Hornets Knock Off No. 2-Ranked Walton

By Mike Blum

After the Roswell Hornets reached back-to-back state high school football championship games in 2015 and 2016, the latter with a senior-dominated team, there appeared nowhere for the Hornets to go but down. The team predictably suffered a considerable drop-off last year, going 3-7 and barely sneaking into the state playoffs with a new head coach, an almost entirely revamped coaching staff and a roster virtually devoid of players with significant varsity experience.

The Hornets entered this season as a likely No. 2 finisher in Region 4-AAAAAAA behind Walton, which
was expected to be a one of the top teams in the state with a talent-laden roster. The nearby rivals both came into the Friday, Oct. 19 game unbeaten in region play, with Walton (7-0 overall) ranked second in the state in Class 7A and the Hornets (6-1) unranked after a last-second loss to Wheeler in their final non-region game.

For the second time this season, Roswell knocked off a long-time rival, holding on to beat the Walton Raiders 32-31 in a wild game the featured a gutsy decision in the game’s final 90 seconds by head coach Matt Kemper.

The victory puts the Hornets in first place in the region, with a third region title in four seasons easily within their grasp. The Hornets scored with less than 1:30 remaining in the fourth quarter to cut Walton’s lead to 31-30, and Kemper elected to go for two points. Running back Kamonty Jett, who keyed the Hornets’ second half comeback, bulled into the end zone for two points after scoring the touchdown on a 9-yard run.

Jett carried 34 times on the night for 164 yards and three touchdowns, doing most of his damage in the second half. He scored on a 4-yard run in the third quarter to give the Hornets a 17-14 lead before the Raiders regained a 28-17 advantage early in the final period. After the second of two long pass receptions by Jacob Jarrett that set up Roswell touchdowns, Jett scored to pull Roswell within 28-24. The Hornets stopped Walton inside the 5-yard line to force a field goal that increased the Raiders’ lead to 31-24 midway through the final quarter.

Roswell responded with an 80-yard drive capped by Jett’s third touchdown of the game, but left the Raiders
with enough time to get into position for a field goal. Thanks to a 35-yard catch on fourth-and-15 by Dominick Blalock, one of the state’s most highly recruited players, the Raiders were able to advance inside the Roswell 10 for the potential game-winning kick.

But for the second time in the game, junior linebacker Khaleed Mobley blocked a Walton field goal to preserve Roswell’s stunning victory. Walton’s high-powered offense amassed around 500 yards against the Hornets. However, the Hornets intercepted three Raider passes, tackled Blalock for a big loss on fourth-and-goal from the 1 with the Raiders about to take control of the game late in the first half, and forced an unsuccessful Walton field goal attempt after the Raiders blocked a punt. The Hornets also stopped a fake punt attempt by the Raiders.

Ty’ron Hopper, Sam Antuna and Abe Nyang had the interceptions for the Hornets, with Florida commit
Hopper leading the Hornets with 12 tackles, two of them for losses. He will join the long line of Hopper brothers and cousins who will play at the Division 1 level after starring for the Hornets. Hopper, linebackers Will Troutman, Doneiko Slaughter, Matt Huelsman and Mobley all had at least five tackles, two for losses, as did lineman Caden Bondurant. Antona, the team’s leading tackler from his safety position, had seven tackles and five assists for the Hornets, who were missing some key defensive performers.

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The Hornets also had a big game offensively, gaining almost 470 yards. Ethan Roberts passed for 209 yards on 11 completions, including an 85-yarder for a touchdown to John Copenhaver to pull the Hornets within 14-10 after their goal line stand in the second quarter. Both Copenhaver and Jarrett had over 100 receiving yards each.

With his sixth 100-yard game of the season, Jett increased his rushing totals for eight games to 1032 yards and 12 touchdowns on 195 carries. Seniors Alek Nikolich and Carson Barrett, and juniors Trey Zimmerman, Matthew Ford and Matthew Copeland have provided the blocking for Jett while protecting Roberts, who has passed for 1400 yards and 15 touchdowns on 78 completions. Jarrett (28-558-7) and Copenhaver ((27-514-5) have been Roberts’ main targets along with Tripp Cooper, who doubles as the Hornets’ punter.

The Hornets need only one victory in their last two games to finish first in the region. They can clinch a region title with a win Friday night over Woodstock (1-2, 3-5) and close out the season next week at Etowah (also 1-2, 3-5).

The No. 1 seed from region will open the 7A playoffs at home against either the No. 4 team from Region , likely Camden County, or an at-large team, likely the No. 5 team from the mostly Cobb County Region 3. A possible second round opponent would be the No. 2 team from Region 3, either Marietta or Hillgrove, the team that defeated the Hornets in the first round of the playoffs last year.

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