It’s the defense that rises to the occasion for Douglas County
It wasn’t one of Douglas County’s five Division I commits that made the biggest impact on Saturday. It was a couple of the Tigers’ supporting players who set the pace and provided the program with a season-opening signature win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the second straight year.
Class 6A No. 3 Douglas County defeated No. 6 North Gwinnett 21-7 in the marquee game of the 34th Corky Kell-Dave Hunter Classic, with defensive lineman Richard Dyce making two momentum plays and third-year running back Rah’keith Kelly scoring a pair of touchdowns.
Dyce, a senior with numerous offers from G5 schools including Georgia State and Kennesaw State, sparked the defense. Dyce caused a fumble, blocked a punt and finished with a game-high 10 tackles.
“Since January our defense has been getting disrespected,” Dyce said. “Everybody has been looking past us. We’ve got a point to prove. We’ve got to show all the nation that we’re the best defense and we’re going to stop any offense that comes in front of us.”
The Douglas County defense never allowed North Gwinnett’s offense to get comfortable and limited the Bulldogs to 143 total yards. Jamar Owens (Indiana) had five tackles and Jordan Carter (Texas A&M) had five tackles, one for loss. Sophomore Zaydrean Jackson also came up with an interception.
“That’s the best I’ve seen them play in three years,” Douglas County coach Johnny White said. “We’ve got work to do but I feel good.”
Douglas County quarterback Michael Johnson, a Utah signee who moved in from Dutchtown in the off-season, ran for 71 yards and threw for 35 yards and a touchdown in the first half, but did not return in the second half after tweaking his hamstring.
The Tigers were content to run the ball. Zamarcus Lindley carried 20 times for 74 yards and Kelly carried seven times for 26 yards and scored twice. Super 11 receiver Aaron Gregory (Texas A&M) had three catches for 28 yards, but running mate Devin Carter (FSU) did not play because of a hamstring.
The Douglas County defense came up with the first big play of the game when Jordan Smith forced Jake Godfree to fumble, and Dyce recovered at the North 33. The Tigers needed five plays to score with Kelly running it in from the 12.
Dyce created the next touchdown, too. He raced in to block Liam Hughey’s punt, which was recovered by Hughey at the 1. Two plays later Kelly scored from the 1 to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead with 0:38 left in the first quarter.
“I’d say that blocked kick was definitely a changing point in the game,” Dyce said. “We got the ball down on the one-yard line and gave the offense a chance to score.”
North got on the board with a 61-yard drive that began when Douglas County came up short on fourth-and-6. The Bulldogs scored when Godfree took a direct snap and ran around the left end, fighting off a tackler and falling into the end zone.
Johnson used his feet to answer. He ran for a key first down on fourth-and-1 at the 28, picking up 19 yards, ran for another first down and threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Dreaderious Reading with 2:42 left in the half.
North Gwinnett quarterback Elam Rahman, making his first start, completed 9 of 17 passes for 65 yards and one touchdown, but was sacked twice. Max Patterson caught four passes for 17 yards. Godfree led the team with 10 tackles and 3 ½ tackles for loss and had a team-high 18 yards rushing.
About the Author
Stan Awtrey has been covering sports for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1977. He currently writes about high school sports, Georgia State University athletics and golf.
