Alpharetta To Host Centennial In Key Region Football Game

By Mike Blum

ALPHARETTA, GA — Three weeks into the Region 7-AAAAAA schedule, three teams have separated themselves as title contenders in the 9-team region. Johns Creek, Alpharetta and Centennial high schools are unbeaten in region play, with Johns Creek High School 3-0 and both Alpharetta and Centennial 2-0. Alpharetta and Centennial have already had their region bye weeks, while Johns Creek is off this week.

The first game that will help decide the region title will be played at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28 as the Alpharetta Raiders hosts the Centennial Knights. The Knights will play at Johns Creek on Oct. 19, with the Johns Creek Gladiators playing the next week at Alpharetta.

Since 2011, Alpharetta has been the region’s most successful team, winning four region titles and sharing first place one other season. The Raiders went unbeaten in region play all four times they finished first, and with the exception of the 2015 season when they went 4-5, they are 48-3 in region games. Two of those losses came by narrow margins in 2016, when they tied for third behind Centennial and Johns Creek.

Several schools from Forsyth County were the Raiders’ main challengers until 2016, when they remained
in the state’s highest classification while the North Fulton teams in the region dropped down one
classification.

Johns Creek joined the region in 2012 after playing in a lower classification in the school’s first two seasons of fielding a varsity team. After contending for a region title that season, the Gladiators had losing records the next three years before re-emerging to win a region title in 2016, taking a tiebreaker for first place from Centennial.

The Knights enjoyed success early in their football history, going 25-5 from 2001-03 including a 10-0 record in 2002. But the team enjoyed just one winning season after that until going 7-1 in region play in 2016, with its only loss coming against Johns Creek. The Knights repeated their 7-1 region record last year, with a loss to Alpharetta denying them an unbeaten record in region play.

Centennial and Alpharetta have played thrilling games the past two seasons, both of which went down to the final seconds. Centennial won 31-30 in overtime in 2016, with the margin of victory a missed extra point by the Raiders in overtime. Alpharetta score 17 points in the final 6:20 of the game last season for a come-from-behind 34-31 victory that proved to be the region’s decisive game, even though it was played the first week of the region schedule.

Both Centennial and Alpharetta played some difficult opponents in their two non-region games, with Alpharetta losing to Milton and defeating Lanier, while Centennial lost to Northside Warner Robins and
Roswell. The Knights and Raiders both defeated Pope to open their region schedules, with Pope the most likely team to join Alpharetta, Centennial and Johns Creek in the state playoffs. Both Centennial and Alpharetta won their second region games in routs, with the Knights outscoring Cambridge 69-35 two weeks ago and Alpharetta defeating Dunwoody 55-21 last week.

As has been the case in the region in recent years, most of the league games have been high scoring, with Alpharetta’s success due in large part to the quality of the team’s defensive efforts. Other than Johns Creek in 2016, the Raiders have consistently been the region’s top defensive team, while also featuring a pass-oriented offense led by a quarterback who went on to sign a scholarship with a Division 1 school.

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Among the team’s recent quarterbacks are Josh Dobbs, who went on to star at Tennessee and is currently the backup for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Matthew Downing started the last three seasons for the Raiders, and has already played at quarterback in his freshman season at Georgia. This is a different Alpharetta offense from seasons past, with the Raiders not throwing as often or as successfully as they have in the past. Junior Will Gerdes and senior Bradley Rowlinson have split time at quarterback thus far, with Gerdes more of a pocket passer in the mold of recent Alpharetta quarterback Austin King, with Rowlinson is a dual threat quarterback. Gerdes has passed for five touchdowns this season and Rowlinson has rushed for three scores.

Senior Kevin Watkins, who played extensively last season, is the leading rusher, gaining 130 yards and
scoring two touchdowns in a key 26-14 win over Pope. The Raiders have had some talented wide receivers to go along with their standout quarterbacks in recent years, but senior Robbie Ruppel is the lone returnee and is one of team’s primary pass catchers along with fellow seniors Austin Frazier and Joshua Grant.

The Raiders have a mixture of veterans and first-year starters on defense, but don’t have a top prospect like former Tennessee signee Andrew Butcher, now at Kennesaw State, or Jaycee Horn, who is playing as a true freshman at South Carolina. Defensive ends Jack Stanton and Jordan Michaels and safety Dane Motley, all seniors, started last season, with Stanton and Michaels keying the Raiders’ pass rush along with tackle Jamal Ellis, also a senior. Junior Jordan Leslie is the team’s leading tackler, just ahead of Ellis, Stanton, Motley and junior linebacker Cam Dorsey.

The Raiders will be tested by a Centennial offense that has been one of the region’s best for several years, with Centennial also featuring a succession of quarterbacks who have compiled some prolific offensive numbers. Max Brosmer enjoyed a big season as a junior last season, leading the Knights to their first playoff win in more than a decade. As a senior, he is averaging 336 yards passing per game with 10 touchdowns. The Knights graduated their leading rusher and receiver from last season’s team, but returned plenty of talent at the other skill positions.

Versatile Julian Nixon, who started last year as a freshman, was lost to an injury in the second game, and senior receiver Rekevian Mathis, who caught 16 passes for 205 yards in the first two games, has not played since. Brosmer still has plenty of weapons, including Cal Dickie, a three-year starter as a running back/receiver. Dickie has rushed for 381 yards, averaging almost eight yards per carry, and has scored seven touchdowns, six on the ground. He had 90 yards and a receiving touchdown in the win over Cambridge. Even without Nixon and Mathis, the Knights are not lacking for production at receiver. Sophomore Drake Mason has 19 catches for 335 yards and three touchdowns, with junior Richard Shaw leading the lead with 23 receptions for 321 yards.

Junior Freddie Fairley is averaging more than 30 yards per catch and has two receiving touchdowns. The Knights have needed to score points in bunches in recent years, as they have consistently struggled against opponents with strong offenses. This season has been no exception, with Centennial allowing 35 points a game.

Mike Blum can be reached at michaelmblum@hotmail.com.

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