Colonels clinch state playoff berth with win at Allatoona
October 26, 2024

On Friday night in Acworth, the Cass defense held Allatoona to just 35 yards of offense in the first half en route to a 32-17 region victory.
The Colonels capitalized on the host Buccaneers' special teams mistakes and built a 25-3 advantage by the middle of the third quarter.
By winning, the Colonels secured their fourth consecutive spot in the state playoffs, marking the first time this achievement has occurred in the school's history.
Allatoona gained one first down on the game’s opening possession but was forced to punt after just five plays. A nice punt by Buccaneers’ specialist Wilson Perry pinned the Colonels at their 5-yard line to begin their first possession.
Eleven plays and 95 yards later, the Colonels were on the scoreboard to lead 7-0 with 4:30 remaining in the first quarter. Braylon Hill had an 11-yard run to open the drive, and quarterback Elijah Slocum connected on key pass plays to Naz Fleurine for 50 yards and Izak Koep for 22. Slocum capped the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run. Kicker Mason Madrid successfully converted the first of his four PAT kicks.
On the ensuing possession, the Buccaneers moved to the Cass 45-yard line with a 34-yard pass from Cruz Paul to Xavier Rucker. Two negative rushing plays later, Cass’ Ian Williams sacked Paul and forced Allatoona to attempt a punt from their 42-yard line.
A high snap on the Bucs’ punt attempt sailed over the head of Perry, who chased the bouncing ball back to his goal line. Perry then kicked the ball through the back of his end zone for a Colonels’ safety and a 9-0 Cass lead with 1:38 left in the initial period.
Cass returned the free kick to their 45-yard line and pulled off a bit of trickery. Slocum threw a double pass (lateral) to Chase Tatum, who then connected with Jakai Baldwin 46 yards downfield at the Bucs’ 9-yard line.
Allatoona stiffened defensively and stopped the Colonels at the 1-yard line when they chose to run on a fourth-and-goal. Although the drive failed to produce points immediately, it put the Buccaneers in poor field position, leading to an eventual Cass score.
The Bucs went three-and-out and punted from the end zone.
Following two penalties that forced the Colonels to start from their 30-yard line, Hill ripped off a 56-yard run to the Bucs’ 14-yard line. Two plays later, Slocum found Fleurine in the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown pass and a 16-0 Cass lead with 6:45 left in the first half.
The Cass defense yielded just one first down on the next Allatoona possession and forced the Bucs’ fourth punt of the game. Slocum tried a deep pass on first down from the Colonels’ 20-yard line which was intercepted and returned to the Cass 47-yard line.
Allatoona drove to the Cass 34-yard line on two running plays and a quarterback scramble but settled for a 50-yard field goal by Perry as time expired in the first half.
Cass carried a 16-3 lead to the intermission.
The Colonels’ opening drive of the second half reached the Allatoona 48-yard line before stalling. Hill had five short runs, and Slocum hit Tatum for a 14-yard pass play, but Cass had to punt the ball away.
Tatum’s line drive punt was covered well by the Cass punt team, who pinned Allatoona at their 1-yard line. Three plays later, another high snap on the Bucs’ punt attempt sailed through the end zone for the second safety of the night. As a result, Cass led 18-3 with 6:18 left in the third quarter.
The ensuing free kick resulted in one of the game’s highlights. Williams fielded the kick at the 15-yard line and returned it 85 yards for a Colonels touchdown and a 25-3 lead at the 6:04 mark of the third period.
The stingy Cass defense forced Allatoona to commit another three-and-out on their next opportunity, but Slocum's fumble gave the ball back to the Buccaneers near midfield.
Allatoona responded with their first touchdown of the game.
The Bucs drove 48 yards in six plays and scored with a 15-yard pass from Paul to Rucker with 0:36 left in the third quarter. The extra point by Perry pulled Allatoona within two scores at 25-10.
Starting from their 20-yard line after Perry’s long kickoff, Cass marched 80 yards on eight plays to build on their cushion. Koep caught a 40-yard pass from Slocum, and the quarterback added 15- and 19-yard chunk runs on the drive. Hill finished the march with a 3-yard touchdown, putting the Colonels up 32-10 with 8:37 left in the game.
The two teams swapped punts on their next possessions before Allatoona drove 68 yards for the game’s final points.
Rucker caught a 42-yard pass from Paul for most of the yardage and was also on the receiving end of a 15-yard touchdown throw.
Cass covered an Allatoona on-side kick attempt, and Hill broke free on first down for a 26-yard run. Unfortunately, he fumbled at the end of the run, allowing the Bucs one more possession.
Allatoona hit two pass completions and had one quarterback scramble to reach the Cass 28-yard line. Following a timeout, the Bucs tried a double-reverse play that finished with a Cass fumble recovery to effectively end the game.
Slocum was 6-for-10 passing for Cass with one touchdown and one interception. He also rushed for 40 yards on four attempts with a touchdown. For the season, the receiver-turned-quarterback has over 1,000 yards receiving, rushing, and passing.
Hill also eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark rushing for the season. The junior running back finished the night with 161 yards and one touchdown on 24 carries.
Tatum threw a 46-yard completion and caught two balls for 18 additional yards. Koep and Fleurine had two receptions for 63 yards each. Baldwin had one catch for 46 yards.
Allatoona finished the season with a 4-6 record. The Bucs were 2-4 in region play.
Cass (6-4, 3-3) will have the next two Fridays off before the Class 4A state playoffs begin. The original schedule had a bye week for the Colonels in the final week before the Georgia High School Association added a week to the regular season due to hurricane cancelations.
The Colonels will open the state playoffs on Nov. 15 or 16 at the winner of the Cambridge at Blessed Trinity game. The Titans and Bears play this Friday, Nov. 1 for the Region 6-AAAA championship.
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