GAC 20, Denmark 0: Greater Atlanta Christian’s defensive secondary made up for lost time in its debut victory against Denmark in the final game of the Corky Kell Classic on Saturday. The Spartans’ defense accounted for six interceptions – including a streak of five consecutive on five Denmark possessions – in the 20-0 shutout.
Senior cornerback Saiku White had three of the interceptions, and Josh Williamson, Luke Field and Joseph Rose each had one.
GAC, ranked sixth in Class 3A, got a solid performance from starting quarterback Deymon Flemming, who was 15-of-28 for 132 yards and two touchdowns. He passed to Thomas Lowman for a 6-yard touchdown with 3:38 left in the second quarter and to Sammy Otero for a 3-yard touchdown with 6:40 left in the game. Kicker Branan Roundtree, who was 2-for-2 on extra points, made field goals of 44 and 31 yards.
Denmark’s defense kept the Spartans out of the end zone on four of the ensuing five possessions during the streak of interceptions thrown by quarterback Tre Jones, who was 11-of-28 passing for 103 yards. Denmark’s defense kept a minor blowout from turning ugly and held GAC to 217 yards of total offense and 85 rushing yards.
Tre Henry led GAC with 46 yards on 16 carries. Gannon Hearst gained 40 yards on six carries. Aidan Bailey led GAC with 6.5 tackles and two for losses. White finished with four tackles. Kenon Dicks made a team-leading 7.5 tackles for Denmark. Harrison Halder finished with six tackles, 2.5 for losses.
Lowndes 51, Archer 21: When nationally ranked Lowndes saw its 4-star quarterback Jacurri Brown go down with an apparent leg injury midway through the second quarter, there were big concerns.
The score was tied at 7 after seventh-ranked Archer had blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown
Brown was taken to the medical tent on the track surrounding the field and remained there for several moments. But after a short breather and some ankle tape, he returned to lead Lowndes, ranked second in the state and No. 9 nationally, to a 35-21 victory against Archer in the second of three Saturday games of the Corky Kell Classic.
When he returned, Brown pieced together a scoring drive featuring two passes to Chase Belcher, the last for a 23-yard touchdown to put the Vikings ahead 14-7, and Class 7A Lowndes was rolling.
Brown put Lowndes ahead 21-7 on a 2-yard touchdown run with eight minutes left in the third quarter. With six minutes remaining, Archer scored on a short run from quarterback Caleb Peevy to cut into the lead. But Lowndes scored with 10 minutes left in the game on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Brown to Dominique Marshall to maintain the spread. With two minutes left in the game, Tristin Bohler passed to Jaqwon Wilson to give Lowndes a 35-14 lead. Archer’s late touchdown pass from Peevy was not enough.
Collins Hill 46, Archer 24: Collins Hill dominated offensively and rolled past visiting Class 6A No. 4 Carrollton 46-24 in the first game of Corky Kell Classic on Saturday. The Eagles stifling defense wasn’t bad, either. It accounted for three interceptions and kept Carrollton from making a comeback.
The Eagles offense ran for three touchdowns, and Collins Hills’ 4-star quarterback Sam Horn, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound junior, passed for three touchdowns in the lopsided affair. Horn, listed as the No. 4 pro-style quarterback in the country for the junior class by 247Sports, was 27-of-40 passing for 364 yards to lead an offense that gained 509 total yards of on 66 plays.
Collins Hill led 17-7 after the first quarter on two short touchdown runs from Spenser Anderson and James Smith. Isaac Bonacci added a 31-yard field goal. Keyshawn Ridley scored on a 7-yard run for Carrollton to keep the Trojans in reach.
Bonacci connected on a 28-yard field goal to open the second quarter, giving the Eagles a 20-7 lead. Horn then passed to Travis Hunter for a 31-yard touchdown with 3:30 left before the half. Carrollton climbed to within nine points, 26-17, after a 23-yard field goal from Damean Dominguez and a 23-yard touchdown pass from James McCauley to Donovan Brundidge.
Horn completed two touchdown passes to Hunter late in the third and early in the fourth quarters. The first – a 41-yard pass – came with 5:06 left in the third quarter and gave the Eagles a 32-17 lead. The second – a 30-yard pass with 11:24 left in the game -- was the dagger.
Carrollton cut into the lead on a short run from Christian Lett, but with 4:42 left in the game, Anderson scored on a 65-yard run.
Anderson had seven carries for 76 yards and two touchdowns. Hunter caught eight passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns and had one interception. Rich Dorsey and Jayden Davis also had interceptions. Rich Dorsey led Collins Hill with six tackles. James Smith had four tackles, two for a loss.
McCauley was 10-of-23 for 100 yards and a touchdown. Lett had 13 carries for 39 yards and a touchdown. Ridley made 13 carries for 43 yards and a touchdown. Jared Need led the Trojans with six tackles. Zaylen Cook made five tackles, one for a loss.
