Sports

Kell 14, Sprayberry 10

By S. Thomas Coleman
Nov 1, 2014

With everything seemingly going against Kell, somehow the Longhorns found a way.

Trailing 10-0 entering the fourth quarter and sputtering on offense most of the night against a fast, feisty Sprayberry defense, Kell (9-0, 6-0 in Region 7, Division B) scored two touchdowns during a five minute span late in the period to stun upset-minded Sprayberry, 14-10, on Senioir Night at C.J. Kell Stadium in Marietta.
Already leading 7-0, Sprayberry (6-3, 5-1) upped its lead to 10-0 two minutes into the fourth quarter on a 56-yard field goal by Rodrigo Blankenship.   The senior had missed a 54-yarder just before the end of the half.  But with a stiff wind and steady drizzle at his back, Blankenship drilled the second attempt with plenty to spare.

Kell’s offense continued to sputter on its next possession, a result of the Yellow Jackets’ stingy defense, ranked No. 6 in all of Class AAAAA, combined with penalties, blown assignments and dropped passes. Sprayberry appeared to be driving for another score to put the game on ice, but Andrew Pereira’s pass deep down the left sideline was intercepted by sophomore Shamaar Bennett at the Longhorn 8-yard line.

Kell’s offense finally got going and six plays into their possession, senior quarterback Cameron Rosendahl snapped a quick screen along the near sideline to senior Emmanuel Dennis, who split two Sprayberry defenders and sprinted 65 yards to cut the Yellow Jacket lead to 10-7.

Sprayberry standout Rakeem Myricks was injured returning the ensuing kickoff, and without him on offense, the Yellow Jackets went three-and-out at their 22-yard line. But Blankenship boomed his second 50-plus yard punt of the night and Kell took over on its 29-yard line with a little more than two minutes left in regulation.

Rosendahl completed two passes, escaping sacks on both, and a holding penalty on the Sprayberry secondary moved the ball to the Yellow Jacket 35-yard line. Then Rosendahl faked a jet sweep handoff to Derrick White, moving right to left, and instead handed off to Ivan Walls on an inside trap. The junior busted through the middle of the line and outsprinted the Sprayberry defense for a 35-yard touchdown to give the Longhorns their first lead of the night, 14-10.
On the ensuing kickoff, Sprayberry’s run of bad luck continued with two players collided trying to catch the pop-up kick off and left the ball on the ground. Kell recovered and ran out the clock to put the program in line to win third consecutive region title.

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S. Thomas Coleman

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