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VOLUME 12 ISSUE 25 | October 26 - November 1, 2016

YOUR SOURCE FOR SPORTS IN GEORGIA

Stay Alive | Pg. 9 Week 11 of the high school football season puts playoff hopes on the line

Wait for it | Pg. 4 DeKalb County Media Day previews the some of the Peach State’s top teams.

MY SHOT Following in his brother’s footsteps, Desmond Trufant rises to League-wide stardom.| Pg. 7

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Vol. 12 Iss. 25 | October 26 - November 1, 2016

STARTING LINEUP PUBLISHER/EDITOR: I.J. Rosenberg

ART DIRECTOR: Rhonda Rawls

GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Jermaine Edwards

MANAGING EDITOR: Craig Sager II

COLUMNISTS

ON THE COVER

PREP COVER

ASST. MANAGING EDITOR: Kyle Sandy

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BUSINESS MANAGER: Marvin Botnick

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TEAM SCOOP AND VOICES

TOP TEN PICKS | NUMBERS

GEORGIA STATE | KENNESAW STATE GEORGIA | GEORGIA TECH

COVER PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE ATLANTA FALCONS, KYLE SANDY AND THE AJC.

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Vol. 12 Iss. 25 | October 26 - November 1, 2016 SAGER SAYS

ATLANTA HAWKS 2016-2017 SEASON PREVIEW BY BLAYNE GILLEN | INFO@SCOREATL.COM

he NBA season is finally back and with it comes many story lines. The NBA offseason proved to be nothing short of exciting: Kevin Durant to Golden State, Dwight Howard to Atlanta, and countless trades dominated the headlines. The Hawks had a pretty interesting offseason. Jeff Teague was traded to Indiana which gave Hawks fans the obvious nod that they were confident in giving young German guard Dennis Schroder the keys to the team. Kent Bazemore resigned with the team on a solid deal. Bazemore was a key part to this unit a year ago and his presence in Atlanta has been felt on and off the court. Center Al Horford left the Atlanta faithful in a rather nasty fashion for the rival Boston Celtics. Al did not have the greatest things to say about Atlanta. His father said in an interview

that, “"There wasn't as much motivation for him when he saw all the empty seats when they were winning," he told the Boston Globe. "He said to me, 'Dad, when we were playing Boston, they were down 15 points and they were cheering their team like they were winning the game. They're so into the game.' This is special for us, especially for him."(AJC) The team decided to pick up some other pieces including two first round draft picks and European guard Malcolm Delany.

SEASON SURPRISES

What should we expect this season? The Hawks have a very talented roster. The guard rotation is young for the most part and has a lot to prove. Kyle Korver said that, “I got to work this summer,” Korver said. “I worked out

SANDY'S SPIEL

DEKALB'S ELITE GATHER FOR ANNUAL MEDIA DAY BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

eKalb County has been a stronghold for state champions in basketball. It is now 13 straight years the County has won a state title after the Miller Grove boys and Southwest DeKalb girls continued the winning tradition by claiming the Class AAAAA championships, the Wolverines’ seventh and Panthers’ fifth alltime. On October 25, Tucker High School held Media Day highlighting plenty of storylines to follow in 2016-17.

THE DOCTOR IS IN

Dr. Phillip McCrary returns to the sidelines at Columbia after spending 25 seasons (1988-2012) on the bench, compiling a 546185 (.746%) record and winning five state titles. He joins a difficult Region 5-AAAAA that

holds defending state champion Miller Grove, Southwest DeKalb, Lithonia, Arabia Mountain, Chamblee, Clarkston and Cross Keys. “I enjoy the game and sometimes you just got to go back to what you really love,” explained McCrary on why he decided to return to coaching after serving an administrative role as Assistant Athletic Director for DeKalb County Schools. “I like administration but I love the game of basketball. Once I was able to see that side and weigh the option, basketball outweighed the administration end.” Being able to view coaching from the opposite end of the spectrum has given McCrary a better understanding and respect for both sides. “It’s totally different. I see the error on both parts. I can see the errors that the administra-

two and three times a day all summer league. And I feel great. I feel ready and I feel prepared. I operated all summer with the mindset of my best basketball is in front of me. It wasn’t a couple of years ago. My best basketball is still to be played. Whether or not that happens, we’ll see.” The Hawks will need Kyle to play great basketball this year if he is to remain the starting shooting guard. The Hawks suffered when it came to rebounding last year but addressed this need obtaining young forward from Baylor Taurean Prince and Dwight Howard. The Hawks also needed to address adding depth at the forward spot which they did. This team is not great at any one position but they have depth where it matters. A realistic expectation for this team this year is finishing with around 43-50 wins and finishing fourth and third in the east. The team has decided to go in another direction at the point guard spot. Guard Jeff Teague was traded which means that Dennis Schroder has been handed the keys. Can he handle it? Dennis did play more in the fourth quarter and in the final two minutes than Jeff did last season. “I think Dennis’ personality muffles any pressure is going to be on him,” Kent Bazemore said. “He is so fearless. He’s not worried about

what people say. … He is locked in. He’s starting to grow into himself. As long as he starts with his defense and sets the tone there, everything else will fall into place. He is super gifted athletically and super fast. As long as he does what he does, we have enough players around him, enough age and experience around him, to help throughout the long season.” Howard also joined the squad and has received nothing but love from the fans in Atlanta since. An offseason dedicated to working out and focusing on the flaws of his game has transformed Howard’s mindset it seems. "That's one thing I pride myself on is working hard in the weight room, working hard in practice, trying to become a better player. I hated that perception that I didn't work hard, that I really don't love the game," Howard said. "This game has brought me a lot of joy, brought me a lot of good things. Just that side of it has really affected me. I know you can't please everybody; you can't make everybody happy, but just getting that perception that I don't care about this game and what it brings is a lie." Howard has definitely worked hard this offseason to prove to the fans that this season he is True to Atlanta. Photo courtesy of AP Images

tion was actually trying to do for the game of basketball in DeKalb then when I was on the coaching end, I would see the things that we would complain about what they weren’t doing and they really were doing, so I can see both ends of it.”

total each year from 7 to 18 to 25 last season. “We feel like these guys know our system now and know what’s expected of them and their ready to take it out with them onto the court. We got a lot of leadership, a lot of youth and senior experience so we are ready to go.”

PANTHERS LOOKING TO GET OVER THE HUMP

ARABIA TRIES TO CLIMB THE MOUNTAIN

Southwest DeKalb has become one of the premier programs in DeKalb County, amassing an all-time 714-548 record including a 25-6 season last year with a trip to the Elite Eight, but the one accomplishment that has eluded the Panthers has been a state title. Southwest DeKalb has seen their rival Miller Grove repeatedly hoist the trophy as the Wolverines have been the ultimate thorn in the Panthers’ side. Housed in the same region yet again, Coach Eugene Brown continues to push his group to finally slay the dragon and hang a banner of their own. “You just keep grinding. We’ve been working since I got here three years ago, building the program. It takes time to build a program if you’re going to do it the right way,” explained Brown as he has seen growth each season since taking over in 2014, increasing the Panthers’ win

Now in Year 8, Arabia Mountain is still in search of its first winning record. The Rams finished 10-16 in Region 6-AAAA last year, the best region in the classification, and now will try their hand in Region 5-AAAAA. Coach Dedrick Whiting looks for his Rams to get out and run in 2016-17. “We are probably going to play a little more up-tempo this year. A different style of basketball, more exciting. We are going to shoot the three a little bit more than we did last year. We aren’t going to be as big,” explained Whiting. “We are going to let our guys get out and go. And we are going to step up the pressure a little bit on defense. Our guys are going to be a little bit more of a VCU Rams aggressive type of team.” Photo courtesyof Kyle Sandy

Cleveland

Alabama

Region 6

The phrase Cleveland Rocks has never been truer. The Indians are in the World Series and the Cavaliers are beginning their title defense. On Tuesday, the Indians took Game 1 of the Series against the Cubs 6-0 while the Cavs shellacked the NBA’s newest “Superteam”, the Knicks, 117-88. Now if only the Browns can get on track

The Crimson Tide surged over No. 6 Texas A&M 33-14, marking the third consecutive ranked team they have beaten. The Aggies held a 14-13 third quarter lead before the wheels fell off. One of the most interested aspects of this game? Alabama was favored by 19 points. The Tide ended up winning by 19 points. Hmmm.

Region 6-AAAAAA has dominated the competition in softball. With three teams ranked in the top 10 throughout the year, all four playoff participants have made it to the Elite Eight. Creekview, Harrison, Dalton and River Ridge all have the talent to compete for a ring and make it an all Region 6 affair.

SCORE LIST By Craig Sager II FALCONS SLUMP

Atlanta let a 17-point lead over San Diego slip away last Sunday and dropped their second straight loss. The shocking 33-30 overtime defeat was filled with missed opportunities and costly mistakes. As a result, the team sits at 4-3 with a defining matchup waiting with the 4-2 Green Bay Packers this Sunday. Closing games and finishing is something Atlanta will be addressing until proven otherwise.

CLEVELAND’S NIGHT

It’s been almost twenty years since the Atlanta Braves brought the city a title. On Tuesday, the sports world watched as the Cleveland Cavaliers were given their championship rings, and the Indians took a 1-0 lead over the Cubs in the World Series. If Cleveland can truly make 2016 its year, then Atlanta may find itself alone in the caboose of the sports world.

WEEK 11

Week 11 of the high school football season is here and only two weeks of regular season action remains. The reclassification into a Class AAAAAAA made every region in the state smaller. As a result of having smaller regions, the final two weeks of the season are packed with significance. All across the state, the playoff picture will come into focus.

HAWKS OPENING NIGHT

The Atlanta Hawks open their 2016-17 season at home with Washington this Thursday. The Hawks tweaked their roster and will debut a new starting lineup that includes big-man and Atlanta-native Dwight Howard. Excitement surrounds the team in a top-heavy Easter Conference as head coach Mike Budenholzer enters his fourth season at the helm.

STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

The GHSA high school playoffs have been in full swing and this weekend will crown the first state champions of the 2016-17 school year. The softball state championships will take place from Oct. 27-29 in Columbus, Ga. Volleyball will crown its seven state champions on Saturday at Holy Innocents’ (A-AAA) and Marietta (AAAA-AAAAAAA).

GEORGIA VS. FLORIDA

This busy weekend wouldn’t be complete without talking about the annual showdown between the Bulldogs and Gators. Georgia limps into Jacksonville coming off its bye week and homecoming loss to Vanderbilt. This is head coach Kirby Smart’s first chance to prove he can lead the Dawgs past their hated rivals and will be an SEC East spectacle for sure.

WHO’S NOT

By Kyle Sandy

WHO’S HOT

SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

Warriors

Falcons

NFL

Golden State flopped in their season opener, losing 129100 to the Spurs at home. Though it’s just one game, Steve Kerr and company might find out sooner rather than later that championships aren’t won with just five players. The Warriors’ putrid bench was outscored by the Spurs 54 to 16. Don’t forget, the Warriors opened 24-0 last season.

The league has been singing the praises of the Falcons offense, but oh how soon do they forget that there are two sides of the ball. Atlanta hung 30 more points against the Chargers, but blew a 3020 fourth quarter lead and lost 33-30 in overtime. The Falcons have dropped two straight and are allowing 28.4 points per game.

TV ratings are down and overall approval of the league has fallen. The play on the field has suffered and fans are sick and tired of all the black eyes the league has accumulated, the latest coming out of New York. Oversaturation of the product and a growing disapproval of Commissioner Roger Goodell has led to a down year.

NUMBERS

OUR TWO CENTS

By Kyle Sandy

Our email newsletter is something we take a lot of pride in at Score. If you aren’t familiar with it, it is a high school sportsheavy publication that we produce each day to fill in our readers on the latest happenings in Georgia prep sports. We send it out Monday through Friday throughout the year and Monday through Saturday during the fall. Not only do we cover popular sports like football, basketball and baseball, we also cover every other varsity sport the GHSA fields. If you like Georgia high school sports at all, sign up for our email newsletter by visiting www.tinyurl.com/scorenewsletter and enter your email address(es) that you’d like added to the distribution list.

TRIVIA QUESTION

WHO HAS BEEN ATLANTA’S SECOND LEADING RECEIVER THIS SEASON? ANSWER ON PAGE 14

“

SANITY AT LAST

This stings today for our team. We want to pride ourselves in being very aggressive in all three phases. We certainly had our opportunities to finish today and we fell short of that.”

- Dan Quinn after OT loss to Chargers

806

Morten Anderson’s Falcons all-time scoring record

803

Matt Bryant’s current points scored in a Falcons uniform

Rushing touchdowns scored by the Falcons this season

Rushing touchdown allowed by the Packers defense this season

830

League-high receiving yards by Julio Jones

Times that Julio Jones has tallied 100 or more yards in a half this year.

6.5

Team-high sacks by Vic Beasley Jr. this season

NFL-record consecutive games Matt Ryan has passed for more than 200 yards.

Vol. 12 Iss. 25 | October 26 - November 1, 2016

ON THE COVER

in an interview with ESPN’s Vaughn McClure. “That’s where I saw the biggest transition. I didn’t get to a lot of his high school games because I was playing at the time. But I saw in college him start to make plays and step up on the big scene. He always showed up when the lights were on.” A strong family of football mentors gave Trufant the tools to reach the NFL. Once Trufant reached the NFL, however, he was going to be ‘alone on an island’ as the verbiage goes, being asked to cover teams’ No. 1 receiver as veterans and prolific passers looked to see what the rookie was made of.

MAKING A SPLASH

ATLANTA FALCONS

DESMOND TRUFANT: GROWTH ROOTED IN COMPETITIVENESS BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

t says a lot about a player that is able to come into the NFL and play at a high level from day one. It says even more when the position he is being asked to play is lockdown corner. Since joining the Atlanta Falcons as the 22nd overall pick of the 2013 NFL Draft, Trufant enters today’s meeting with Green Bay having started all 55 games. His statistical achievements earned him a 2015 Pro Bowl roster spot and League-wide praise, but his competitiveness and maturity remain the trademarks of his success. Standing apart from his peers in a League filled with talented cornerbacks is an upshot of Trufant’s past. His two older brothers Marcus (35) and Isaiah (33) both played defensive back in the NFL before him. All three of the NFL-bound brothers began their football journeys at Woodrow Wilson High School in Tacoma, Washington. Marcus went on to become the 11th overall pick of the 2003 NFL Draft and went to the Seattle Seahawks,

which played just 40 miles up Interstate-5 from Woodrow Wilson. Like Trufant did in Atlanta, Marcus saw NFL success right away. While Marcus was becoming a homegrown star in Seattle, Isaiah was working his way into the NFL through the United Football League. His determination paid off and after winning two UFL titles and UFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2010, he made the New York Jets roster. Meanwhile, Desmond was quietly building a legacy of his own. He was just a sophomore in high school when Marcus made the Pro Bowl in 2007. Trufant chose Washington over Marcus’ alma mater Washington State in 2009 and began his collegiate career with the Huskies. He lifted the Huskies to one of the best passing defenses in the country (188.9 yards allowed per game) his senior season and had the resume and speed (4.38) to become a first-rounder a decade after his older brother. “His game evolved in college,” said Marcus

Before Trufant’s first start in 2013, he got one of the best ‘Welcome to the NFL’ crash courses a rookie cornerback could get that offseason. Each day of practice, Trufant was matching up with Julio Jones and Matt Ryan, a daily battle that has helped set the standard at Flowery Branch for the past four seasons. “To be honest, he [Jones] progressed me so much quicker because I had to go against him every day,” Trufant admitted to The News Tribune earlier this month. “He was killing me when I first got here [to Atlanta]. That had never happened to me before. But he really prepared me. Now it is nothing.” Trufant was named to the Pro Football Writers of America All-Rookie team and garnered Pro Football Focus Defensive Rookie of the Year. More importantly, Trufant was a brightspot within a disappointing season that planted confidence in the future of the franchise. On a team that struggled to apply pressure, Trufant’s coverage ability was on full-display. He finished his first season with a League-high 17 pass break-ups to go with two interceptions, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. In 2014, he added 16 pass breakups to go with a career-best three interceptions. The next season, the Falcons introduced a new head coach in Dan Quinn and new defensive coordinator with Richard Smith. The duo was clear that they had complete confidence in Trufant and were ready to let his fast and physical play cornerstone a new era of defense in Atlanta.

Trufant’s progress from his first season to 2014 and this new system in place was enough to change opponents’ game plans when 2015 rolled around. No cornerback in the entire League was targeted fewer times than Trufant was last season. After being thrown at 180 times his first two professional seasons, Trufant saw just 56 passes come his way last year. He added another 11 pass breakups and was rewarded with his first Pro Bowl appearance. “It’s the competitiveness that sets him apart,” Atlanta Quinn told the Tribune. “He doesn’t like to be thrown at or thrown on. “His [Trufant’s] thing is he competes every snap,” Jones said of Trufant. “If you get him one time, he’s going to try and get you the next three times.”

EQUIPPED FOR SUCCESS This season, Trufant has continued to elevate his game and has already clashed with some of the League’s top receivers. In Week 1, Trufant intercepted Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston, forewarning future quarterbacks to look the other way. In the Week 3 Monday Night victory over the Saints, wideout Brandin Cooks caught one pass for nine yards in the five times Drew Brees was targeted with Trufant in coverage. Carolina’s Kelvin Benjamin was locked down and was contained to just three catches for 39 yards and a late touchdown in Week 4’s win over the Panthers. Against the Super Bowl champs, the longest Denver play from scrimmage all game was a 26-yard catch by Emmanuel Sanders in the first half. As Atlanta’s lead increased, Trufant and others left no room for a comeback attempt or game changing play. We just stayed disciplined,” said Trufant. “We didn’t give up any explosive plays and kept everything in front.” Trufant had a homecoming Week 5 against the Seahawks where he played in front of his home state for the first time as a professional. But 2,600 miles away, the 26-yearold cornerback is back in the Georgia Dome, where his career is just beginning. Photo coutesy of The Atlanta Falcons

SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

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Vol. 12 Iss. 25 | October 26 - November 1, 2016

PREP SPOTLIGHT

PLAYOFFS LOOM WITH WEEK 11 BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

n Class AAAA, Region 4 crowned its champion on Friday as Woodward Academy de-

No. 1 seed out Region 7 significantly with a

molished Luella 56-0. The rest of the seven re-

28-14 heading into the fourth quarter. Marist

gions, however, haven’t been mathematically

missed an extra point on its first fourth-

clinched yet.

quarter score to cut it to 28-20, then the War

The War Eagles opened up a 21-0 lead in

Eagles scored again with two minutes left but

the first quarter with two Ryan Glover touch-

threw incomplete on the potential game-tying

down passes and a 7-yard Glover touchdown

two-point attempt. Blessed Trinity ran out the

run. Two Jalen Polk touchdown runs and a 20-

clock on the ensuing possession for the road

yard touchdown run by Tahj Gary in the sec-

win. Blessed Trinity sophomore Steele Cham-

ond quarter grew the lead to 42-0 at the half.

bers had rushing touchdowns of 6, 16 and 17

Cross Patton added a 4-yard touchdown run in

yards, with his second and third TDs com-

the third quarter and Christian Wylder rushed

ing in a 22-point third quarter for the Titans.

for a 16-yard touchdown with 7:49 left in the

Chambers finished with 26 rushes for 126

game to make it 56-0

yards and covered Marist’s onside kick after

its final touchdown.

Thanks to a wild week of games in the rest

narrow victory over Marist. Blessed Trinity led

of the classification, the final two weeks of the

for the No. 1 seed with Ridgeland, Pickens and

Warriors temporarily to No. 2. Madison Coun-

Northwest Whitfield each still in the running.

ty defeated North Oconee 26-14 to move to the No. 4 seed in the region, while St. Pius and

CARTERSVILLE 48, CHAPEL HILL 7: The Purple Hurricanes set a new school-record with their 24th straight victory Friday night. Cartersville quarterback Trevor Lawrence finished 15-of-28 for 258 yards and four touchdown passes. Trey Creamer rushed in scores of six and two yards. Jonathan Cruz connected on field goals of 27 and 33 yards. Both Trase Fezzia and EJ Turner scored on screen passes; Fezzia’s going for 14 yards while Turner dashed 54 yards. Antoine Jefferson caught a 20-yard touchdown and Avery Showell hauled in a 46yard touchdown. Cartersville will take a bye week before hosting Troup in a must-see re-

North Oconee sit in the basement with winless 0-8 records.

LOOKING AHEAD

In Region 1, Cairo can clinch the No. 1 seed

with a win over visiting Columbus on Friday. The Syrupmakers are 5-0 in the eight-team region, while Northside-Columbus, Americus-Sumter and Carver-Columbus sit at 3-2. Hardaway, Westover and Columbus bubble the potential playoff seeding at 2-3. Mary Persons scored a 24-0 win over second-place Upson-Lee to open the month and can clinch the Region 2 title with

gion championship and season finale.

a home win over Perry this Friday. The Bulldogs

JEFFERSON 24, ST. PIUS 0: Jefferson's Hayden

and are heavily favored over the 3-5 Panthers.

Kilgore booted through a 29-yard field goal to

provide the only scoring of the opening quarter

game this weekend. Thomson (8-0, 3-0) will

that put host Jefferson up 3-0. Freshman quar-

host Burke County (7-1, 3-0) for a winner-

terback Colby Clark ran in a 10-yard touchdown

take-all premier matchup. Thomson has been

and 5-yard touchdown in the second quarter to

unstoppable this season, averaging 52.1 points

have won 15 of their last 17 meetings with Perry Region 3 has the only true region title

give the Dragons a 17-0 halftime edge. After a

season are packed with quality. Here were the

PICKENS 35, RIDGELAND 34: Ridgeland ral-

per game offensively, while surrendering just

scoreless third quarter, Colby Wood iced the

most notable results from this past Friday night.

lied back all the way from 35-14 in the fourth

nine points per contest. Thomson took last

game with a 1-yard touchdown dive with 10:13

quarter, but missed the potential game-tying

to play. Jefferson moves into a tie with Ste-

year’s matchup 35-28, however, Burke County

BLESSED TRINITY 28, MARIST 26: Blessed

PAT. This is the Panthers’ first loss of the sea-

phens County at the top of Region 8. Stephens

Trinity increased its chances of clinching the

son and the result is a current three-way race

County defeated Oconee County to drop the

owns the all-time series record 17-15 and has won the last 7-of-9. Photo courtesy of the AJC

SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

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Vol. 12 Iss. 25 | October 26 - November 1, 2016 UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

BULLDOGS USE BYE WEEK TO REGROUP BY BLAYNE GILLEN | INFO@SCOREATL.COM

he Georgia Bulldogs have encountered some growing pains after losing to Vanderbilt at the homecoming game in Athens. There was a lot of controversy surrounding the fourth down play call at the end of the game. The Dawgs tried a sweep on a fourth and one to extend their hopes of winning the game. The play was questionable to begin with and when it failed there was outrage throughout the Bulldog faithful. Jacob Eason, Kirby Smart, and Nick Chubb are all stars down in Athens and as such were held responsible (Right or wrong) for the loss. Kirby remained confident after the loss adding some positivity to the post-game interview. “Welcome to the world we live in as coaches,'' Smart said Tuesday. ''You've got to figure out what you can do best and better to get these kids a chance to be successful. I think that comes through a lot of things - confidence, improvement, recruiting. There's a lot of areas that we're going to improve on. But am I questioning myself? No, not at all.'' (CBS Sports)

GEORGIA STATE

HOMECOMING CROWNS PANTHERS VICTORIOUS BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

eorgia State (2-5) notched its second win of the season on Saturday, cruising past Tennessee-Martin 31-6 on Homecoming. The Panthers defense blew the game open in the third quarter, scoring two touchdowns in 10 seconds. Marterious Allen returned a fumble 23 yards before B.J. Clay took an interception 38 yards to the house. “I’m very excited about the homecoming victory. I’m happy for our alumni, team, student body and faculty/administration. I’m very pleased with the way our defense performed,” explained Head Coach Trent Miles. “This is the first time in school history that we’ve never given up a touchdown. I think that shows how outstanding our defense was today. Hopefully, we can get everyone healthy and get ready to go down and play South Alabama in a big time football game.” Aaron Winchester stepped up in place of starting quarterback Conner Manning who

Vanderbilt is a team that was less talented but was not a team that you could let back in the game. The Dawgs drop to 4-3 on the season with some tough games up ahead.

GEORGIA FLORIDA

The Dawgs will play Florida in the heated rivalry game down in Jacksonville. The Dawgs will play as the home team in that game which will not mean much but hopefully will spark some sort of “Protect our house” spark. Georgia has a very difficult home game to play shortly after against Auburn. Georgia could drop the Florida, Auburn, and even Georgia Tech games. With more than half the season gone this Georgia team has progressively looked worse each week. When Kirby came to Athens there was no doubt that this was a project that would take some time. Football fans in the SEC are not as patient and some have already commanded for the firing of Kirby. Kirby needs time to account for the weaknesses and youth of this football team. Georgia has a top recruiting class coming this next season and hopefully for the next few seasons to come. The Dawgs are not a terrible team but they do need time to develop. Eason and company will use the rest of this season as a learning tool and with time this program will be reloaded with impeccable talent on both sides of the ball. Bulldog nation needs to be patient.

missed Saturday’s game with an injury sustained in practice last Thursday. In his first career start Winchester finished just 8-of-16 for 119 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, but he was able to rush for 75 yards on 16 carries. “Offensively it was a little rough. We lost our starting quarterback on Thursday, during a two-minute drill and he gets the majority of the reps all week long. For Aaron Winchester to find out he was the starter this morning, I thought there were some moments he wishes he had back, but for his first time, he was able to move the ball around with his feet early in the game.” The Panthers hit the road on Saturday visiting 3-4 South Alabama. The Jaguars are winless in Sun Belt play at 0-4, but hold wins over Mississippi State 21-20 and San Diego State 42-24. Cougars vs. Panthers The men’s soccer team looks to improve upon their 10-6 record on Wednesday night as College of Charleston rolls into town. The Cougars enter with a 3-7-3 record but hold a 15-6 all-time advantage over Georgia State in headto-head matchups. The Panthers will turn to sophomores Hannes Burmeister and Max Hemmings to initiate the offense. The duo has combined for 16 of the team’s 32 goals on the season. The defense has allowed just one goal in the past three games, shutting out both Jacksonville and Appalachian State.

GEORGIA TECH

TECH ROLLS PAST EAGLES INTO HOMECOMING WEEK BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

ustin Thomas ran for two touchdowns and passed for another to lead Georgia Tech past Georgia Southern 35-24 on Saturday to end a three-game losing streak. Georgia Tech (4-3) enjoyed a dominant opening quarter and put the game away with two fourth-quarter touchdowns. The Eagles managed only 167 rushing yards -- more than 100 below their average -- on 50 carries. “I thought that we did some good things in the Georgia Southern game. We got off to a really quick start offensively and, for the most part, were pretty efficient on offense throughout the game. Defensively, we made some plays; we gave up a little bit. To [allow a] score there at the end was disappointing. All in all, I felt like once the game started, we pretty much had the game in hand. The bye week came at a good time. After sevenstraight games, we were pretty beat up and it was good to be able to get a couple days off for the guys and renew some energy and

KENNESAW STATE

OWLS GET BACK ON TRACK BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

haston Bennett had another monster day C with 223 total yards and three touchdowns, leading Kennesaw State to its third straight

road win, 47-39, over Gardner-Webb Saturday at Spangler Stadium. The senior reeled in a career-high 110 yards through the air, rushed for 76 yards and matched a career-high with three total touchdowns as KSU improved to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in Big South play with program's first-ever road victory in conference play. The Runnin' Bulldogs slipped to 3-5, 1-1. "Anytime you can go on the road and win and win in the conference, it's big," said head coach Brian Bohannon. "Coming off a very emotional game last week at home, for our kids to come out and regroup and refocus and win the game is big for our program. It's only one game, but we celebrate it and it's time to move on to the next one." Sophomore quarterback Chandler Burks had his best game through the air as an Owl, completing 11-for-19 to eight different re-

hopefully come back and finish up the last half of the season strong.”

HOMECOMING MATCHUP…

Georgia Tech looks to move closer to bowl eligibility and remain in contention for the ACC Coastal Division championship when it hosts division rival Duke on Saturday afternoon at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Duke is Georgia Tech's most common homecoming opponent, as Saturday marks the 22nd time that the Blue Devils and Yellow Jackets have played on homecoming at Tech. The Jackets are 14-6-1 in homecoming games against the Devils. “I think that they’re [Duke] really pretty good on defense when you watch the tape,” said head coach Paul Johnson. “They’re well coached; the two inside linebackers are both really good players. I think that the defensive line, they play a lot of different people. The [A.J.] Wolf kid has been playing for a long time and he really stands out. The kid, No. 26 [Corbin McCarthy] that kind of took Jeremy Cash’s place, has made a lot of plays – he’s in that same position. And they’ve got a couple of veterans back in the secondary – the [Deondre] Singleton kid from here in Atlanta, from Archer in Gwinnett, has been probably a three-year starter for them and played a lot and the [Breon] Borders kid at corner has been a player that has played a lot. They’re fairly experienced, they’re well coached, they’ve played very well against option teams the last two or three years from Navy to Army to us, so they’ve got a good scheme and execute it well.”

ceivers for a career-high 207 yards and two touchdowns. His two scores in the air tied a career high. His 61-yard TD pass to Bennett in the third quarter was a career long pass. Burks has been responsible for a conferenceleading 17 of the Owls' 37 touchdowns (nine rush, eight pass).

MONMOUTH MATCHUP

Fresh off its first-ever Big South road win, Kennesaw State looks to keep its momentum rolling at Monmouth this Saturday. A win Saturday over the Hawks would extend the Owls' school-record road winning streak to four games and also mark the first time Kennesaw State has won consecutive Big South Conference games. When Kennesaw State and Monmouth met last season at Fifth Third Bank Stadium, the Owls' 23-13 victory helped clinch a winning record in the program's inaugural season. he Owls enter the week leading the Big South in total offense (483.1 ypg; ranked fifth FCS), scoring (38.7; 11th FCS), rushing offense (295.3 ypg; fifth FCS), rushing TDs (26), passing efficiency (178.67; second FCS), completion percentage (61%) and turnover margin (+8; ninth FCS). Kennesaw State surpassed 500 yards of total offense in last Saturday's win at GardnerWebb and is 3-0 this season (5-0 in program history) when surpassing the 500-yard mark. The Owls have out-gained every team this season and are winning the yardage battle by an average of 118.7 yards per game.

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