First round thrillers at Adams Stadium decide half of the Trail to the Title Playoffs semifinal lineup.
Two Trail to the Title first round playoff thrillers were played at Adams Stadium while the two first round games at Godfrey Stadium were runaways as the 2017 Trail to the Title playoffs semifinals were set.
Defending Trail to the Title champion Stephenson rallied in double overtime to upend Miller Grove 12-6 at Adams Stadium on Saturday.
Jayden Brown gave the Wolverines (4-3) a 6-0 lead at the half with his six-yard run for a touchdown in the second quarter.
The two teams continued a strong defensive battle into the fourth quarter with Miller Grove still up 6-0. The Jaguars (6-1) used a touchdown run on a keeper by quarterback Dylan Milbry of five yards to knot the game at 6-6 to send the game into overtime.
Defense was the name of the game in the first overtime once again as both teams failed to score against their tough opponents. Miller Grove forced the second overtime by stopping Stephenson when the Jaguars had an opportunity to get win in the first overtime period.
Stephenson’s Zachery Pitts swept around the left side for eight yards and the go-ahead touchdown to open the second overtime period. The Jaguars held a 12-6 lead with Miller Grove set for their turn in the second overtime period. Stephenson’s defense held to preserve the win and send the Jaguars into a fourth consecutive semifinal round.
The No. 16 ranked (B2C Prime 21) Jaguars move on to face No. 3 ranked Tucker (7-0) in the semifinals at 10:30 am at Godfrey Stadium on Saturday. It is the second meeting of the season with Tucker winning 6-0 in overtime the second week of the season. Stephenson won the 2016 Trail to the Title championship with a 20-16 win over the Tigers.
Tucker 14, Cedar Grove 12
The Tucker Tigers blocked a Cedar Grove field goal attempt in the final seconds to complete their rally in a 14-12 first round victory at Adams Stadium last Saturday.
Tucker (7-0) grabbed the early lead of 8-0 on a 55-yard touchdown run by Latavious Johnson in the first quarter.
The Cedar Grove defense which caused four fumbles pulled within 8-6 of the Tigers as Christian Limon jarred the ball loose from a Tucker ball carrier and Sean Otoo scooped it up and ran in for the touchdown.
Quarterback Kashawn Britt gave the Saints a 12-8 lead in the third quarter with a touchdown pass to tight end Jared Holiday.
Cedar Grove was running the clock with four minutes to play when a host of Tigers gang tackled a runner when the football came loose during the pileup. Cole McKinney came up with the loose football for Tucker and raced 35 yards to put Tucker up 14-12.
Tucker stopped the Saints’ offense with 1:16 to play, but Cedar Grove stiffened another time and forced a bad punt that was returned to the Tucker 21 with 36 seconds to play.
After a pass play did not get out of bounds the Saints spiked the ball to stop the clock with 14 seconds to play. A third down pass was incomplete and the Saints lined up for a 20-yard field goal the Tigers blocked to secure the victory.
Buck Godfrey Stadium plays host to semifinal games of the 14th Annual DCSD Middle School Football Trail to the Title Playoffs on Saturday.
Lithonia 30, Renfroe 7
The Lithonia Bulldogs jumped out to a 22-0 lead and cruised to a 30-7 win over the Renfroe Bulldogs at Godfrey Stadium on Saturday to advance to the Trail to the Title Playoffs semifinals for the third time in program history.
Lithonia (6-1) was leading 6-0 at the half as the two teams looked to be locked in a defensive struggle. Styland Scott opened the second half by returning the kickoff 76 yards for a touchdown and added a two-point conversion to make it a 14-0 Lithonia lead.
Steven Landers 36-yard scoring toss to Jamrio Washington stretched the lead to 22-0 with the two point conversion.
Renfroe (4-2-1) scored as Harrison Hannah’s tipped pass fell into the hands of Marquis Hood and turned into a 45-yard score to trim the lead to 22-7 late in the third quarter.
A six-yard touchdown run by Landers and another two-point conversion in the fourth quarter made the final score of 30-7.
Lithonia moves into the semis to take on No. 4 ranked Bethune Lions (7-0), 38-0 winners over Peachtree, at 12:00 pm at Godfrey Stadium on Saturday.
Bethune 38, Peachtree 0
Jabarhi Cleckley led the Bethune Lions (7-0) to a 38-0 victory over the Peachtree Patriots to put Bethune into the semifinals for the fifth time and first time since 2012.
Cleckley threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Kenyon Partridge and ran two yards for another score for the Lions. Rashod Dubinion ran for 65 yards and two touchdowns as well.
Janirian Bonner had a 60-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and added 8 tackles, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble on defense.
The Lions defense picked up seven turnovers in the game led by Dontrais McDowell who recovered two fumbles along with three tackles. John Harris (5 tackles) and Santana Walton (5 tackles) both had fumble recoveries along with Caleb Pace. Demetress Broughton added to the turnover cause with an interception.
DCSD MIDDLE SCHOOL FOOTBALL
TRAIL TO THE TITLE PLAYOFFS
SATURDAY, OCT. 21 – FIRST ROUND
ADAMS STADIUM
TUCKER (7-0) 14, CEDAR GROVE (3-3-1) 12
STEPHENSON (6-1) 12, MILLER GROVE (4-3) 6
GODFREY STADIUM
LITHONIA (6-1) 30, RENFROE (4-2-1) 7
BETHUNE (7-0) 38, PEACHTREE (3-4) 0
DCSD MIDDLE SCHOOL FOOTBALL
TRAIL TO THE TITLE PLAYOFFS
SATURDAY, OCT. 28 – SEMIFINALS
GODFREY STADIUM
TUCKER (7-0) vs. STEPHENSON (6-1), 10:30 am
LITHONIA (6-1) vs. BETHUNE (7-0), 12:00 pm
First team listed is home team.