GAC crowns Westminister in homecoming game

NORCROSS-Kyle Scales may not have been the homecoming king but he did put on a royal show Friday night as he recorded 180 yards of total offense and scored two touchdowns to lead the Greater Atlanta Christian Spartans to a 30-0 win over the Westminister Wildcats.

The game was played at GAC’s Reynolds Field and was the Region 6-AA opener for the two schools.

“It was a good win tonight for us,” commented GAC head coach Tim Hardy. “It was a region win which is the first step for what we want to do this year.”

The two teams stalled in their initial drives of the game with both reaching near midfield before the Spartans (5-2) broke the scoreless tie with 5:02 remaining in the first quarter as Scales drove into the end zone on a one-yard run and Brandon Holzgrefe converted the extra point.

Both clubs stalled again on their next series but the Spartans added to their lead with 3:39 remaining in the first half as Scales took a pitch from quarterback Rafe Chapple and raced 30 yards along the right sideline for a touchdown that gave GAC a 13-0 lead after the extra point attempt failed.

Westminister (2-5) tried to rally on the next series as the drive was highlighted by 14-yard run by Hays Meyer and a 12-yard reception from quarterback Jake Forte and the Wildcats had the ball at the Spartans’ 14 yard line with approximately 90 seconds remaining in the half.

However, the drive came to an end as Darius Slayton intercepted a Forte pass in the end zone and returned the ball to the GAC 40 with 1:21 remaining.

The Spartans took advantage of the miscue in one play as Chapple hit Chris Williams with a 60-yard pass in the middle of the field for a touchdown with 1:11 remaining and the lead was 20-0 after the extra point by Holzgrefe.

The Wildcats tried to get on the scoreboard before intermission as Forte connected on three consecutive passing attempts that moved the ball to the Spartans’ 43-yard line but an ill-fated sack with seconds remaining ended the drive and the latter took its 20-0 lead to the locker room.

“The guys played well tonight and hold them in check,” Hardy said. “We were able to mix our plays. Kyle is a good back and Rafe was able to get some space on his passing.”

After holding the Wildcats on the initial series of the third quarter,  the Spartans added to the lead as Holzgrefe converted a 36-yard field goal with 3:00 remaining in the frame.

The final score of the night came as reserve running back Corey Stevenson rushed four times for 58 yards on a 10-play drive culminated by a five-yard run by Chapple with 8:30 remaining.