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Sports

North Cobb Players Shine in Loss

Darren Waller and Max Mason score touchdowns in the Cobb Senior Bowl.

The best high school football players in Cobb County got together Saturday afternoon for the fourth annual Cobb Senior Bowl at McEachern High School. For some, the game was the next step toward Division I stardom. For others, it was a chance to strap on shoulder pads one more time and perhaps catch the eyes of college recruiters.

The game included a lot of action on both sides of the ball: an interception returned for a touchdown, spectacular running and passing plays, hard-hitting defense and even a blocked kick. But with the help of six turnovers by the American team, the National team ran away with a 41-19 win.

Although they found themselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard, players from North Cobb contributed some of the bright spots for the Americans, including scoring the first two touchdowns.

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Already down 14-0, the Americans had some promising plays in the second quarter. North Cobb quarterback Travis Hawkins hit fellow Warrior Max Mason for a couple of third-down conversions for the boys in blue, but a sack on fourth down stopped the drive.

North Cobb wide receiver Darren Waller, who has committed to play safety for Georgia Tech, caught a pass from McEachern quarterback Dondre Purnell near the sideline for the Americans' only first-half touchdown, making the score 28-7 at the break.

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On the Americans' first drive of the second half, it was Mason's turn to catch a Purnell pass in the back of the end zone on a play-action pass for a touchdown.

"We worked on that play in practice the other day," Mason said. "I faked the block on the backer and went to the back of the end zone."

That cut the National lead to 31-13, and the Americans had some momentum despite having the extra point blocked.

But Walton's ο»ΏMatt LaMontagne picked off a pass on the next American possession and ran it back for a touchdown to extend the Nationals' lead to 38-13.

"The defense took advantage of a couple of turnovers, which were big," said Pebblebrook's Randall Smith, who coached the Nationals. "That always changes a game like this, when both teams are so talented. Whoever wins the takeaway battle usually comes out on top."

A touchdown run by Allatoona's Jared Harris for the Americans closed out the scoring in the 41-19 game.

A fumble on the opening kickoff gave the Nationals the ball in American territory, and Walton's Kyle Vorster soon ran 4 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. Most of the Nationals stormed the field and surrounded Vorster as Georgia did after its first touchdown against Florida in 2007.

On the ensuing possession, Purnell threw an interception after being sacked twice, although the Nationals didn't take advantage this time.

The Nationals did add another touchdown late in the first quarter, however, when Walton quarterback Bradley Kilborn moved the team down the field with his passing and hit South Cobb's Johntavious Mullins for the touchdown.

Kell quarterback Austin Petrik, who started for the Nationals, then returned to the game. A succession of runs and short throws opened the field for a deep throw to Marietta's Niquay Mack, who outran his defender and dived into the end zone for a 21-0 lead.

Another American turnover, this time by Adam Stigall, set the Nationals up in good field position again, and Demarcus Adkins of South Cobb scored on a 20-yard run to increase the lead to 28-0.

"I have to commend the offensive line today," Smith said. "We started out moving the ball down the field. The American team stepped up on defense to stop us, but our offensive line, we rolled three groups, they kept pounding the ball. We didn't find ourselves in many third-and-long situations today."ο»Ώ

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