Rome High cruises on Homecoming
The Wolves hold Paulding County to just 106 yards of offense in a big win.
The Rome Wolves used the energy from a Homecoming crowd at Barron Stadium to explode for 23 points in the first half on the way to a 51-10 victory over Paulding County on Friday.
Jalynn Sykes ran for 195 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries in the Region 7-5A contest, and Jamious Griffin added two scores of his own as he tallied 60 yards on the ground
Rome quarterback Knox Kadum kept things together in the backfield and only attempted seven passes to keep the Paulding defense honest and on its heels.
“We needed to not fumble the football and play aggressive on both sides of the ball, especially playing hard-nosed defense,”
Rome head coach John Reid said.
“We were able to run the ball successfully and keep the ball away from their offense, and we played great on special teams.”
Rome held Paulding County to zero yards of total offense for most of the first half, with the visitors having negative eight yards rushing and eight yards passing at one point had.
The Patriots finished with 106 yards of offense compared to Rome’s 369.
One of the biggest plays of the game came in the first quarter when Rome’s Jaylen Griffin slid past the front line on a Paulding County punt attempt.
The senior blocked the punt and picked up the loose ball to run it all the way back for a touchdown. Emmanuel Gonzalez made one of his seven extra points on the night to make it 16-0.
Rome wasted no time scoring as defensive end Adam Anderson tackled Paulding’s Tre Lewis in the end zone on the Patriots’ second drive of the game for a safety and an early 2-0 lead for the Wolves.
The University of Georgia commit was in the Paulding backfield most of the night, disrupting any offense the Patriots tried to obtain.
Rome will try to keep its momentum going next Friday as it travels to Carrollton.