Friday Night High School Football Roundup: North Cobb defense thwarts fourth-quarter Wolfpack rally, Warriors stamp 24-17 region victory against North Paulding

North Cobb seized control of Region 5-AAAAAA with a narrow win over host North Paulding, taking a two-score lead early in the final frame and securing the 24-17 final with key defensive stops.

Sophomore running back Zach Belyeu broke open a tie game with his second score of the night after sophomore corner Marcus Singleton hauled in a pick to set up 1st and Goal. Arquevious Echols then capitalized on North Cobb’s recovery of a muffed Wolfpack return with a trip to the end zone for a 24-10 Warriors edge.

North Paulding answered on the following drive with a Trey Walkabout touchdown, and Brandon Lentz’s recovery of a fumble forced by Obi Duru gave the Wolfpack a shot to tie it up late in the fourth. A sack from Singleton and a fourth-down stop from Jayden Bryant brought that possession to an end, however, and Singleton added a second interception when North Paulding got one last drive in the final minute to seal the victory.

The Warriors improved to 4-2 on the season and 2-0 in Region 5 with the win and will travel to Marietta next month after a long break. The 4-2 Wolfpack, meanwhile, are now 1-1 in region play.

DRIVE FOR THE GHSA STATE TITLE TV GAME (WATCH HERE): HEBRON CHRISTIAN COMES OUT ONTOP OF BATTLE BETWEEN BACKUP QBS, MAKES STATEMENT WITH 22-17 VICTORYOVER BLESSED TRINITY

A pair of long rushing scores from Devon Caldwell and a touchdown pass from tight end Jordan Greene — filling in at quarterback for the injured Gray Costello —  to Austen Kitchens put Class 2A’s Hebron Christian ahead by two scores in the second half before senior safety Max Steve’s second pick of the night quashed Blessed Trinity’s comeback hopes for the 22-17 final.

“Earlier in the game, they got me on the same play,” said Steve after receiving the Robbie Hunter MVP Award, “and I just recognized it and was able to adjust myself and pick it up and make a play and help my teammates out.”

Sophomore Ty Page started in place of the injured J.D. Callaway for the Class 4A Titans and connected with Quinn Smith and Kai Haru for touchdowns in the loss. Blessed Trinity had two chances to take the lead in the game’s final minutes after kicking a field goal and forcing a Lions three-and-out, but the Hebron Christian defense held strong.

“When you get to play a great, great program like we just played right there, the way these kids have worked, all the change they’ve gone through this offseason, for them to pull this thing together and win a game like this, it’s fantastic,” praised first-year head coach Kenny Dallas after the game.

“Great players make a great coach,” he added. “I’m not a great coach. I’ve got a bunch of great players. That’s the deal.”

The Lions kick off region play next week against visiting East Jackson.

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Check out the Class-by-class look at Friday Night below

CLASS 6A: Carrollton improved to 6-0 on the year with a big 43-7 victory over Parker, snapping a 14-game win streak for the Alabama powerhouse. … Newton’s defense held strong through a fourth-quarter Archer rally to secure a 42-35 Region 4 win. The 3-2 Rams will face undefeated Grayson next Friday. … Wheeler knotted its Region 5 matchup with Walton, 21-21, before the Raiders closed out the game with back-to-back scores. Quarterback Christion Peacock contributed a pair of touchdown passes and another on the ground for Walton, which hosts Marietta after next week’s bye. Peachtree Ridge got its fourth straight win with Friday night’s 24-22 result over Norcross. The Blue Devils had a shot to tie the game in its final moments after finding the end zone, but the two-point try was no good.

CLASS 5A: Effingham County took a 7-0 lead over visiting South Effingham 12 seconds into the game after a fumble on the Mustangs’ opening kickoff return and a Rebel touchdown on the next play. The Rebels ultimately won by a margin of 49-21 and will travel to Evans next week. … River Ridge’s Camden Cox found the end zone from 80 yards out on the Knights’ first play from scrimmage en route to a 28-21 victory, and Sequoyah’s first loss of the season. The Knights have a bye next week before a road trip to Riverwood. … Lanier led Gainesville 27-23 at the break thanks to four touchdown catches by Doyle Morrison, but the Longhorns couldn’t hold on, and the Red Elephants came away with a 57-30 road win in the Region 7 opener.

CLASS 4A: Creekside followed up back-to-back 70-point performances against its last two opponents with a 56-0 shutout of Region 4 foe Mays. … Warner Robins trailed host Veterans out of Class 5A by a margin of 17-15 in the fourth before adding a pair of scores for the 27-17 victory. The 3-2 Demons kick off Region 1 play next week against host Wayne County. … Benedictine and Westminster were tied 7-7 after the opening frame before the Cadets closed out the night with 56 unanswered points, including rushing, receiving and punt return touchdowns by Bubba Frazier in the second quarter. … Southwest DeKalb increased its win streak to four straight with a 41-10 victory over St. Pius X. The Panthers are now 3-0 in Region 5 play and have outscored their last four opponents 190-10. … Dalton built a quick 14-0 first-quarter lead before putting an end to a 16-game losing streak Friday night, defeating visiting Allatoona, 44-35.

CLASS 3A: Peach County remains undefeated after an impressive 19-6 victory over Northside-Warner Robins out of Class 5A. The 5-0 Trojans will travel to Westover next week to kick off Region 1 play. … Lumpkin County responded to last week’s 37-35 region opener loss to Greater Atlanta Christian with an emphatic 47-9 win over Chestatee to spoil the War Eagles’ homecoming night. Chestatee will host Johnson next week as it looks for its first Region 6 win of the year. The Indians, meanwhile, will return home to host White County.

CLASS 2A: East Jackson has already exceeded last year’s win total following a 52-38 win over Class 3A’s East Hall. The 5-0 Eagles trailed 12-0 heading into the second quarter but led 29-24 by halftime and will look to keep their undefeated season going when they kick off Region 8 play at Hebron Christian next week. … Hardaway’s 14-0 victory over visiting Kendrick marked the Golden Hawks’ first win of the season. They will continue Region 1 play next week against visiting Carver before their bye. Kendrick, meanwhile, will try to end a three-game skid on the road at Spencer.

CLASS A - DIV. 1: Athens Academy kicked off Region 8 play with a 49-28 dwin over Commerce. The visiting Tigers got within a score midway through the third quarter before the Spartans added back-to-back-to-back touchdowns to secure the victory. … Northeast shut out Region 2 opponent ACE Charter by a margin of 29-0, taking a 16-0 third-quarter lead with Jordan Wiggins’ touchdown pass to Tavares Tinsley Jr before adding a pair of insurance scores in the final frame. … Worth County built a 17-0 lead over region foe Fitzgerald with a Brodey Hancock field goal, a touchdown pass from Lyndon Worthy to Jaquaveon Nelson and a touchdown run from Treshaun Jones before coasting to a 30-7 final.

CLASS A - DIV. 2: Metter improved to 3-1 on the season and 2-0 against Region 3 foes with a 31-0 shutout of visiting Portal. The Tigers scored all of their points in the opening half and will travel to Emanuel County Institute next week. … Jenkins County bounced back from last week’s one-point region loss to Emanuel County Institute with a 49-7 victory over visiting Claxton. The Eagles are now 3-2 on the year and 2-1 in region play and will face Screven County next week.

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