Marist School, Atlanta, scored 14 of their 21 points in the fourth quarter as they went on to defeat St. Pius X High School, Atlanta, 21-7 Nov. 9. St. Pius starting quarterback Dylan Knight incurred a shoulder injury on the third play of the game. Junior P.G. Standard replaced Knight and threw for 163 yards, but the offense could only generate seven points during the game. Marist running backs Kevin Lanier, Cooper Taylor, Neil Schuster, Matt Connors and quarterback Cooper Taylor led a balanced running attack, which produced 202 rushing yards. Connors and Lanier ran for offensive touchdowns, while defensive back Schuster ran a 62-yard interception back for a touchdown. The Marist defense had three interceptions, which proved costly for St. Pius. Sophomore running back Cole Moon led St. Pius with 91 yards on 17 carries, and tight end Jeremy Sorrention led the team in receiving with 73 yards, his longest a 65-yard run after a catch. St. Pius (7-3) travels to Conyers to face Salem High School (9-1) in their first round game of the state playoffs Friday, Nov. 16. Knight is out for the season, so Standard will assume quarterback duties. Marist (8-2) also goes on the road to Mt. Airy to take on Habersham Central High School (9-1) in their opening round state playoff game Nov. 16.

Pinecrest Academy, Cumming, defended its home field with a 30-14 victory over rival Holy Spirit Preparatory School, Atlanta. After a Holy Spirit fumble was recovered by Pinecrest senior linebacker Tom Zigtema, freshmen kicker Rico Garcia kicked his first field goal to give Pinecrest a 3-0 lead in the first quarter. Pinecrest scored its first touchdown with 3:23 left in the second quarter on a 2-yard burst by senior running back Rick Thompson. After another rushing touchdown by Zigtema, who also plays running back on offense, Pinecrest held a 17-0 lead at halftime. Holy Spirit scored the first touchdown of the second half on a 1-yard run by Adam Lindenau. The Holy Spirit defense held Pinecrest scoreless during the third quarter, but in the fourth Pinecrest cornerback Zach Wilson intercepted a Holy Spirit pass attempt and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown to extend the lead to 24-7. With four minutes remaining in the game, Pinecrest fumbled on their 20-yard line. Holy Spirit took advantage of the turnover and scored a touchdown to cut the lead to 24-14. With 3:08 remaining in the game, Holy Spirit executed a successful onside kick, but on the next play Pinecrest linebackers Thompson and Zigtema sacked Holy Spirit quarterback Curtis Johnson, forcing him to fumble, and defensive end John Drapeau recovered the ball on Holy Spirit’s 36-yard line. Zigtema scored the final touchdown of the game from 10 yards out. The point-after attempt was no good, but Pinecrest already had enough to seal the win. Pinecrest (9-2) will host Windsor Academy of Macon (10-1) in its first round playoff game Friday, Nov. 16. Holy Spirit (7-3) will play Tiftarea Academy (5-5) of Chula at North Springs High School, Atlanta, in its opening round playoff game Nov. 16.

Blessed Trinity High School, Roswell, closed out its regular season with a 24-7 win over Grady High School. Blessed Trinity running back Sam Burkhalter finished the game with 171 rushing yards on 30 carries and one touchdown. Burkhalter ran for 1,234 yards this season. Fullback Bruce Johnson also had seven carries for 85 yards and a 29-yard touchdown. Linebacker Trevor Barden and defensive end Ben Kopacka led the defensive unit with eight and five tackles, respectively. Blessed Trinity completes the 2007 season with an overall record of 7-3.

Our Lady of Mercy High School, Fairburn, concluded its season with a 63-24 loss to Landmark Christian School. That’s the bad news, but the good news is they posted their best record (4-6) in the school’s sixth season. In 2005 the team was 0-10. In their final high school football game, senior running back and wide receiver Dominique McDermott had 287 rushing yards and senior defensive lineman Patrick Silloway led the team with eight tackles. Junior quarterback William Pearl threw for 73 yards in the game to put him over 1,600 passing yards for the season. Our Lady of Mercy averaged 30 points per game this season, another school best.