CALHOUN, Ga. – The Gordon Central Warriors entered Ratner Memorial Stadium at full speed, tearing through a banner that read “Silence the Lamb” to face crosstown rival Calhoun.
Calhoun coach Hal Lamb let his team do all the talking Friday night.
“There’s no doubt everyone’s gunning for us and wanting to beat us,” Lamb said after his Yellow Jackets thumped the Warriors 44-6 in the Region 7-AA matchup. “Our kids rise to the occasion, and we played pretty well tonight once we got it going.”
The No. 2-ranked Jackets (7-0, 4-0) tried to give the game away early before grabbing control. Calhoun lost three fumbles, including two inside the Warriors’ 20-yard line, in the first quarter.
While the offense was finding its footing, the Calhoun defense was handing out punishment to everyone in Gordon Central blue. Wave after wave of white-clad Jackets swarmed the Warriors (4-3, 2-2). Calhoun linebacker Alex Kirby had three of his team’s eight tackles for loss in the first half, when the Warriors had as many punts as first downs (seven).
The defensive dominance allowed the Calhoun offense time to find its stride, and the Jackets went from standing still to full speed in a matter of seconds.
Dustin Christian’s 59-yard touchdown started the scoring and the big-play avalanche. Standout quarterback Landon Curtis connected with Chase Rierson for a 29-yard score and with J.T. Palmer on a receiver screen that went for a 45-yard touchdown. Calhoun had six plays that covered more than 15 yards as it built a 34-0 lead by halftime.
“There are certain plays you have to hit hard, and there are some you have to let them set up,” said Christian, who had 114 yards and three touchdowns rushing in the first half and opened the second half with a 91-kick return for another score before taking the rest of the evening off. “The key to making big plays is knowing the difference.”
Christian’s kickoff return was the latest in a string of big special-team plays for the Jackets, who blocked a field-goal try and a punt to set up touchdown drives in the first half. Adam Griffith closed the scoring with a 48-yard field goal that had at least 10 yards to spare to cap the dominant performance in each phase.
“They took the fight to us in the first half,” Gordon Central coach Chad Fisher said. “We had some chances early and dropped a couple of passes and had a field goal blocked, and they are too good [for us] to miss chances like that.”
Warriors quarterback Dre Prather’s scrambling provided the lone consistent offensive option for Gordon Central. The senior scrambled for 48 yards on 14 carries – a stat watered down by Calhoun’s five sacks – and passed for 117 yards. Prather’s 61-yard completion to Tyshaun Clemmons set up Mann Daniel’s 6-yard run for Gordon Central’s lone score.
“We were worried about their entire offense, but we knew he was the key,” Kirby said of Prather. “He’s a real big part of that offense.”