NORCROSS — After struggling for three quarters, the Kell Longhorn offense finally rose to the occasion. The good news was, the defense had kept them in the game.
With just over a minute and 30 seconds left in the game, Kell quarterback Bryce Clavon knifed his way into the end zone from 5 yards out to give the Longhorns a 20-19 lead over Greater Atlanta Christian, which had led through most of the contest
The Longhorns offense took the field again to go for two to make it a three-point game, and Clavon handed off for a double reverse pass. Clavon slipped into the corner of the end zone uncovered to catch the pass from receiver and defensive back Davion Hampton to make it 22-19.
With the game in the hands of Kell quarterback Jack Stanton, who picked apart the Longhorn defense in the first half, Hampton came up with the game-sealing interception around midfield and proceed it to return it all the way to the end zone for a touchdown, and Kell gutted out a 28-19 win Friday over the Spartans.
“Proud of the way they fought,” Kell head coach Bobby May said. “We played terrible on offense most of the game, but the defense kept putting us in positions to win the game, and we got an opportunity, and we kept fighting, and we did that.”
The Longhorns managed just 84 yards of offense in the first half but produced 170 in the second half, with 160 of those yards coming on their two scoring drives in the fourth quarter. A game that had been a defensive battle suddenly became a track meet.
The Spartans took advantage of an early fumble by the Longhorns on the first play of the game, setting GAC up at the Kell 27-yard line. Stanton threw a desperation pass as he was being sacked into the corner of the end zone, where an uncovered Stephen Michael Phillips was waiting. That put GAC up 7-0 early, but the Longhorns responded with a 68-yard kick return by Hampton that gave them the ball at the Spartans’ 22-yard line.
Clavon found the edge of the end zone on a 6-yard option keeper to knot it at 7-7. From there, both offenses stalled out with the exception of Stanton’s 31-yard touchdown pass to Aidan McKinnie that put the Spartans up 13-7 at the break.
Stanton shined in the first half, completing 8 of 11 passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns, but the Longhorns clamped down defensively in the second half and held him to just one completion in the third quarter.
With nine minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Kell offense finally found a spark when Clavon found receiver Emmanuel Ulinfun racing past his defender for a 62-yard gain. When it looked like the Spartans had Kell stopped on third down, they were called for illegal contact, giving the Longhorns a first down. Three plays later, Ryan Barrett cashed in from 1 yard to give the Longhorns a 14-13 lead.
Stanton and the Spartans responded on their next drive as Stanton completed passes of 24 and 22 yards before finding Braylen Burgess for a 6-yard score that allowed GAC to regain the lead. The two-point try was no good, and the Spartans led 19-14 before Clavon mounted the game-winning drive, which started with another big gain to Ulinfun — this one for 44 yards. Clavon only completed five passes in the game, but three went for 44 yards or more.
For the two fourth-quarter scoring drives, Clavon went 3-for-5 for 121 yards and ran five times for 38 yards and a touchdown.
“In the first half, he was a little bit rattled, but he’s a high-pressured kid, and he did a great job in the second half, and he won the game for us,” May said.
Stanton finished 16 of 24 for 190 yards and three touchdowns.
KHS|7|0|0|621--|28
GAC|7|6|0|6|--|19
First Quarter
GAC—Stephen Michael Phillips 10 pass from Jack Stanton (Brandon Beckham kick)
KHS—Bryce Clavon 6 run (Michael Muhota kick)
Second Quarter
GAC—Aidan McKinnie 31 pass from Stanton (kick failed)
Fourth Quarter
KHS — Ryan Barrett 1 run
GAC—Braylen Burgess 6 pass from Stanton (2-pt failed)
KHS—Clavon 5 run (Clavon pass from Davion Hampton)
KHS—Hampton 50 interception return (kick failed)
Records—Kell 7-1, 2-1 Region 6-AAAAA; GAC 4-4; 2-2
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