Arabia Mountain running back Solomon Rayton (with ball) leans towards the end zone on his five-yard touchdown run in the second quarter of the Rams’ 14-13 win over Tucker. (Photo by Mark Brock)
The Arabia Mountain Rams held on late against the Tucker Tigers to survive a defensive struggle to take the Region 4-5A No. 3 seed with a 14-13 victory at Godfrey Stadium on Friday night.
Tucker’s Connor Whaley threw a fade down the left side to Evan Ffrench for a 22-yard touchdown pass play to pull the Tigers within 14-13 with 6:22 to play in the game. Tucker’s PAT went wide left, and Arabia Mountain was clinging to a one-point lead.
Arabia Mountain (5-5, 3-2) was forced to punt and Tucker got pressure to cause a short punt. Tucker (4-6, 2-3) got the ball at the Arabia Mountain 47 trailing by one.
The Rams defense force Tucker into a fourth and 15 with the clock ticking under four minutes. A Tiger pass fell in the middle of the field to give the Rams the ball back with 3:23 to play.
Arabia Mountain ran two plays and a personal foul on the Tigers gave the Rams a first down and more downs to run out the clock.
Tucker’s Evan Ffrench catches a 22-yard touchdown pass to pull Tucker with 14-13 with 6:22 to play in the Tigers loss to Arabia Mountain. (Photo by Mark Brock)
The Rams jumped out to an 8-0 lead behind a safety as a Tucker snap went out of the endzone in the first quarter and a five-yard touchdown run by Solomon Rayton (24 carries, 96 yards, 1 TD) with 8:50 to play in the first half. The PAT was blocked by the Tigers.
Tucker answered driving 51 yards after the kickoff went out of bounds at the Tiger 49. Ethan Sanders set up his own one-yard plunge for the touchdown with a 42-yard run down the left sideline. Sanders scored up the middle with seven minutes left on the first half clock. Evan Ffrench added the PAT to pull the Tigers within 8-7.
Arabia Mountain must travel to Newnan to take on Northgate (4-6), the Region 3 No. 2 seed, next week to open the Class 5A state playoffs and Tucker travels to Columbus to face Northside (9-1), the Region 3 No. 1 seed.
The victory was Arabia Mountain’s first over Tucker. Tucker leads the series 2-1.
Stephenson 42, SW DeKalb 13
The Stephenson Jaguars ran away from the Southwest DeKalb Panthers to a 42-13 victory at Hallford Stadium to clinch a home playoff game to open the Class 4A state playoffs.
Stephenson’s win coupled with Miller Grove’s 24-7 win over Westminster gives Stephenson at least the No. 2 seed coming out of Region 6-4A.
Devin Ingram fueled the Jaguars’ win with four touchdowns, one from 60 yards out. Ingram finished with 141 yards on 12 carries. Cheik Keita added 107 yards and one touchdown on 12 carries.
Stephenson’s opponent in the first round is yet to be decided but will come from Region 5 involving Pace Academy, Lovett, Hampton and Woodland.
Miller Grove 24, Westminster 7
The Miller Grove Wolverines played spoiler on Thursday night with a 24-7 Region 6-4A win over co-leaders the Westminster Wildcats at Avondale Stadium.
Chancellor Allen connected with Jayvonne Dillard on a 40-yard touchdown pass in the first half to give the Wolverines a lead they would not relinquish. Seydina Ndiaye added the PAT to send the Wolverines into the half up 7-0.
Ndiaye added a 20-yard field goal in the third quarter to make it 10-0 before Westminster scored to pull within 10-7. Miller Grove (4-6, 2-3) answered right back on a Ta’Jon Corbitt touchdown run, and Ndiaye’s PAT made it 17-7 with 3:05 left in the third quarter.
Corbitt, who had over 200 yards rushing in the game, added another touchdown in the fourth quarter. Ndiaye made it a 24-7 final with his third PAT of the night.
The Wolverine defense was led by linebacker Cayman Spaulding who had two sacks and several tackles for a loss as they limited the Wildcats (6-4, 3-2) to the one touchdown on the night.
North Atlanta 45, Dunwoody 6
Dunwoody’s season ended with a 45-6 Region 4-6A loss to North Atlanta at North DeKalb Stadium that eliminated Dunwoody from the playoffs.
Dunwoody (5-5) finished with a non-losing record for the first time since 2011.
DCSD FOOTBALL SCHEDULE – WEEK 12
Thursday, November 3
AVONDALE STADIUM
Miller Grove (4-6, 2-3) 24, Westminster (6-4, 3-2) 7
GODFREY STADIUM
Arabia Mountain (5-5, 3-2)* 14, Tucker (4-6, 2-3) 13
HALLFORD STADIUM
Stephenson (6-3, 4-1)* 42, SW DeKalb (2-8, 0-5) 13
NORTH DEKALB STADIUM
North Atlanta (7-3, 3-2) 45, Dunwoody (5-5, 1-4)* 6
Friday, November 4
ADAMS STADIUM
Clarkston (2-7) vs. Lakeside (7-2), 7:30 pm
AVONDALE STADIUM
Towers (0-8-1) vs. Columbia (6-3, 3-2) (SN)*, 7:30 pm
GODFREY STADIUM
Carver-Atl (6-2, 1-1) vs. Cedar Grove (6-2, 2-0) (HC/SN)*, 7:30 pm
HALLFORD STADIUM
Chamblee (6-2, 3-1) vs. Lithonia (0-9, 0-4) (SN)*, 7:30 pm
NORTH DEKALB STADIUM
Stone Mountain (3-6) vs. Druid Hills (4-5) (SN), 7:30 pm
AWAY GAMES
M.L. King (2-7, 1-3) vs. Decatur (5-4, 4-0)*, 7:30 pm
McNair (4-5, 2-3) vs. Eagle’s Landing Christian (5-4, 4-1)*, 7:30 pm
OPEN: Cross Keys (0-8), Redan (2-8)