Kennesaw Mountain 26, Cass 25

Cayden Lee, a speedy 4-star recruit and receiver for the Mustangs, finished with a game-high 93 yards and two touchdowns on five catches. He didn’t hold back when asked if there was a chip on the team’s shoulder when it came to outsiders questioning if the Mustangs can compete in 7A.

“There’s a huge chip,” said Lee, who holds 30 offers including Georgia, Texas and USC. “A lot of people think Kennesaw Mountain had success last year because of the region that we were in. So I feel like to come out here and get a win the first game of the season proved a lot of people wrong.”

Lee’s 7-yard touchdown reception from Cayman Prangley opened the scoring to give the Mustangs what would be the game’s largest lead for either team. On the Colonels next drive, they answered with a 29-yard scoring run from quarterback Devin Henderson, who dove headfirst with his arms spreading across the pylon for the touchdown. That set off a back-and-forth battle that came down to the final minute.

Mustangs kicker Ty Roldan’s 35-yard field goal with 9:11 remaining proved to be the game’s final points.

“It’s adversity,” said Carmean. “At the end of the day, we want to see what this team is made to handle adversity and they proved they can tonight. We were extremely sloppy early on with self-inflicted errors, but our kids battled and at the end of the day we just want to get one more point, and that’s what we were able to do tonight.”

The Colonels’ second score gave them their first lead at 13-7 with 10:32 left in the half. Kintrell Whatley emerged with the touchdown catch after the ball first bobbled out of his teammates’ hands and through two Kennesaw Mountain defenders.

However the Colonels’ failed execution of the extra point, which was blocked, led to them abandoning the kicking game entirely. From that point, they went for it on fourth down in field goal range, and attempted 2-point conversions after touchdowns.

The Mustangs took the lead back less than two minutes later on Lee’s 53-yard touchdown reception in which he made a clean break from his defender, Henderson, who also plays defensive back.

With 5:20 remaining in the half, the Colonels were attempting to punt when a bad snap went over the punter’s head. He recovered the ball and ran it through the end zone for the safety rather than risk the Mustangs scoring a defensive touchdown, which extended Kennesaw Mountain’s lead to 16-13.

The Colonels would later drive the field and, on the final play of the half, Henderson scrambled from defenders and threw a 19-yard strike across his shoulder to Sacovie White, who cut to the middle of the end zone, for the touchdown to give them a 19-16 lead heading into the locker room.

The Colonels had the opportunity to build on their lead, getting the ball first in the second half. However, three plays into the drive, Kennesaw Mountain’s Michael Bell intercepted Henderson, and that led to an 11-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a TJ Jenkins 41-yard rushing touchdown to give the Mustangs a 23-19 lead.

The Colonels delivered one last blow — a 2-yard touchdown run by Mac Nelson — to give Cass its final lead at 25-23 with 1:16 left in the third.

Jenkins led all rushers with 179 yards and touchdown on 22 carries. Among his blockers was AJC Super 11 selection and Miami commit Conner Lew. Prangley went 7-for-15 for 128 yards and two touchdowns to two interceptions.

For Cass, Henderson was 9-for-14 passing for 113 yards and two touchdowns to an interception, and he rushed 18 times for 87 yards and another score. His top receiving target was White, who had 59 yards and a touchdown on six catches. White is a 4-star junior with a reported offer from Georgia.

Nelson led the Colonels in rushing with 111 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, and Todd Gaddy had two interceptions on defense.

The Colonels, who have competed in 7-5A since 2014, finished 5-6 last year in coach Steve Gates’ second season, reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2006.

For full stats, go here.