HOSCHTON — Mill Creek football may be known for its defense -- but its offense proved it's no slouch either on Friday night.
The Hawks rolled up 539 total yards -- 439 of that in the first half -- en route to a 56-21 defeat of Cherokee in the second round of the Class AAAAAAA playoffs in Hoschton.
The Mill Creek defense did its usual thing, allowing a paltry 23 yards in the first half. And while Cherokee finished with 229 total yards most of it came while the Hawks were already looking toward a quarterfinal showdown with McEachern.
Mill Creek will travel to Powder Springs for the contest after losing a coin flip on Saturday morning to determine homefield advantage for the third round cotest.
The Hawks (12-0) will certainly enter the contest with confidence after Friday's performance.
Quarterback Cameron Turley, in particular, enjoyed playing the Cherokee defense, as he completed 8 of 12 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns. The Hawks starter became his program's leader in touchdown passes in a season (28), career attempts (558) and career yards (4,551) during the victory. His first pass of the contest -- the first offensive play of the game -- provided a 64-yard touchdown to Ace Williams, who finished the game with four receptions for 106 yards. Turley also connected on scoring passes with Edmond Graham (20 yards) and again to Williams (50 yards).
Jonathan Gipson also turned in a 29-yard touchdown run, while Jamar Hall added a two-yard plunge in the first quarter, as the Hawks ran out to a 35-0 lead.
Cherokee did return the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown, but Mill Creek responded with scoring runs from Joe Thomas, five and one yards, to take a 49-7 halftime lead.
Rafael Morales added an 82-yard sprint just after the interval to round out the Hawks' scoring and help Mill Creek finish with 336 yards rushing. Morales' explosive run helped him lead the team with six carries for 100 yards. Thomas added 80 yards on 16 carries.
Mill Creek will look to reach its second straight semifinal next week against McEachern.
