A pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns propelled the Cedar Grove Saints to a 37-26 victory over the Collins Hill Eagles on Friday night at Godfrey Stadium.

The Class 3A No. 1 ranked Saints fell behind 26-24 with 28 seconds to play in the third quarter as Collins Hill’s Katrell Webb returned a fumble 75 yards to complete an Eagles’ comeback from a 24-8 deficit.

Cedar Grove led by quarterback EJ Colson marched down the field with Colson connecting with Devin Carter on passes of 15 and nine yards and he also ran for 23 yards in the drive on three carries to get the Saints into a second goal at the Eagles’ nine-yard line.

Colson rolled right but had to scramble back to his left where he found Desean Hendrix dragging across the middle. Hendrix hauled in the pass and slipped into the end zone with 8:40 to play in the game to put the Saints up 30-26 as the PAT failed.

The Saints’ defense forced Collins Hill to punt on its next possession and the offense would put the game away marching 67 yards in seven plays mainly on the legs of running back Boden Walker. Walker opened the drive taking a screen for a 14-yard gain. He would then run the ball five times in the next five plays (only a 7-yard run by Colson interrupted Walker’s part of the drive). The final carry was a 16-yard touchdown run down the right side with 4:18 to play. Alex Brock added the PAT to make it 37-26.

Collins Hill drove 80 yards following Cedar Grove’s game-clinching touchdown and with time ticking under two minutes to play the Saints defense forced a turnover on downs at the Saints’ seven-yard line as pressure forced an incomplete pass on fourth down.

Collins Hill got out to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter on a safety and a 30-yard field goal by Phillip Bonacci before the Saints countered with a touchdown run of 41 yards by Walker (20 carries, 104 yards, 2 TDs) to take a 7-5 lead with 1:19 left in the opening quarter.

Bonacci added a 37-yard field goal early in the second quarter to put the Eagles (1-2) ahead again at 8-7. Cedar Grove answered with a 27-yarda field goal by Brock to go up 10-8.

Cedar Grove made another fourth-down stop on their own 31 and would put together another offensive drive. Colson would connect for two 20-yard passes to Devin Carter, the second going for a touchdown as Carter broke free of a would-be tackler and dove into the end zone with 48 seconds left in the half. Brock’s PAT made it 17-8.

The first play of the second half Collins Hill fumbled and Saints’ defensive lineman Javon Beckford scooped up the loose ball at the 29 and raced to the end zone for the score. Brock’s PAT upped the lead to 24-8.

Collins Hill then began to rally behind a 69-yard touchdown run by Cam Jones (two-point conversion pass from TJ Wilcox to Deuce Geralds) and a 39-yard field goal by Bonacci to close within 19-24 before Webb’s scoop and score for the lead.

Colson finished 13 of 20 passing for 145 yards and two touchdowns while Devin Carter caught five for 75 yards and a touchdown.

The Saints (2-2) travel to face Class 7A No. 3 ranked Mill Creek (3-0) in an 8:00 pm kickoff on Friday.

Dunwoody 36, Druid Hills 7
The Dunwoody Wildcat defense held the Druid Hills Red Devils to minus-5 yards rushing and just seven points in a 36-7 win at Adams Stadium on Saturday night after the game was delayed from Friday due to no referees.

The Wildcats’ defense had 12 tackles for a loss in the game and two sacks led by breakout games by Zach Paulding (7 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 INT) and Jackson Wilcox (7 tackles, 3 TFL). Luke Cole (11 tackles, 2 TFL) and Andrew Ainsworth (12 tackles, 10 solo) were also big contributors in the defensive effort.

Quarterback Matt Pearch led the offense hitting 21 of 32 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns. Danny Boden caught 11 passes for 73 yards and a touchdown and Porter Allison had six catches for 80 yards and two touchdowns. Owen Painter carried the ball seven times for 49 yards and two touchdowns while adding two two-point conversions runs.

Dunwoody (3-0) hosts Northview (0-3) on Friday in a 7:30 pm kickoff at North DeKalb Stadium.

Stephenson 29, Carver 14
The Stephenson Jaguars bounced back from an upset loss to Arabia Mountain last week with a dominant performance against Class 3A then ranked No. 6 Carver of Atlanta Panthers at Hallford Stadium on Friday night.

Scoring came in all phases of the game for the Jaguars (3-1) as they jumped out to a 29-0 lead through three quarters.

Senior running back Devin Ingram had 13 carries for 103 yards and a touchdown and quarterback Marte Barton connected with Trent Fields Jr. (3 receptions, 95 yards, 1 TD) on an 87-yard touchdown pass.

Freshman Kwame Green Jr. blocked a punt and teammate Romando Craddock fell on the ball in the end zone for a special teams score. Green finished the game with 4 tackles including 3 sacks.

Jah’Quarius Smith had a strip-sack and Eli Edwards picked up the loose ball and returned it for another score.

Arabia Mountain 41, Meadowcreek 14
Laron Jones scored two touchdowns and Julian Shanks threw for three to lead the Arabia Mountain Rams to a 41-14 win over the Meadowcreek Mustangs on Saturday at Godfrey Stadium.

Jones scored on a 40-yard run followed Jaden Sancho’s strip sack that resulted in a Daniel Turpin fumble recovery. He also caught a touchdown pass from Shanks. Turpin scored on the next series following Jones run as Turpin scored on a 12-yard run. Daniel Ndukwe had a touchdown reception as well.

Jordan Miller added a 65-yard punt return for a score and a touchdown receiving as well.

Turpin had 4 tackles on defense, two for a loss and the fumble recovery. The defense held Meadowcreek to 163 yards (85 rushing) with six tackles for a loss and four sacks.

Arabia Mountain improves to 3-1 on the season having won three in a row since a tough one-point loss to Maynard Jackson to open the season as they head into a bye week.

M.L. King 25, North Springs 6
Brandon Robinson opened the game with a 79-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to jump start the Martin Luther King Jr. Lions to a 25-6 road victory over the North Springs Spartans on Friday night.

The win broke a six-game skid dating back to the final three games of the 2022 season. Two of the three losses this season were by a combined seven points. The Lions lost 13-19 to North Springs last season.

Quarterback Antonio Anderson put together 193 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries to lead the way for the offense. Two of the runs were of 65 and 45 yards for scores. Sa’Kaun Foster had 13 carries for 103 yards to aid the offense.

The defense held North Springs to 158 yards of total offense picking up 11 tackles for a loss and two sacks led by Denzel Reid (8 total tackles, 2 sacks, 6 for loss) and Tyler Thomas (10 total tackles, 1 for loss).

DCSD FOOTBALL RESULTS – WEEK 4
Thursday, 9/7
ADAMS STADIUM
Osborne (3-0) 28, Lakeside (3-1) 0
GODFREY STADIUM
Miller Grove (3-1) 38, Campbell (2-2) 18
HALLFORD STADIUM
Clarkston (1-2) 24, Cross Keys (0-4) 0
NORTH DEKALB STADIUM
Therrell (3-0) 27, Towers (0-4) 0 

Friday, 9/8
ADAMS STADIUM (Played Saturday)
Dunwoody (3-0) 36, Druid Hills (2-1-1) 7
AVONDALE STADIUM
Maynard Jackson (2-1) 42, Lithonia (1-3) 0
GODFREY STADIUM
Cedar Grove (2-2) 37, Collins Hill (1-2) 26
HALLFORD STADIUM
Stephenson (3-1) 29, Carver-Atl (1-2) 14
NORTH DEKALB STADIUM
Duluth (3-0) 27, Chamblee (2-2) 12

AWAY GAMES
Cartersville (4-0) 31, Columbia (2-2) 6
M.L. King (1-3) 19, North Springs (0-4) 6
Westlake (4-0) 57, SW DeKalb (1-3) 7
HENDERSON STADIUM
Douglass (3-1) 68, Stone Mountain (0-4) 0
Dacula (1-3) 30, Tucker (2-1) 22 

Saturday, 9/9
GODFREY STADIUM
Arabia Mountain (3-1) 41, Meadowcreek (0-4) 14

OPEN: McNair (2-1), Redan (1-2)