The season opening weekend of the 2017 DeKalb County middle school football season featured some titanic defensive struggles and last minute heroics in non-region action for all the teams.

Champion and Miller Grove opened the season in a 7-6 thriller at Hallford Stadium last Saturday.

Miller Grove (0-1) led 6-0 with under two minutes to play and had Champion (1-0) in a tough fourth and 15 situation at the Miller Grove 32-yard line.

Champion quarterback Amir Streeter dropped back and connected with Tarrance Breedlove on a 32-yard touchdown pass with 1:10 to play to tie the game. Andre Teague tacked on the extra point for the game-winner. Chris Barnes rushed for 63 yards in the game for Champion.

Jaydan Brown rushed for 82 yards to lead the Wolverines.

Druid Hills 6, Henderson 0
Donavon Paul’s 67-yard touchdown run with 2:47 to play propelled Druid Hills (1-0) to a 6-0 season opening win over Henderson at Adams Stadium.

The teams had battled to a 0-0 tie when Paul broke loss on the game winning touchdown run. Druid Hills’ defensive end Jacob Rosado was big on defense for Druid Hills with seven tackles.

Renfroe 0, Redan 0
Renfroe (0-0-1) and Redan (0-0-1) battled to a 0-0 tie at Decatur as the two offenses parried, but could not score against the opposing defenses.

Renfroe’s passing game included six different players catching passes, but struggled to move the ball against the Raiders. Redan’s Kareem Hassan rushed for 110 yards on 10 carries only to have the Renfroe defense register seven sacks and five tackles for a loss led by Marquis Hood’s four tackles for a loss, 2 half sacks and fumble recovery.

Renfroe almost pulled the game out as Steve Butterfield intercepted a pass with just seconds remaining. Butterfield made his way down field, but the hustling Redan players stopped him short of scoring as time ran out.

Cedar Grove 6, Salem 6 (OT)
Cedar Grove (0-0-1) and Salem (0-0-1) put on another defensive show at Godfrey Stadium in an overtime 6-6 final.

Salem was leading 6-0 late in the fourth quarter when Cedar Grove running back Mazin Murray took a pass 45 yards for the game tying touchdown to force overtime.

The teams failed to score in overtime as the game ended in a tie.

Columbia 12, Chamblee 6 (2 OT)
Joshua Harris’ quarterback keeper for a touchdown in the second overtime provided the Columbia Eagles with a 12-6 victory over the Chamblee Bulldogs at North DeKalb Stadium on Saturday.

The Eagles (1-0) sealed the victory on Xavier Clement’s interception in the second overtime period to keep the Bulldogs (0-1) out of the end zone.

The teams had played to a 0-0 tie in regulation to send the game into the overtime period. Chamblee scored first in the overtime period as Christopher Massey hauled in a touchdown pass to make it 6-0.

Columbia forced the second overtime on a run up the middle by Ventrillo Dunlap to score the tying touchdown.

Stephenson 10, Lithonia 0
The defending Trail to the Title champions Stephenson Jaguars opened their title defense with a 10-0 victory over the Lithonia Bulldogs at Hallford Stadium on Saturday.

Stephenson (1-0) used a smothering defense with two key interceptions to hold the Bulldogs (0-1) scoreless. The big interception came from Cordell Andrews who returned his pick-six 48 yards for the score. Stephenson made it 8-0 by converting the two-point conversion.

The Jaguars added a safety to make it 10-0 while Jeremiah Albert’s interception ended Lithonia’s biggest scoring threat.

The Jaguars have won 10 consecutive games including last year’s championship season of 9-0.

Tucker 28, Chapel Hill 14
Omari Gordon rushed for 180 yards and two touchdowns and Christian Johnson returned a kickoff 84 yards for a score to lead the Tigers to a 28-14 win at Godfrey Stadium.

The Tucker defense had two interceptions, two sacks and 10 tackles for a loss led by Barry Manning (6 tackles, 3 for loss).

Chapel Hill was led by quarterback Sadir Ryan who threw for 145 yards and receivers Erick Boswell and Kentavius Key. Defensive linemen Ricky Howard and Laquantay Weldon combined for 10 tackles to lead the Panthers’ defense.

Bethune 48, Peachtree 6
Rashad Dubinion scored three touchdowns to lead a group of four Bethune Lions (1-0) who scored touchdowns in the 48-6 victory over Peachtree (0-1) at Avondale Stadium.

Dubinion scored three different ways as he carried five times for 60 yards and a touchdown on the ground, had three receptions for 55 yards and a touchdown and returned a kickoff 60 yards for a score.

Jabarhi Cleckley passed for 159 yards and two touchdowns while Janairin Bonner (4 carries for 66 yards, TD) was on the receiving end two of Cleckley’s passes for 84 yards and touchdown. Jamel Nelson and Jamair Randell both ran for touchdowns in the game.

Dubinion also contributed eight tackles on defense, Bonner seven tackles and Nelson two tackles and an interception.

Peachtree’s lone score came on a 65-yard kickoff return by Jameel Avery.

Freedom 20, Stone Mountain 0
Freedom defeated Stone Mountain 20-0 in the season opener at Avondale Stadium for both teams. The Pirates had a pair of defensive standouts in defensive lineman Brandon James (2 sacks, 3 tackles for loss) and linebacker Ronel Thomas (1 sack, 2 tackles for loss). Cornerback Nahree Rowe and defensive end Prentiss Harris both had interceptions in the game.

McNair 48, Sequoyah 0
The four horsemen of the McNair Colts (1-0) backfield led the way in a 48-0 victory over Sequoyah (0-1) on Saturday at Adams Stadium.

Quindarius Robinson, Jeremiah Griggs, Cornelius Strong and Ta’Neaious McCune shared the wealth in the Colts’ backfield with strong running in the win.

Skyler Muhammad led the defense with nine total tackles in the game.

DCSD MS FOOTBALL WEEK 1 SCHEDULE
Saturday, 8/26
ADAMS STADIUM
Druid Hills (1-0) 6, Henderson (0-1) 0
McNair (1-0) 48, Sequoyah (0-1) 0

AVONDALE STADIUM
Freedom (1-0) 20, Stone Mountain (0-1) 0
Bethune (1-0) 48, Peachtree (0-1) 6

DECATUR HIGH
Renfroe (0-0-1) 0, Redan (0-0-1) 0, 10:00 am

GODFREY STADIUM
Cedar Grove (0-0-1) 6, Salem (0-0-1) 6
Tucker (1-0) 28, Chapel Hill (0-1) 14

HALLFORD STADIUM
Champion (1-0) 7, Miller Grove (0-1) 6
Stephenson (1-0) 10, Lithonia (0-1) 0

NORTH DEKALB STADIUM
Columbia (1-0) 12, Chamblee (0-1) 6

DCSD MS FOOTBALL WEEK 2 SCHEDULE
Saturday, 9/2
ADAMS STADIUM
Tucker (1-0) vs. Stephenson (1-0), 10:00 am
Druid Hills (1-0) vs. Chamblee (0-1), 11:30 am

AVONDALE STADIUM
Columbia (1-0) vs. Salem (0-0-1)
Miller Grove (0-1) vs. Cedar Grove (0-0-1)

DECATUR HIGH
Renfroe (0-0-1) vs. Henderson (0-1), 10:00 am

GODFREY STADIUM
Lithonia (0-1) vs. Chapel Hill (0-1), 10:00 am

HALLFORD STADIUM
Freedom (1-0) vs. Bethune (1-0), 10:00 am
Redan (0-0-1) vs. McNair (1-0), 11:30 am

NORTH DEKALB STADIUM
Peachtree (0-1) vs. Champion (1-0), 10:00 am
Sequoyah (0-1) vs. Stone Mountain (0-1), 11:30 am