Carrollton has been a Georgia high school football powerhouse for years. But on Friday night, Oct. 9, another name was etched into the Trojans' record book: Nick Archer.
Archer, a sophomore running back, broke No. 10 Carrollton's single-game rushing record in the Trojans' 62-24 win in rainy conditions over Douglas County. He finished the night with 31 carries for 325 yards and four touchdowns, surpassing Trey Chivers’ 264-yard performance against Calhoun in 2012.
"Nick's a football player. He plays offense, defense, special teams, whatever," Carrollton head coach Joey King said in a postgame interview with Score Atlanta. "Super proud of him and the way he approaches every day."
With fellow sophomore Zach Watts – the top running back in the country
in the 2029 cycle – on the sidelines with an injury, the Trojans depended on Archer in the backfield.
After a firs- quarter fumble that led to a touchdown and put the opposing Tigers up 14-7, Archer had to settle in.
"The first half was a little down," Archer said. "But one thing Coach King told me, 'Don't let one bad moment ruin the whole thing.' I took that in mind and I came back and did what I had to do."
The Trojans went back and forth with the Tigers for the remainder of the first half before taking a 31-24 lead at halftime.
"We had a lot of adversity in the first half there," King said. "We weren't close to the team we want to be. But we regrouped and they fought their tails off in all three phases in the second half."
Carrollton came into the second half looking like a completely new team, and Douglas County had no answers. The Trojans didn't allow a single score in the second half.
Archer and Watts are just two of Carrollton's young playmakers leading the Trojans' dominant season. Sophomore quarterback and Miami commit CJ Cypher has recorded one of the most impressive stat lines in all of high school football.
“I think this group is special," King told USA TODAY Sports last week. "This group is young, so that’s exciting for the future of Carrollton football.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Future star gets forced into bigger role, rewrites history for Georgia football powerhouse
