North Gwinnett swept North Oconee (24-9), Newnan (22-10) and Allatoona (25-14) in pool play to earn the No. 1 overall seed and clinched the championship with a 27-23 victory over No. 2 seed Hughes after scoring tournament victories over Creekview (38-8) and Commerce (37-9) to advance to the finals. The Bulldogs won the Brent Key/Corky Kell + Dave Hunter 7-on-7 Tournament last year and handled business again on Tuesday with a blend of returning stars and up-and-coming playmakers. Head coach Eric Godfree was pleased with the effort he saw on both sides of the ball and celebrated his players for winning the day and closing out the tournament with an undefeated record that was made possible by his team’s ability to come back out strong after a few byes that could’ve dampened the momentum.
“We liked how we’ve handled coming off the break,” said Godfree. “Coming back into the tournament after a 40 minute break and continuing to play hot is a positive that we did well today. It’s like halftime, when you know you’ve played a great first half and you got to come back after a 20 minute break and how you respond is such a huge part of this game. That’s one of the biggest things we did to today and that is a sign of maturity for our team and the leaders out there.”
Hughes pulled ahead late in the game before North Gwinnett reclaimed the lead on a touchdown pass by junior Elam Rahman and iced the game with an interception at the buzzer to increase the lead to 27-23. Sophomore Banks Halcomb also took reps today at quarterback and coach Godfree was pleased with the play of both and how the receivers stepped up and made plays regardless of who was in the game.
“We played both quarterbacks today and we’re really blessed with great players at that position,” said Godfree. “They played really well and our receivers do a great job of making plays for those guys.”
Defensively, North Gwinnett got the stops when they needed it and icing the championship with an interception was a fitting way to close out the day for the Bulldogs.
“Defensively, we play really well as a whole unit,” said Godfree. “I think those guys communicate very well. There’s times when we’ve got a breakdown out there and the opponents are scoring and getting open, but that is all a part of the learning process. And when we are playing together and communicating well, we are pretty tough on the defensive side of the ball.”
North Gwinnett will open the regular season against Douglas County in the 2025 Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 16 just a few miles down the road from Tech’s campus. As for Hughes, transfer quarterback Darnell Kelly and first-year head coach Andrico Hines—the former OC for Hughes’ 2022 state championship team—came up just short of the tournament title and are gearing up for their season opener at Westlake on Friday, Aug. 15.
To view the complete Single-Elimination Tournament Bracket CLICK HERE
TOURNAMENT SEEDS
1. North Gwinnett
2. Langston Hughes
3. Landmark Christian
4. Meadowcreek
5. Dalton
6. North Oconee
7. Pope
8. Mt. Zion-Jonesboro
9. North Cobb
10. Commerce
11. Newnan
12. Creekview
13. Allatoona
14. Forsyth Central
15. St. Pius
16. Lovejoy
POOL PLAY RESULTS
10:00 AM
Allatoona 29, Creekview 9
Newnan (BYE)
Commerce 23, Dalton 22
Meadowcreek 22, Mt. Zion-Jonesboro 20
10:25 AM
Langston Hughes 26, North Cobb 12
North Gwinnett 24, North Oconee 9
Landmark Christian 21, Forsyth Central 19
Pope 20, St. Pius 2
10:50 AM
North Gwinnett 22, Newnan 10
North Cobb 19, Allatoona 8
Pope 18, Meadowcreek 18
Commerce 31, Forsyth Central 12
11:15 AM
North Oconee 22, Commerce 4
Langston Hughes 32, Creekview 8
Mt. Zion 30, St. Pius 17
Landmark Christian 25, Dalton 21
11:40 AM
Langston Hughes 26, Allatoona 9
Landmark Christian 18, Commerce 11
Meadowcreek 25, St. Pius 0
North Gwinnett (BYE)
12:05 PM
Creekview 26, North Cobb 20
North Oconee 21, Newnan 21
Dalton 28, Forsyth Central 20
Mt. Zion 15, Pope 14
12:30 PM
North Cobb 28, Newnan 21
North Oconee 19, Creekview 8
Pope 22, Forsyth Central 21
Dalton 31, Mt. Zion 19
12:55 PM
Hughes 48, Dalton 13
North Gwinnett 25, Allatoona 14
Landmark Christian 21, St. Pius
Meadowcreek 24, Commerce 15
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