By Lee Wilson
MaxPreps.com
MaxPreps.com’s No. 1-ranked team nationally opened up its season in Georgia Friday night, but it wasn’t a Peach State school carrying that target on its back into the fall.
South Carolina’s Byrnes High School faced 2007 AAAAA runner-up North Gwinnett at the Progressive Football Challenge and got all it wanted right out of the gate.
North Gwinnett led 14-9 at the half, but the top-ranked Rebels scored four unanswered touchdowns to run away for a 36-21 win. Byrnes has been a state champion in the Palmetto State in five of the past six seasons and is loaded with Division I prospects.
The North Gwinnett defense from 2007 lost 10 starters. It showed as the Rebels knocked them around in front of a crowd if over 8,000.
"I think they're the most balanced football team we've played and they've probably got as good a collection of athletes that anybody can put on the field that we've played," North Gwinnett head coach Bob Sphire told the Gwinnett Daily Post. "They're very difficult defend. They're an outstanding football team and there as good as anybody in the country I'm sure."
Out-of-state teams swept the event’s Friday night double-header, ad Mainland High School of Daytona Beach, Fla., downed Central Gwinnett, 34-13.
Other Key Games
Lassiter 48, Sprayberry 28
The Lassiter Trojans defeated region rival Sprayberry, 48-28, ending a two-game losing streak against the Yellow Jackets and earning new head coach Chip Lindsey a win in his debut.
"I'm proud of the guys' effort and the way we played," Lindsey told the Marietta Daily Journal. "I thought the kids played really hard on most downs. The thing I'm really proud of is that we handled adversity."
Lassiter was led by quarterback Hutson Mason who was 15-of-25 for 163 yards and four touchdown passes. 137 of Mason's passing yards came in the first half.
Jackets’ quarterback Forest Holt had a decent night rushing the ball, taking 26 carries for 133 yards. Still, the Jackets struggled early against the Trojans and dug a 42-16 hole.
"Lassiter made plays when we didn't early," Sprayberry head coach Billy Shackelford told the Marietta Daily Journal. "We made adjustments at halftime and were able to do some things offensively and defensively. Lassiter has a lot of people back on offensive and defense and a talented group of kids."
Milton 51, Chattahoochee 49
If Tennessee Volunteer football coach Phil Fulmer wasn't already licking his chops about his Milton High School running back recruit Toney Williams, then he certainly was after Friday night's performance.
The 6-foot-3 Eagle back chewed up 64 yards on the first snap of the game, but that was only a sign of things to come. Leading Milton to a narrow victory over Chattahoochee, 51-49, Williams finished with 350 rush yards on 40 attempts, 6 rushing touchdowns and one receiving.
The game itself was driven by offensive production. Williams alone had 213 yards and three touchdowns at the half. Both teams combined for 570 yards and scored nine times in the first two quarters alone. Neither team punted in the game.
Collins Hill 31, Parkview 9
Adding to the list of new head coaches winning in their debut was Collins Hill’s Billy Wells. He guided his new team past the Parkview Panthers for the first victory of his career, also marking the first victory for the program over Parkview.
Not only had the Eagles never beaten Parkview before, but they had never lost to them by a margin fewer then 14 points. Needless to say, Wells was thrilled.
"For a team that has never beaten Parkview, it was a great way to start," Wells told the Gwinnett Daily Post.
Charles Perkins led the Eagles on the ground with 69 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Destry Berry also had a solid game, intercepting a pass and catching a touchdown pass on offense late in the game.
Other Notable Scores:
St. Pius 21, Marist 10
Harrison 13, Peachtree Ridge 3
Buford 42, Mansfield 21 – Burger King Kirk Herbstreit Varsity Football Series (Irving, Texas)
