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Carrollton clobbers Valdosta to head to quarterfinals

By Tucker Cole, 11/24/24, 3:00PM EST

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An efficient passing attack led by new Colorado commit Julian Lewis led Carrollton High School to a 49-13 win over Valdosta in the second round of the Class 6A state football playoffs on Friday.

Lewis passed for 369 yards and four touchdowns. Receiver A.J. McNeil caught four passes for 155 yards and three touchdowns, and Peyton Zachary also went into triple digits with four catches for 110 yards.

Running back Kimauri Farmer also had a solid night on the ground with 95 yards and three touchdowns rushing.

The Trojans’ starters were able to sub out of the game in the fourth quarter.

The run defense for both teams was stout early in the game, so both the Wildcats and Trojans were mostly forced to go through the air.

Carrollton had the most success in that department to start the game, as Lewis threw a deep ball to McNeil down the visitor sideline for a 37-yard touchdown to put the Trojans up 7-0.

Valdosta got into Carrollton territory for the first time on its third possession, but a fourth-down tackle by Jay Hagan turned the ball back over to the Trojan offense.

From there, it was a more balanced attack for the Trojans as Farmer got rolling in the run game, still mixed with decisive passes for Lewis. Farmer capped the drive with a 13-yard touchdown run up the middle.

The Carrollton coaching staff got creative on the extra point.

The Trojans shifted into a swinging gate-like formation, and receiver Caleb Hudson found linebacker Kadan Spratling on a jump pass to the end zone.

With the two-point conversion, it was 15-0 Trojans, and Spratling soon made another key play, recovering a fumble to give Carrollton the ball back.

A few plays later, Lewis dropped another touchdown in the basket of McNeil, this time for 62 yards.

Carlos Hernandez’s extra point made it a 22-0 with 9:36 left in the first half.

Valdosta finally got on the board near the midway point in the second quarter on a four-and-ten play. Quarterback Todd Robinson rolled to his right and found a receiver wide open in the end zone.

It took just a kickoff return by Kai Callen for the Trojans to get back in Wildcat territory.

Farmer finished the drive off with a seven-yard touchdown run around the left side of the offensive line.

After a Valdosta punt, Carrollton looked as though they would punt it right back with a third down and 21, but Peyton Zachary broke off a 65-yard gain on a screen pass.

The Trojans tacked on another score before the half, sneaking tight end Zion Cooley across the end zone for Lewis’ third touchdown pass of the night.

Going into the third quarter with a 36-7 lead, Carrollton took the kickoff and marched down the field, ending with a 39-yard touchdown pass again from Lewis to McNeil.

A two-yard rushing touchdown for Farmer stretched the lead to 49-7 going into the fourth quarter.

Valdosta added on a late two-yard touchdown run by Deron Foster to cut the lead down to 36 points, but Hudson blocked the extra point, and that proved to be the last score of the game.

Carrollton (12-0) will move on to host Hillgrove (11-1) in the quarterfinals. Carrollton defeated Hillgrove in the regular season last year, 49-0.