PSN Game of the Week: McEachern Wins "The Real MHS" Battle, Defeats Marietta 45-17

Annually for a long time, the Marietta Blue Devils and the McEachern Indians have battled over the title of “Who is The Real MHS”. Rather it was on the basketball court, football field, or the baseball diamond, it has always been very competitive. On Friday night at the newly renovated and historic Northcutt Stadium French Johnson Field, a battle we thought was one for the ages, turned into a blowout. Beating a young Blue Devil team that is still trying to find their identity, McEachern showed why they call them selves the “Real MHS”.

The states 5th ranked team, the McEachern Indians (8-1,4-0) undefeated in region play, sits atop Region 3AAAAAAA as the only undefeated team in that region. The leader of the Indians, Senior Quarterback and Florida State commit Bailey Hockman had a very impressive evening, leading the Indians pass the Blue Devils.

Hockman finished, completing 15 of 21 pass attempts or 190 yards and 4 touchdown passes. Senior Wide Receiver and Colorado State commit EJ Scott was on the receiving end of 3 of those touchdown passes from Hockman, with Junior Wide Receiver Genuine Potts with the other one. Running Back Sophomore Paris Brown totaled 130 rushing yards on 22 carries and 1 rushing touchdown. The Blue Devils (3-5,1-3) who have lost 3 games in a row, looked to keep a competitive edge in this game, and keep their slim playoff hopes alive. The highly-touted Freshman Quarterback Harrison Bailey had a pretty good evening as well, although on the losing end of the stick. While passing for 282 yards, going 27 for 47 and a passing touchdown, the 14-year old Freshman did everything he could to keep his Blue Devils in the game. The states leading receiver Sophomore Ramel Keyton caught 10 of Bailey's passes for 138 yards and a score. McEachern got off to a hot start when running back Paris Brown took the first drive into his own hands and got the Indians on the board first, with a 10 yard touchdown run. Brown carried 7 times on the first drive, accumulating most of the teams yards on the ground. Three more offensive drives in the first quarter lead to 17 additional points for McEachern.

Bailey threw 2 of his 4 touchdown passes to EJ Scott in the first half, giving the Indians a 24-10 lead at the half. To start off the 2nd half, Bailey executed a 7 play, 65-yard drive capped off by a 4-yard touchdown pass to Genuine Potts who ran a quick slant, beating the defender who was in press coverage. On the ensuing drive, Senior running back Quay Holmes scores on a 6-yard run to give the Indians a 38-10 lead over the Blue Devils. The Indians final scoring drive of the game came midway through the 3rd quarter, when Hockman connected with EJ Scott again for a 20-yard touchdown pass. The Blue Devils responded back with an 18-play, 96-yard drive of their own that compiled a time of 11 minutes and 10 seconds. Capped off by running back Christian Clark getting into the end zone with a little under 3:00 minutes left in the game. With a non-balanced attack, the Blue Devils pass on all but 1 play of the drive. The McEachern Indians improve to (8-1) with their only loss coming to a stacked Grayson Rams football team in the 3rdweek of the season. The Indians look to remain perfect in Region play and compete for a region championship. Next Fridaynight the Indians will battle another Cobb County rival. The Hillgrove Hawks travel to Walter H. Cantrell Stadium at McEachern High School. The schools are a total of 2.5 miles apart in distance. The Blue Devils still have a shot to make the post season when they travel to North Paulding next Friday night. The winner of that game will receive the final playoff spot.