Corky Kell & Dave Hunter Classic Day Four Recap - St. Pius X, Houston County, McEachern, Douglas County earn victories at MBS

Douglas County 21, North Gwinnett 7

Douglas County relied on two short touchdown runs from dynamic back Rah’Keith Kelly on the way to victory against North Gwinnett in the final game of the 2024 Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“We have work to do,” said Douglas County head coach Johnny White. “That is a good North Gwinnett team, but we missed some shots.”

Douglas County – which led 14-0 after the first quarter -- entered the contest ranked No. 4 in the Score Atlanta Preseason rankings while North Gwinnett was ranked No. 6.

The Tigers went ahead on a 12-yard run from Kelly with 2:29 left in the first quarter and after a quick defensive stop, Kelly expanded the lead to 14-0 on a two-yard run with 38 seconds left in the quarter.

“We are glad to have this win, but we have to hit the drawing board on Monday,” White said. “We will figure those mistakes, and we will be ready to go next Friday.”

North Gwinnett quarterback Jake Godfree scored on a 14-yard run with 7:34 left in the first half, but the Bulldogs couldn’t find an answer for the Douglas County defense. The Tigers capped scoring on a 27-yard pass from Michael Johnson to Dre Reading with 2:42 left in the first half.

“We have a special group this year. We have Aaron (Gregory) out wide, we have Devin (Carter) out wide, and we have Michael (Johnson) at quarterback. So it is a special group this year,” said Kelly, who earned the Robbie Hunter MVP Award after the game. “We just have to stay focused, stay locked in and stay healthy and the sky is the limit for us.”

See the earlier game recaps below.

McEachern 50, Walton 17

McEachern quarterback Calvin Pittman was 15-of-29 passing for 227 yards and two touchdowns and despite three interceptions, his performance helped power the Class 6A No. 8-ranked Indians past Walton in the penultimate game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium Saturday.

Alongside Pittman’s effort, Casey Barner scored on a 69-yard run, caught a 39-yard touchdown pass and returned a punt 98 yards for a score, earning the Robbie Hunter MVP Award.

“That is what we preach,” said McEachern head coach Kareem Reid. “Physicality, toughness and effort. And that is what we saw today.”

Reid, who is entering his second season leading McEachern, coached the Indians to a 6-5 record last season and lost to North Gwinnett 39-17 in the season-opener at ‘the Benz’ last season.

This year, it was a different story.

The Indians got a touchdown run from four different players – Henry Pullen led the team with 16 carries for 96 yards and a score. Barner, Ty Nolan and Jarvis Nance each scored on a run.

Jacorey Shockley led McEachern receivers with six catches for 112 yards and a touchdown and Barner caught two passes for 71 yards and a touchdown. Justin Sinion added a 21-yard field goal for McEachern.

Walton quarterback Chris Peacock was 6-of-20 for 82 yards and a 13-yard touchdown pass to Noriega Thomspon. Dan Strickland kicked a 35-yard field goal and MJ Burnett returned an interception 71 yards for the Raiders.  

Houston County 31, Brookwood 24

Houston County receiver Jase Jordan lined up on the 17-yard line with the game tied at 24 and seconds left in regulation in the third contest of the day at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

He had only caught one pass in the game, an unproductive attempt. But on the final play, Jordan found space on the right side of the field and was led perfectly on a pass by quarterback Ryan Maxwell, leading to a game-winning 17-yard touchdown reception with seven seconds left.

Houston County set the tone early when Jordan Smith returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. Brookwood responded with a 24-yard run by Gary Chatman to tie the game minutes later.

Maxwell was 23-of-32 passing for 219 yards and two touchdowns – the other a 35-yarder to MJ Mathis early in the second quarter, which gave the Bears a 14-7 lead. Chatman passed to Bryce Green on a 48-yard touchdown just before halftime to tie the game.

The teams traded a pair of field goals – a 22-yarder by Houston County’s Harrison Ludwig and a 48-yarder by Brookwood’s Brady Palma – to leave the game tied at 17 with 3:49 left in the third quarter. Houston County regained the 24-17 lead with a 73-yard run from Collin Anderson late in the third quarter.

Brookwood tied the game on a nine-yard run from Brayden Tyson with 8:35 remaining, setting up Jordan’s late-game heroics.

St. Pius X 15, Dunwoody 12

Trailing 12-7 St. Pius X relied on a six-yard run by Aiden Francois with 3:30 left in the game to take the lead for good in a 15-12 victory against Dunwoody in the opening game of the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Francois, who finished the game with eight carries for 46 yards and the go-ahead touchdown, was named the Robbie Hunter MVP of the game for his efforts.

“I am just so proud of the guys,” said St. Pius X head coach Chad Garrison, who took over the program in 2021. “They hung in there and overcame adversity on this big stage.”

Dunwoody opened scoring on a 22-yard field goal from Christian Lee with 16 seconds left in the first quarter. Pius took the lead on a 54-yard pass from Dexter Moseley to Conley Goodlife with 1:46 left in the first half. Dunwoody’s Lee kicked a 29-yard field goal to cap an eight-play, 68-yard drive, narrowing the margin to 7-6 at half.

Dunwoody quarterback Jack Quartararo – who was 14-of-24 passing for 234 yards and two interceptions – scored on a short run to put the Wildcats ahead 12-7 with 7:24 left in the game. The game winning drive by St. Pius covered 80 yards in seven plays, setting up the game-winning run by Francois.

Follow the link to see the full stats from each of the 11 Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic games.

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