Rome powers its way past Lithonia in first round of playoffs
Defensive prowess gave way to quick drives and big plays on offense for Rome High as the Wolves made their opening argument for another postseason run.
Ahijah Blackwell ran for 211 yards and three touchdowns, Ethan Scales had two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, and Rome held visiting Lithonia scoreless in a 52-0 win in the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs last week on Nov. 15.
The No. 3-ranked Wolves led 39-0 at halftime after scoring 25 points in the second quarter. Rome scored on six of its first seven possessions, with four of them lasting four plays or less.
“They’ve had a good season and have some outstanding athletes on defense,” Rome head coach John Reid said. “I think they gamble a little bit and really did a great job of putting pressure on people in the last few weeks. So I think we did some things that exploited that.”
Quarterback Caleb Ellard hit Adam Peterson on the run early in the second quarter and the Rome senior found enough room to go 46 yards for a touchdown on a one-play drive.
“They played a lot of pressman in this game, so we worked on our stuff in practice and ran a little bit of a rub route right there to cause that separation,” Ellard said. “I put it right on him and we scored. It was a nice play, well-designed.”
Blackwell then scored with five minutes left in the first half on a 57-yard run that was just the second play of a drive that stated on Rome’s own 39-yard line. The senior ball carrier found an open field again on the third play of the second half as he sprinted 73 yards into the end zone to make it 46-0.
“It’s about time to start having some weapons,” Reid said with a smile. “We’ve been through some things as we’ve progressed through the years to try to find people here and there, and I hope we’re hitting our peak.”
Rome (9-2) will be on the road next week in the second round to play Warner Robins, a team that has become a familiar postseason opponent for the Wolves. The Demons (10-2) defeated Jonesboro 28-7 on Friday.
Rome won its second straight state championship by beating Warner Robins on its home field in 2017 before falling to the Region 1-5A champions in the state semifinals last season on a return trip to Central Georgia.
Lithonia (4-7) came into Barron Stadium as the No. 3 seed from Region 5-5A and had problems with Rome’s overpowering defense from the start. The Bulldogs finished with negative rushing yardage and the Wolves’ defense added to its team’s tally when Nick Burge, Simon Nguyen and Rayquan Jones met Lithonia’s Devonte Slaton in his end zone for a safety with 10:40 to go in the second quarter.
Lithonia found success in its passing game midway through the second period as quarterback Amir Streeter connected with Khalil Roach on three straight plays to get the Bulldogs to the Rome 11. Scales then picked off Streeter on the next play that led to Blackwell’s first long touchdown run of the night.
With a running clock in the second half, Rome continued to cause headaches for Lithonia’s offense, intercepting three more passes in the fourth quarter, the last of which saw Scales run it back from the 26 and dive into the end zone for the final score as time expired.
The Model Blue Devils run in the Class AA state playoffs was a short one as the homestanding Bremen Blue Devils earned a 17-0 win on Friday night to end Model’s season at 5-6.
The game was a defensive struggle for the first half as neither team could generate much offense on a cold and windy night. Model only had 56 yards of offense but the defense played tough, keeping Bremen off the scoreboard.
It was a 0-0 game at halftime, with the only scoring threat coming when a Bremen field goal bounced off the crossbar midway through the first quarter.
Bremen (8-3) came out to start the third quarter with an impressive drive, highlighted by quarterback Cooper Cartwright’s screen pass to Seth Hodges that went 51 yards from the 34 yard line all the way down to the Model 15. Five plays later, tailback
Montarious Banks went up the middle from 4 yards out to make it 6-0. Evan Fuller’s PAT made it 7-0 with 8:39 to go in the third quarter.
Model went 3-and-out on its next three possessions, and after a shanked punt set Bremen up deep in Model territory, Fuller capped off the Bremen drive with a 31-yard field goal to make it 10-0 with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The last score came with 1:14 left in the game, when Evan Marcuz ran in a 3-yard touchdown and Fuller’s kick made the final 17-0.
Model still finished its best season since 2016 with a 5-5 regular season record, a threegame winning streak late in the season, and a state playoff appearance in head coach Jeff Hunnicutt’s first season.
It was the first time in three years that Model had earned a spot in the postseason, claiming the No. 3 seed from Region 7-AA after a 5-2 league record. Bremen is the No. 2 seed from Region 5-AA.