14 carries with his one touchdown.

Other Friday Games

Dunwoody and Lakeside played for the 26^th time on Friday night with Lakeside, the winner of the last two meetings, hosting at Adams Stadium on Friday night.

The Vikings looked to be on their way to a third consecutive win in the series they led 15-9-1 holding a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. The Wildcats had other plans as they outscored the Vikings 38-7 over the final three quarters to pick up their 10^th victory in the series.

Dunwoody heads into a bye week at 1-0 as the Wildcats prepare for the Battle of the Golden Spike on September 1 against Chamblee (1-0), a 27-19 winner over Druid Hills (0-1).

Arabia Mountain coming off a Class 5A Sweet 16 appearance in 2016 jumped out to a 22-0 halftime lead on the way to a 56-0 victory over Stone Mountain to open the season 1-0. The Pirates fell to 0-1.

Southwest DeKalb is looking for a second consecutive trip to the Class 5A state playoffs and improved to 1-0 in 2017 with a convincing 41-2 win over the Redan Raiders. The Panthers led 34-0 at the half.

Lithonia fell to 0-1 on the season with a 50-18 loss to Carver-Atlanta.

DCSD FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

WEEK 1

Friday, Aug. 18

Carver-Atl (1-0) 50, Lithonia (0-1) 18

Miller Grove (0-1) 49, Clarkston (0-1) 0

Dunwoody (1-0) 38, Lakeside (0-1) 21

Arabia Mountain (1-0) 56, Stone Mountain (0-1) 0

Chamblee (0-1) 27, Druid Hills (0-1) 19

SW DeKalb 41, Redan 2

Cedar Grove (1-0) 34, Stephenson (0-1) 13