Honor Roll
T Bentley, Union County: Was 11 for 15 for 177 yards and two touchdowns passing and had 17 carries for 50 yards and a pair of scores against Riverside.
Bradley Brown, North Hall: Had seven carries for 105 yards and a touchdown against Fannin County.
Darius Curry, Flowery Branch: Two carries for 97 yards and a touchdown and two receptions for 32 yards against Winder-Barrow.
Justin Curry, Flowery Branch: Carried the ball six times for 54 yards and a touchdown and had four catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns against Winder-Barrow.
Jonathan Gilreath, Lumpkin County: Four catches for 96 yards and a touchdown against Madison County.
Cedric Harris, Johnson: Scored three touchdowns against Clarkston on Saturday.
Johnathan Hughes, Union County: 55 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries and 49 yards and a touchdown on one reception against Riverside.
Zac Little, North Hall: Had four carries for 150 yards and two touchdowns against Fannin County.
Daniel McCrary, Lumpkin County: Was 5 for 11 with 109 yards and a touchdown through the air and had 78 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 18 carries.
Jackson McDonald, Flowery Branch: Recorded 122 yards and three scores on six carries and was 9 of 11 with 176 yards and two touchdowns.
Sydnee Mulligan, Habersham Central: 197 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries against Meadowcreek.
Ted Reynolds, Lakeview Academy: Two rushing touchdowns and a passing touchdown against Cross Keys.
Brandt Rinehart, Habersham Central: Tallied 130 yards and a pair of touchdowns on eight carries against Meadowcreek.
Lalo Rivera, Union County: Had 100 yards and a touchdown on seven receptions against Riverside.
A.J. Sijiye, Chestatee: 123 yards and a score on seven carries and 39 yards on one reception against Walnut Grove.
Wesley Simonton, Jefferson: Recorded 14 total tackles against Rabun County.
Deshaun Watson, Gainesville: Was 14 for 20 with 220 yards and three touchdowns against Salem.
Dontravious Wilson, Buford: Had 210 yards on 18 carries against White County.
Compiled by Kelsey Williamson
North Hall’s Andrew Smith just wants to be on the field any way he can in any position the team needs him.
According to coach Bob Christmas, Smith is a great all-around athlete with superb instincts who can make plays and loves the game.
Smith serves as one of two quarterbacks for the Trojans, but he is also the team’s leading tackler, a receiver, the punt returner, a kick returner, a free safety and a running back. In other words, Smith can do it all.
Just last Friday, Smith recorded 85 yards on four carries for North Hall along with two touchdown passes in the first half on offense and 13 solo tackles with five assists and one pass break-up on defense.
For his efforts, Smith has been named The Times Player of the Week.
“Wherever they can find me a position, I’ll play,” Smith said. “I don’t want to be sitting and watching.”
Smith credits a lot of his and the team’s success to their strong offensive line, but Christmas knows that the team would not be able to put up 63 points like it did in last Friday’s game without players such as Smith.
“Andrew is one of those players who can make something out of nothing,” Christmas said, “He plays at a very fast speed.”
Christmas also emphasized how much natural football ability Smith has and how the Trojans knew he would be an important asset to the team when he saw time in a starting position as a sophomore.
“He started for us as a 10th grader at free safety. Not many 10th graders start for us,” Christmas said. “We thought early on as a ninth grader that he was a kid that could play varsity.”
Although this season’s North Hall team is extremely balanced in terms of who handles the football, Christmas and the rest of the Trojans trust Smith in almost anything he does because he works so hard to play at his very best.
When Christmas knew that Fannin County would focus on defending the running game, the Trojans went with a play-action pass to score on the Rebels, and later, when Smith dropped back and saw that his receiver was covered by the Fannin County defense, he scrambled until he found an open man.
“Those are the kinds of things Andrew does,” Christmas said. “He is just so instinctive as a football player, some of those things you just don’t coach.”
While some of Smith’s ability comes from his instinct, the rest comes from his work ethic because of how much he loves the sport.
“He’s such an inspiration to everyone with how hard he plays,” Christmas said. “He just loves being a football player, or baseball player, or whatever ball he’s playing with. I love coaching him because he has so much fun.”