Harris County's Madalynn Cauley shines in opening day of Georgia Elite Classic: Day 1 recaps

The Georgia Elite Classic is taking place at Rome's Barron Stadium Saturday and Sunday with 10 games that showcase some of the best tackle and flag football talent around the state. Follow the link for full stats from each of the games or check out the Saturday recaps below.

Upperclassmen Flag Football All-Stars

Blue Team 27, Gold Team 7

Quarterback Madalynn Cauley picked up right where she left off after leading Harris County to the program’s first-ever state championship weeks ago. The senior was 17-of-23 passing for 147 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Blue Team to victory during the opening day of the Georgia Elite Classic at Rome’s Barron Stadium.

Cauley connected with Seckinger’s Peyton Fountain on a 26-yard touchdown to open scoring.

The Gold Team tied the game with 2:13 left in the first quarter on a 28-yard pass from Columbus’ quarterback Harmony Franklin to North Cobb’s Jordyn Cowan to cap a six-play, 66 yards drive.

Then, Cauley took over.

She passed to Brookwood’s Laila Henderson on a 24-yard touchdown with 5:35 left in the third quarter, capping a seven-play, 66-yard drive and giving the Blue Team a 14-7 lead. Henderson was also Cauley’s target with 45 seconds left in the third quarter and the short touchdown pass expanded the lead to 21-7. Cauley connected with Henderson again, this time on a 10-yarder to cap a seven-play, 29-yard drive.

Underclassmen Flag Football All-Stars

Blue Team 13, Gold Team 6

A 66-yard pass from Sequoyah quarterback Bella Woods to Alpharetta’s Makenzie Snare proved the deciding play to lift the Underclassmen Blue Team past the Gold Team in the Georgia Elite Classic at Rome’s Barron Stadium.

Woods opened scoring with a five-yard touchdown run to cap a 10-play, 77-yard drive with three seconds left in the first quarter. The Blue Team would hold that narrow lead until 4:44 in the fourth quarter when Alexander quarterback Kennedy Cantrell passed to Southeast Bulloch’s Addy Gray, tying the game at 6-6 and setting up the game-winning 66-yard pass from Woods to Snare.

The Gold Team had its chances, but the Blue Team defense was anchored with interceptions from Snare and Mount Paran’s Scarlett Jones, thwarting key drives.

Woods was 17-of-21 passing for 176 yards and a touchdown while Cantrell was 6-of-9 passing for 47 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.

7th Grade All-Stars

Gold Team 32, Blue Team 21

Nursing a 16-13 lead midway through the second quarter, the Gold Team found a rhythm and reeled of three consecutive scores to extend the margin and put the game out of reach in the penultimate game of the opening day of the Georgia Elite Classic at Rome’s Barron Stadium.

The Blue team went ahead first on a 63-yard pass from Taylor Road’s Kynj Carter to McCluskey’s Elijah Prince. The Gold team overtook the lead on a 39-yard run from Forsyth Central’s Shawn Erhabor with 3:02 left in the first. Erhabor’s ensuing run gave the Gold Team an 8-6 lead.

Kell’s Ethan Bretti broke free on a 68-yard run to cap a two-play, 70-yard drive with 2:13 left in the first quarter, giving the Blue Team a 13-8 advantage. Calhoun’s Eli Mullins regained the lead for the Gold Team on a short run with five minutes left in the first half. Colt Welch passed to North Forsyth’s Hasten Coleman on a 20-yard touchdown to push the lead to 24-13 with 24 seconds before halftime.

Welch’s three-yard touchdown run with 3:52 left in the game gave the Gold Team a 32-13 lead. Roswell’s Maxwell Saunders scored on a two-yard run with 10 seconds left in the game to cap scoring.

8th Grade All-Stars

Gold Team 30, Blue Team 6

Due to popular demand and massive rosters, the 8th Grade All-Star game was played with five quarters to ensure each player had ample playing time. And the Gold Team made the most of the extra quarter.

It began with a team safety with 2:53 left in the first quarter which set the tone for the Gold Team in its 30-6 victory against the Blue Team in the final day of the opening of the Georgia Elite Classic at Rome’s Barron Stadium

The Gold Team took a 9-0 lead on a 30-yard pass from Jefferson’s Jackson White to Blessed Trinity’s JD Dillard with 4:37 left in the second quarter. The Blue Team got on the board on a 52-yard pass from West Jackson’s Lincoln Gilford to Couch’s Leonard Horton with 3:15 remaining before halftime.

Quarterback Knox Day, a Prince Avenue Christian product, broke free on an 80-yard touchdown run to give the Gold Team a 16-6 advantage with 2:48 left in the fourth quarter. The Gold Team scored on a 16-yard pass from Gainesville’s DJ Colburn to Lambert’s Owen Swicicki with 4:54 left in the fifth quarter. A 25-yard touchdown run from Dalton’s Brayden Beltran with 24 seconds remaining capped scoring.

White was 4-of-10 passing for 70 yards and a touchdown. Day finished with 93 yards and a touchdown on four carries. Beltran had six carries for 30 yards and a score. Dillard made two catches for 62 yards and a touchdown.

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