Cloudy with rain developing after midnight. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%..
Cloudy with rain developing after midnight. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.
Mill Creek’s Trajen Greco (3) and Cameron Robinson (9) celebrate a touchdown against Norcross on Friday night at Norcross High School .
Mill Creek’s Hayden Clark (17) breaks a tackle by Norcross’ Esias Tompkins (33) during the game Friday night at Norcross High School.
Mill Creek’s Cameron Robinson (9) is tackled by Norcross’ Javian Beachem (5) during the game Friday night at Norcross High School.
Mill Creek’s Trajen Greco (3) and Cameron Robinson (9) celebrate a touchdown against Norcross on Friday night at Norcross High School .
Mill Creek’s Hayden Clark (17) breaks a tackle by Norcross’ Esias Tompkins (33) during the game Friday night at Norcross High School.
Mill Creek’s Cameron Robinson (9) is tackled by Norcross’ Javian Beachem (5) during the game Friday night at Norcross High School.
NORCROSS — A week after allowing 41 points in a season-opening win over Walton, Mill Creek’s defense got back to basics and it showed as the Hawks steamrolled Norcross 49-17 Friday in a football game televised nationally on ESPN2.
The first quarter saw the Hawks give up all 17 of the Blue Devils’ points, but tweaks were made that put Mill Creek in the right places the rest of the night.
“We changed up some of our coverages,” said Mill Creek head coach Josh Lovelady. “We’re still trying to find our identity in the secondary and figure out who we are because we have three new starters. I’m proud of this defense bouncing back after giving up 41 points last week.”
The Blue Devils (0-1) got things rolling on their first drive, pushing the ball down to the Mill Creek 28 after a 19-yard run by A.J. Watkins. However, the drive stalled and the Blue Devils had to settle for a 45-yard field goal by Drew Duva to take a 3-0 lead.
The Hawks (2-0) wasted no time on their first possession, moving the ball down the field. A 22-yard rush by quarterback Hayden Clark, followed by completions of 36 and 12 yards to Alabama commit Caleb Downs and Makhail Wood moved the ball inside the red zone. Two plays later, Clark found Wood for a 6-yard touchdown pass to put the Hawks up 7-3 with 6:07 to go in the first quarter.
Norcross moved things on its next drive as well starting with a 14-yard completion to Nakai Poole and a 43-yard rush on a jet sweep by Zion Taylor. Six plays later, Watkins rushed it in from the 1 to put the Blue Devils back on top, 10-7.
Not to be outdone, the Hawks went back to work on offense, taking four plays to go 62 yards as Clark found Kyne Pinckney open on a scramble for a 22-yard touchdown pass.
An 80-yard touchdown pass from Watkins (16 of 38, 205 yards) to Taylor off a quick slant on Norcross’ first play of the next drive put the Blue Devils back on top 17-14 with 2:00 to go in the first quarter. By the end of the quarter, the teams combined for 385 yards of total offense.
“We did some good things in the first quarter,” said Norcross head coach Keith Maloof. “We’re a really talented bunch. We just have to stay focused and keep working.”
Early in the second quarter, Mill Creek again sustained a long drive, going 80 yards in 12 plays to take the lead back. Completions of 14 and 13 yards to Downs and Wood moved the ball to the Norcross 32. Three plays later, Clark (21 of 36, 261 yards) found Cam Robinson for 32 yards to put the Hawks back on top.
And that’s when the Mill Creek defense took over. On 3rd-and-6, Downs intercepted Watkins and returned it 27 yards to put the Hawks up 28-17 with 9:19 to go in the second quarter.
“I knew they’d want (tight end Lawson Luckie) across the middle,” Downs said. “I saw it and just picked it and ran.”
The offenses stopped moving the rest of the half as neither team could generate much of anything. Norcross did have a chance to put points on the board at the end of the second quarter after Tywan Royal recovered a fumble. However, a 36-yard field goal bounced off the crossbar as the buzzer sounded, leaving the score at 28-17 heading into halftime.
The third quarter was much of the same as the defenses prevailed on the first six drives of the second half. But a fumble by Norcross inside their own 10 was recovered by Mill Creek’s Khai Greene, giving the Hawks the ball on the 9.
Robinson (204 total yards) only needed one play at used a cutback to coast into the end zone to make it 35-17 late in the third quarter.
“Cam is really hard to tackle,” Lovelady said. “He has great vision and turns plays that are supposed to lose yards into positive plays. He’s tough to bring down.”
Norcross continued to struggle on offense through the rest of the game, only mustering 84 total yards in the second half.
The Hawks added two final touchdowns in the final quarter — a 12-yard touchdown run by Downs and a 1-yard score by Kevin Mitchell — for the game’s final points.
Maloof said one thing that won’t show up on the scoresheet is Mill Creek’s abilities on special teams.
“They put a lot of pressure on us in the kicking game,” he said. “You can’t start on the 1, 3, and 5-yard lines and expect success. We’ve got to figure that part out.
“Overall, we’ll be fine. It’s a long football season and we’re really talented. You don’t win a region title in the first two games of the season.”
In addition to Robinson’s 204 total yards, Downs finished with six catches for 68 yards, while Wood and Brendan Jenkins each had 38 yards receiving.
The Blue Devils got 205 yards through the air and 88 yards on the ground by Watkins, while Taylor finished with four catches for 103 yards. Luckie also had seven catches for 52 yards and Poole had five catches for 50 yards.
Mill Creek: Makhail Wood 6 pass from Hayden Clark (Jacob Ulrich kick) 6:07
Norcross: AJ Watkins 1 run (Duva kick) 3:42
Mill Creek: Kyne Pinckney 22 pass from Clark (Ulrich kick) 2:13
Norcross: Zion Taylor 80 pass from Watkins (Duva kick) 2:00
Mill Creek: Cam Robinson 32 pass from Clark (Ulrich kick) 9:56
Mill Creek: Caleb Downs 27 interception return (Ulrich kick) 9:19
Mill Creek: Robinson 9 run (Ulrich kick) 0:56
Mill Creek: Downs 12 run (Ulrich kick) 9:11
Mill Creek: Kevin Mitchell 1 run (Camden Puzas kick) 3:26
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Scenes from the Mill Creek at Norcross High School Football Game on August 26, 2022.
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