GAINESVILLE — This is Andrew Shockley's world and we're all just living in it.
On their very first offensive play, the junior running back and receiver ran for a 61-yard touchdown. All in all, he accounted for 136 total yards and scored five touchdowns to lead Banks County (2-6, 1-2 Region 8-2A) to their first region win, 67-6, over Riverside Military Academy (1-6, 0-3 Region 8-2A) Friday night at McGinnis Field.
Shockley was simply unstoppable and reached paydirt on five of his nine touches.
"He's bought into what we're trying to do, and he came into us, and he's learned and grown, and he is an explosive player and a good young man," Banks County coach Jay Reid said. "So happy for him."
Shockley was the centerpiece of a Banks County team that was desperate for a win, after previously being 1-6 on the year and 0-2 in Region 8-2A play. This win gives the Leopards a shot at possibly making the playoffs in what is a relatively small region, with only four other schools with them in Region 8-2A.
"We've been focusing on us, and our play has been getting better each week, we've just really trying to build consistency," Reid said. "Last week against Rabun, I feel like a lot of our best stuff happened in that game. Offensively and defensively, we were clicking tonight."
Shockley wasn't alone in the offensive onslaught as quarterback Bowen Roberts threw for 82 yards and three touchdowns, including one to Shockley. The others were a 10-yard pass to tight end Bryson Cheek and a 45 yarder to receiver Caine Griffith. Griffith also rushed for seven yards and completed a pass for 36.
The rest of the scoring was done by the younger players on the team as the starters were given the second half off. Freshman Clay Smith and sophomore Brayden Williams each scored a touchdown. In total, Banks County had about 300 offensive yards and controlled the ball the whole game.
For Riverside, their offense was lethargic, to say the least. They turned the ball over five times, with Banks County scoring 35 points off of the giveaways.
Junior running back Rodney Robinson was the only bright spot for the Eagles as he ended the shutout bid with a touchdown on the last play of the game. He totaled 48 rushing yards off of 11 carries and had the aforementioned score. Riverside ended with about 30 yards of total offense as they were behind the sticks all night, thanks to a ravenous Leopard defense.
"Our defensive staff does a great job with those guys, creating creative concepts, and our kids are just playing hard right now," Reid said. "They're hustling to the ball and making plays defensively, so hats off our defensive staff and all those guys on defense."
