Southwest DeKalb star receiver Sam Turner (shown catching a TD pass against Clarkston) got to be on the other end as he took the backwards pass from Braylon Carter and threw to Ramique Thomas for what turned out to be an 80-yard scoring play in the 70-7 win over North Springs on Friday. (Photo by Mark Brock)
The Redan Raiders and Southwest DeKalb Panthers were the lone bright spots for DeKalb football on Friday night s both notched wins on another rainy night of high school football.
The Raiders (2-3), playing in the friendly confines of Cobb Stadium jumped out 24-0 on the Riverdale Raiders (0-5) on the way to a 32-16 non-region win.
Jarvis Lamar rushed for 120 of the 300 yards for the Redan offense including touchdown runs of 25 and 15 yards as Redan built the 24-0 halftime lead. The defense had the first half shutout and limited Riverdale to under 100 yards of offense to give Coach Damien Wimes his 75th career victory.
SW DeKalb 70, North Springs 7
The Southwest DeKalb Panthers scored 70 points for the second consecutive week in knocking off the North Springs Spartans 70-7 at Centennial on Friday night.
Southwest DeKalb (3-1, 2-0) used defense and some trickery in staying undefeated in Region 5-4A against the winless Spartans (0-4, 0-2). Taron Essex got a defensive score with a pick-six and Romique Thomas caught an 80-yard touchdown on a double pass from fellow receiver Sam Turner.
Stephenson’s Tyler Little (25) gets the sack on Mt. Zion quarterback Desmund Thomas during a tough 20-14 loss on Friday. (Photo by Mark Brock)
Mt. Zion 20, Stephenson 14
Two big penalties in the fourth quarter proved costly to the Stephenson Jaguars as it led to Mt. Zion-Jonesboro’s game winning touchdown with 7:40 to play in a 20-14 Region 5-3A loss to the Bulldogs.
Leading 14-12, the Jaguars (2-2, 0-1) got backed up and forced to punt as an intentional grounding penalty put them in the shadows of their own goal post at the three-yard line. A 33-yard punt set up the Bulldogs (2-2, 2-0) at the Jaguar 36.
On third and seven from the 33, Bulldog quarterback Desmund Thomas found receiver Dominick Thomas for a 14-yard gain to the 11-yard line and a personal foul on the Jaguars set up a first and goal at the five. Three plays later Desmund Thomas dove over the pile into the end zone for the go-ahead score. He then added the two-point conversion for the 20-14 advantage.
Stephenson drove to the Bulldogs’ 36-yard line before stalling and turning the ball over on downs as a short pass from Marte Barton to Anthony Booker was stopped well short of the first down.
The Bulldogs then ran out the final 4:22 on the clock to seal the win. Mt. Zion marched 48 yards and picked up three first downs along the way behind running back Steve Ramos.
Stephenson got on the board first on a one-yard keeper by Marte Barton on the opening drive of the game to go up 6-0. The Bulldogs answered in the second quarter as Thomas kept on a one-yard run to the end zone to knot the game at 6-6.
The Bulldogs took a 12-6 lead into the half as Jaquon Ridley returned an interception 33 yards to the Stephenson seven as time ran down to under two minutes. Thomas completed the late drive tossing a touchdown as time expired. The two-point play failed.
Stephenson regained the lead at 14-12 on a 15-yard touchdown run by Jayden Johnson with 6:21 left in the third quarter. Barton added the two-point conversion.
DeKalb had a pair of heartbreakers along the way on Friday as the Martin Luther King Jr. Lions (1-3, 0-1) lost 27-28 on a late field goal by Maynard Jackson (4-0, 1-0) after leading most of the way in their Region 4-4A meeting at Godfrey Stadium.
The Dunwoody Wildcats (1-3, 0-1) came up one-point short in rallying against Tri-Cities (3-0, 1-0). Dunwoody trailed 21-7 at one point closing within 21-14 at the end of the third quarter at North DeKalb Stadium.
The Cross Keys Phoenix (0-4) trailed just 7-0 at the half to undefeated Mt. Bethel (3-0) before falling 20-13 at Adams Stadium.
A late rally by the Cedar Grove Saints (0-3) came up short in a road game in Texas against Rockwall-Heath (1-2) as they took a 23-18 loss. King Parrom scored a late touchdown to close the gap, but the onside kick was recovered by Rockwall-Heath to seal the win.
DCSD FOOTBALL RESULTS – WEEK 5
Thursday, Sept. 12
ADAMS STADIUM
Tucker (3-1, 2-0)* 49, Clarkston (0-4, 0-2) 0
COBB (AVONDALE) STADIUM
Callaway (2-2) 22, Columbia (0-4) 16
GODFREY STADIUM
Lakeside (2-2, 1-0) 51, Arabia Mountain (1-3, 0-1)* 50
HALLFORD STADIUM
Miller Grove (3-2) 50, Stone Mountain (0-5) 14
Friday, Sept. 13
ADAMS STADIUM
MT. Bethel (3-0) 20, Cross Keys (0-4) 13
COBB (AVONDALE) STADIUM
Redan (2-3) 32, Riverdale (0-5) 16
GODFREY STADIUM
Maynard Jackson (4-0, 1-0) 28, M.L. King (1-3, 0-1)* 27
HALLFORD STADIUM
Mt. Zion-Jonesboro (2-2, 2-0) 20, Stephenson (2-3, 0-1)* 14
NORTH DEKALB STADIUM
Tri-Cities (3-0, 1-0) 21, Dunwoody (1-3, 0-1)*20
AWAY GAMES
Decatur (4-0,1-0)* 43, Chamblee (0-4, 0-1) 7
Rockwall-Heath, TX (1-2) 23, Cedar Grove (0-3) 18
St. Pius (3-1, 2-0)* 55, Druid Hills (2-2, 1-1) 13
SW DeKalb (3-1, 2-0) 70, North Springs (0-4, 0-2)* 7
OPEN DATE: Lithonia (2-1), McNair (2-2), Towers (2-1)
*–Region Game