Lassiter vs. Walton football

Walton football beats Lassiter, clinches playoff spot; Sprayberry ends losing streak

by

The Walton football team under first-year coach Daniel Brunner remains undefeated and has now sewn up a state playoff spot.

The Raiders did that on Friday night at Raider Valley in a 42-19 win over East Cobb rival Lassiter in a key Region 4AAAAAAA contest. Walton HS logo, Walton Pope volleyball, Walton football

Although starting Walton quarterback Austin Kirksey didn’t return following a third-quarter injury, running back D.J. Soyoye more than made for his loss with two touchdown scores in the second half as the Raiders (8-0) pulled away from the Trojans (4-3) down the stretch.

Walton, which has regular season games remaining against Etowah and Woodstock, is the first East Cobb high school football team to qualify for the state playoffs.

Lassiter is still in contention for a post-season berth and will close out against Cherokee and Etowah.

Sprayberry was hopeful at the start of the season with a new coach, former Yellow Jackets player Brett Vavra. After winning their opener, however, they lost six in a row. On Friday at home, Sprayberry ended that skid with a 17-14 win over River Ridge. Sprayberry doesn’t have a post-season shot, but has two games left against Creekside and Sequoyah to try to finish with some momentum.

The three other East Cobb teams suffered some heartbreak on Friday, with playoff berths within reach.

The Kell Longhorns took a 28-7 lead at home against Carrollton, with a chance to nail down a home playoff game. But Carrollton surged back and kicked a field goal with time expiring to earn a 45-42 victory. The Longhorns (4-4) are still in the hunt for the post-season, and play Woodland and Hiram over the next two weeks.

Pope fell behind early at Chattahoochee on Friday, then mounted a comeback that fell short in another wild finish, a 46-41 loss. The Greyhounds are 3-5 and have an outside playoff chance, with games remaining against Centennial and Northview.

Wheeler led a good bit of the night on Friday at Campbell, but were defeated 35-23 to fall to 2-6 on the season. The Wildcats also are winless in regional play and will close out their season against Westlake and Pebblebrook.

EAST COBB WEEKEND EVENTS: Haunted Hustle Run; band festival; Walton-Lassiter football; Pope Theater; ‘Roman Reads’ and more

by
East Cobb weekend events, Southern Invitational Music Festival
The Sprayberry Band of Gold once again is host of the Southern Invitational Music Festival, from 10-10 on Saturday at Jim Frazier Stadium. 

It’s finally starting to really feel like fall, and with Halloween coming in just a little more than a week, so are the pumpkin-related East Cobb weekend events:

  • Kicking off one of many such Halloween activities on Saturday is the Haunted Hustle Race, a 1k/5k event at the Northeast Cobb YMCA (3010 Johnson Ferry Road). The shorter race starts at 7:30 a.m. with the feature event following at 8;
  • Don’t forget the ongoing Pumpkin Patches at several East Cobb churches that continue all the way to Halloween. They’re open daily and generally have extended hours on the weekends;
  • The high school football regular season is reaching its climax, and with crisp fall weather in the air the timing couldn’t be better for an East Cobb backyard rivalry game on Friday. It’s Lassiter at undefeated and state-ranked Walton, at 7:30 p.m. at Raider Valley (1590 Bill Murdock Road), with region and playoff implications on the line;
  • In other games on Friday, Kell is playing host to Carrollton, and Sprayberry is also at home against River Ridge. Wheeler and Pope travel to Campbell and Chattahoochee, respectively;
  • Sprayberry’s Jim Frazier Stadium (2525 Sandy Plains Road) will be an extra busy place this weekend, continuing on Saturday with the 34th annual Southern Invitational Music Festival. The hosts Sprayberry Band of Gold are putting on the judged competition that lasts from 10-10, with prep marching bands coming from around the Southeast;
  • Saturday also will be a quick turnaround for the Lassiter band, which is putting on the Lassiter Band Community Recycling Day from 9-4 at the school (2601 Shallowford Road);
  • While the weather’s supposed to be in the 70s and at least partly sunny this weekend, there are some indoor events worth noting here, including the Roman Reads Family Storytime session from 2:30-3:30 at Mountain View Regional Library (3320 Sandy Plains Road). It’s aimed at grade school to middle school kids and is presented by the Wheeler High School Junior Classical League;
  • If you like your drama staged and indoors, there’s the Pope Theater version of “12 Angry Jurors” continues Friday and Saturday at 7, plus a Saturday matinee at 3 at the school (3001 Hembree Road).

Check out our full calendar listings page for more things to do this weekend and beyond. Did we miss something? Have an event you’d like to share with the East Cobb community? E-mail your calendar listing to: calendar@eastcobbnews.com and we’ll post it ASAP! Here’s more information on how to send your news to East Cobb News!

Have a great weekend!