Norcross held off Valdosta, 34-31, in a wild battle that featured back-to-back 99-yard kickoff returns and nine turnovers Saturday in the Corky Kell Classic at the Georgia Dome.
Norcross starting quarterback Baron Radcliff scored on runs of 57 and 42 yards and threw a 23-yard touchdown to Jordan Palmer. Backup quarterback Chris Allen threw a 78-yard touchdown to Robert Sims to fuel the Blue Devils’ offense.
Valdosta quarterback Seth Shuman threw touchdowns to Tim Griffin and JJ Strickland. Shuman, a strong-armed senior, also set up a short touchdown run by Strickland with a 24-yard scrambling completion to Wesley Neal on 3rd and 14. Strickland's touchdown run brought the Wildcats within three, 34-31, heading into the fourth quarter.
But Norcross came up with key stops in the fourth quarter and prevailed.
"We grew up a little bit and made some plays and fought through adversity. That's the biggest thing," Norcross coach Keith Maloof said. "When you overcome turnovers and things like that, that's when you grow up a little bit; that's when you get better."
The teams exchanged kickoff returns for touchdowns in the third quarter. After Radcliff scored on his second long touchdown run, Valdosta’s Jayce Rogers returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards a touchdown, ending a run of 20 straight Norcross points and trimming the Blue Devils’ lead to 27-24 midway through the quarter. But Norcross’ Jacobe Burrell returned the favor on Valdosta’s following kickoff, racing 99 yards through the Wildcats’ coverage team for a touchdown to put the Blue Devils back up by 10.
The teams combined for 31 points in the first quarter. Shuman hooked up with Griffin on an 80-yard touchdown pass on the Wildcats’ second play from scrimmage. Norcross responded with a 57-yard touchdown run by quarterback Radcliff on the Blue Devils’ first play from scrimmage that made it 7-7 less than a minute into the game.
Valdosta regained the lead on a short touchdown pass from Shuman to Strickland and had all the momentum after Sherrod Gore’s interception led to a Tyshon Neal 33-yard field goal put the Wildcats up 17-7. But Norcross settled down and got touchdown passes from Radcliff and Allen to take a 21-17 lead into halftime. The Blue Devils wouldn’t trail again.
Next season will be the Corky Kell Classic's 25th year in the Georgia Dome, but its future home is uncertain. Dave Hunter, who founded the event in 1992, said preliminary discussions have taken place about moving the Corky Kell to the retractable-roof stadium being built for the Atlanta Falcons in 2017, but nothing has been finalized yet.
This year’s Classic featured seven games spread over two days. Sandy Creek and Archer posted victories Friday, and Kell and Mill Creek picked up wins in Saturday’s early games.
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