One of Westlake’s goals Friday against East Coweta was to prevent standout running back Tay Willis from scoring.

The Lions kept Willis away from the end zone, but they couldn’t contain Jeric Woodall, who caught a touchdown pass and had an interception, to lead East Coweta to its fourth consecutive victory, 10-0 in Atlanta.

East Coweta (4-1, 4-0 region) and Newnan (5-0, 4-0 region) are the only two teams in Region 4-AAAAA that still are undefeated. They are tied for first place in the region.

Woodall had the only touchdown of the game, and he turned in the defense play of the game, as well, picking off a pass deep in East Coweta territory.

Late in the first quarter, Willis (17 carries, 101 yards) broke free for a 67-yard run. Westlake was flagged 15 yards for a facemask penalty on the play, moving the ball to the Westlake 15-yard line.

Following 6- and 7-yard runs by Cody Davis and quarterback Austin Ingram, respectively, East Coweta was in prime position to score, facing first-and-goal at the 2.

Westlake’s defense stiffened, however, and East Coweta settled for a 21-yard field goal by Tyler Willis with 9:55 left in the second quarter.

Slightly over a minute later, after Westlake went three-and-out, Ingram hooked up with his go-to-receiver, Woodall, on a touchdown pass that made it 10-0.

Westlake drove the ball to the East Coweta 2-yard line with the final seconds of the half ticking off the clock, but quarterback Lewis Kindle was sacked by a host of East Coweta defenders for an 18-yard loss to end the threat.

Turnovers plagued both teams in the third quarter; Westlake turned the ball over on two fumbles, and East Coweta committed two turnovers, one an interception and another on a fumble.

Westlake was in position to end the shutout early in the fourth quarter, holding the ball for a first-and-goal at the 6-yard line.

But Woodall delivered a difference-making play yet again, an interception at the 9 that he returned to the East Coweta 40.
It was one of two interceptions for East Coweta. Ma’Derrius Robinson had the other for the Indians.

East Coweta is off until next week, when it will play host to Region 4-AAAAA rival Lovejoy (2-3, 2-2 region).

Northgate (2-2) was off last week. This week it makes the short road trip to Fayetteville to play the Starr’s Mill Panthers (0-4) in the teams’ Region 5A-AAAA opener.

The Panthers have experienced a litany of problems — mostly injuries and untimely mistakes. Northgate, meanwhile, is challenging McIntosh for the distinction of most improved team in the region.

Starr’s Mill’s offense has been more potent — it’s averaging 17 points per game to 13.8 for Northgate — but Northgate has a defensive edge — it’s allowing 19.8 points per game to 26.5 for Starr’s Mill.

Starr’s Mill has one of the best home-field advantages in the county, plus it has dominated Northgate the two previous times the teams have played each other, 37-0 last season and 31-7 in 2006.

But Northgate is playing with perhaps the most confidence it has had in years.

Quarterback Myles Jaye, wide receiver Lontrell Anderson, running back Spencer Penson and linebacker Stephen Roberts are key players for the Panthers. Northgate’s top players are quarterback Jake Copeland, running back Malcolm Poindexter and offensive lineman Hanson Sachs.

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