Daniel Brunner

Walton football season ends in heartbreak; Kell trounced by Buford

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Walton football season, Daniel Brunner
Daniel Brunner has lost just three games in his first two seasons as Walton coach. (ECN file photo)

The second round of the Georgia High School Association football playoffs on Friday proved to be the end of the road for the two East Cobb teams still competing.

The Kell Longhorns fell behind early at Buford, which kept piling up the scoring in a 44-11 rout in the Class 5A bracket.

In an all-Cobb battle in Powder Springs, the Walton Raiders and Hillgrove Hawks fought to the final whistle in Class 7A.

After trailing and then drawing even most of the night, the Raiders caught up again in the fourth quarter on a touchdown catch by star wide receiver Dominick Blaylock.

But unbeaten Hillgrove got the ball back and kicked a field goal with time expriring to advance 23-20.

For Walton (10-2), it was the second heartbreaking loss of the season. The Raiders’ only other loss came at Raider Valley, when Roswell scored a touchdown late to get to within one point, then converted a two-point play and held on for a 32-31.

For the second year in a row, Walton’s season ends in the second round. The Raiders also will say goodbye to a senior class that includes Blaylock, quarterback Austin Kirksey, linebacker Malik Adams and others who guided the team’s resurgence under second-year coach Daniel Brunner.

Kell went into the Buford game as one of the hottest teams in the state, having won nine games in a row. Buford has won several state titles in a row in recent years, and the high-powered Longhorns’ offense couldn’t get much going.

The game marked the end of the line for Kell quarterback Evan Conley. However, star running back Ebony Jackson is only a junior.

Second-year coach Brett Sloan, who like Brunner is a former Walton assistant, has continued a tradition of post-season excellence at Kell, which has qualified for the state playoffs for 11 consecutive seasons.

Brunner and Sloan were two of the four head coaches in East Cobb that were hired before the 2017 season. Another second-year coach, Tab Griffin of Pope, also has guided the Greyhounds to the post-season in his first two years.

The other, Brett Vavra of Sprayberry, is like Griffin in coaching at his alma mater. Despite a 3-7 record, the Yellow Jackets were competitive in a region that includes Creekview and Sequoyah, which are still alive in the Class 6A playoffs.

Wheeler missed out on the playoffs after losing four of its last five games. Lassiter went 1-9 and will have a new coach next season.

Jep Irwin resigned after completing his ninth season with the Trojans. They reached the Class 7A semifinals in 2011 but missed the playoffs the last two seasons.

 

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East Cobb Football Update: Walton upset by Roswell; Kell, Pope, Wheeler stay in playoff hunt

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Daniel Brunner, Walton football
Walton coach Daniel Brunner’s first regular-season loss came at the hands of Roswell, his alma mater. (ECN file photo)

Friday was a dramatic night for East Cobb football teams, with four of them still involved in playoff drives. But a Walton upset at the hands of Roswell has implications for region play as well as the state rankings.

The No. 2 Raiders fell 32-31, the first regular-season loss for coach Daniel Brunner. Khaleed Mobley of Roswell blocked a 26-yard field goal attempt by Walton in the dying seconds, after the Hornets had taken the lead on a two-point conversion after a touchdown.

The Senior Night loss at Raider Valley means Walton (7-1, 2-1) will likely not be the top seed coming out of Region 4 of Class 7A. Roswell, led by former Pope coach Matt Kemper, has an identical record and a tiebreaking win, if necessary, over Walton.

Walton quarterback Austin Kirksey threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, and found star receiver Dominick Blaylock wide open down the stretch of fourth down to set up the field goal try by Jack Westbrock.

The Raiders finish up the regular season the next two weeks on the road, at Cherokee and Woodstock.

Not far away, the Wheeler Wildcats were trying to bounce back from two consecutive losses and stay in playoff contention against a Campbell team suffering through a long season.

Wheeler dashed out to a 28-0 lead in the first half, then went ahead 41-20 in the third quarter before Campbell came charging back.

The Wildcats held off the upset bid 62-56, improving to 6-2 and 1-2 in Region 2 of Class 7A, as quarterback C.J. Ogbonna threw two touchdown passes. Next week Wheeler faces region leader Westlake.

The Kell Longhorns rolled up some points as well, but the outmatched Cass Colonels couldn’t keep up, as Kell won in a 63-3 rout. Quarterback Evan Conley threw five touchdown passes for the Longhorns, who are 6-2 and 4-2 in Region 7 of Class 5A.

The Pope Greyhounds also dug out a dramatic win to keep their post-season hopes alive, as they went to Cambridge and came away with a 29-26 win. Pope pulled off an 85-yard drive in the final minute, scoring on a 9-yard touchdown pass with 21 seconds to play.

Next week the Hounds, who improved to 4-5 and 4-3 in Region 7 of Class 6A, play Northview, which also is battling for a playoff spot.

The Sprayberry Yellow Jackets threatened to upset playoff-minded Sequoyah, and took an early 13-0 lead. But the Chiefs rebounded for a 35-28 win in Class 6A Region 6 play. Sprayberry, which fell to 2-6 and 2-4, continues a tough stretch next week, visiting region leader Creekview.

A long season for the Lassiter Trojans continued Friday in a 23-6 loss to Woodstock. The Trojans, who are 1-7 and 0-6 in Region 4 of Class 7A, play Etowah next week.

 

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Last-minute Walton football comeback stuns North Gwinnett

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Walton football comeback

Dominick Blaylock scored an 11-yard touchdown with 32 seconds left in the game Friday to cap a Walton football comeback in a 27-24 victory over defending state champion North Gwinnett before a national television audience.

Blaylock was already having another marvelous game before he took the snap and raced down the left sideline, bowling over two Bulldog defenders as he pushed his way into the end zone.

Walton football comeback, Dominick Blaylock

It was the last of Blaylock’s three touchdowns, and helped the Raiders, ranked No. 3 in Class 7A, stay unbeaten at 4-0 in their first home game of the season at Raider Valley.

Walton led 7-0 and 14-7 before No. 4 North Gwinnett (2-2) roared back in the second half. The Bulldogs kicked a field goal with 5:42 to go in the game to take a 24-21 lead, setting up a thrilling finish.

The Raiders also played for a time without starting quarterback Austin Kirksey, who went out limping near halftime and returned in the final period.

“These guys just fight and fight and fight for each other,” Walton coach Daniel Brunner said after the game, hugging Blaylock, his baby-faced star who’s bound for the University of Georgia next season.

“I’m so glad I’ve got this dude here, the best player in the state of Georgia,” Brunner said. “He may look sweet, but he sure doesn’t play like it.”

Dominick Blaylock gets Walton on the scoreboard first late in the first quarter. (East Cobb News photos by Wendy Parker)

The game kicked off earlier than normal because it was part of a national TV high school football doubleheader on ESPN2.

Blaylock gave Walton a 7-0 lead with 2:15 left in the first quarter on a two-yard run. On its next drive, North Gwinnett answered, with Tyler Goodson finishing off with a short TD for a 7-7 score.

By the time dusk turned to dark, the dramatics heightened.

Walton regained the lead at 14-7 on an eight-yard TD run by Kirksey. But with 29 seconds to play before halftime, he went out of the game, walking gingerly off the field. He was replaced by freshman Zac Rozsman.

Midway in the third quarter, and on fourth down, the Bulldogs drew even at 14-14 on a 38-yard desperation heave from JR Martin to Garrison Minor.

The Walton defense holds on third down.

North Gwinnett, whose only loss last season was to Walton in the Corky Kell Classic, went ahead for the first time at 21-14 with a touchdown with 1:40 left in the third quarter.

At the same time, Kirksey began limbering up on the sideline, as Walton players and coaches tried to figure out how to come from behind. The answer, of course, was with a whole lot of Blaylock, but the Raiders had to climb out of some holes they created for themselves along the way.

Upon Kirksey’s return, he led a drive that resulted in Blaylock’s second touchdown, which made the score 21-21 with 8:41 left in the fourth quarter.

On their next drive, the Raiders were driving deep when a first-down run by KD Alford (below) was nullified because of a penalty. That could have spelled doom for Walton, as well as Kirksey being sacked on the North Gwinnett 45.

That set up a third-and-27 for Walton, and Kirksey hooked up with Blaylock for a first down to the 12. Blaylock finished off the comeback, and the defending state champions, two plays later.

Walton’s defense held off the last chance for the Bulldogs, forcing three incomplete passes, then sacked the quarterback on the last play of the game.

 

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Honors for Walton football coach, star receiver as all-Cobb teams named

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East Cobb football
Walton coach Daniel Brunner at an East Cobb kickoff breakfast in August.

First-year Walton football coach Daniel Brunner has been named coach of the year for 2017 by the Cobbhsfootball website, and Raiders’ star receiver Dominick Blaylock was tabbed as offensive player of the week.

Blaylock led the 22-man all-Cobb team that was released just before Christmas, and that includes three other players from East Cobb high schools.

They include Walton linebacker Malik Adams, Kell offensive lineman Johnathan Bass, and Lassiter defensive back Derrik Allen.

Brunner, a former assistant at Walton, led the Raiders to an unlikely 11-1 season, after the program came off a losing season under Mo Dixon in 2016.

Walton’s only loss came in the state playoffs to eventual state runner-up Colquitt County, where Dixon is now an assistant. In Brunner’s first game, in the Corky Kell Classic, the Raiders defeated North Gwinnett, which went on to win the Georgia Class 7A state championship.

Brunner, who was named Cobb coach of the year by The Marietta Daily Journal, is a graduate of Roswell High School and also coached there before coming to Walton.

Before the season started, he inaugurated “Raider Day,” a jamboree-style event that included all the Walton football teams, from varsity down to the grade school-level.

With Blaylock, who has committed to play at the University of Georgia, and Adams returning, Walton is expected to contend in the region and state in 2018.

Bass was part of another Kell state playoff team under Brett Sloan, a former Walton assistant in his first year as head coach. Bass has signed to play at Georgia State University.

Allen, considered one of the top high school players in the country at his position, had another strong season for Lassiter, whose state playoff streak ended this season. He has signed to play at Notre Dame.

 

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