First-half passing, second-half rushing proves the right mix for Kell

The first-round playoff game between Kell and Houston County started out as a passing display featuring two of the top quarterbacks in Class 6A and turned into a running game in the second half.

Ask

Which team is the best in Georgia?Who are this year's Super 11 Players?When are the state championships?

Either way the game was played, Kell had control of it.

The Longhorns passed for 172 yards in building a 27-7 lead in the first half and rushed for 126 yards in the final two quarters to complete a 37-17 victory Friday night in Marietta.

Kell (9-2), the No. 15 seed, advanced to a second-round matchup at No. 2 seed Lee County, which advanced with a 55-0 victory over Northside of Warner Robins. The Longhorns won their first-round game for the third straight season and the fourth time in head coach Bobby May’s five seasons. Kell reached the semifinals last year, losing to eventual champion Creekside 35-6.

“We’ve tried to change the culture in the last five years, and I feel like we’ve done a good job of doing that,” May said. “Obviously next week’s an even tougher test. Playing down in Leesburg’s no fun, but it is what it is.”

Houston County (5-6), the No. 18 seed, was eliminated in the first round for the first time since 2021.

Kell quarterback Boston Pierce, the leading passer in Class 6A with 2,826 yards during the regular season, got the Longhorns off to a strong start with 172 yards passing and two touchdowns in the first half. For the game, he completed 15 of 23 attempts for 217 yards.

Houston County’s Ryan Maxwell passed for 2,277 yards in the regular season, and he too was hot in the first half, completing 15 of 25 passes for 204 yards. Trailing by 20 points, however, the Bears turned things over to freshman Abram Wilkerson in the second half. Wilkerson attempted just six passes as Houston County leaned on sophomore Arias Clyde, who finished with 101 yards on 17 carries. Clyde entered the game with just 12 carries for the season.

The teams combined for 43 pass attempts in the first half and just 11 in the second.

The game also featured two of the most recognizable running backs in Class 6A — Houston County’s Austin Stinson and Kell’s Moonie Gipson — but neither were major factors in the game.

Stinson, committed to Colorado State, was the second-leading rusher in Class 6A during the regular season with 1,727 yards. He left Friday’s game with an injury midway through the second quarter and did not return. He finished with 4 yards on seven carries.

Gipson, an AJC Super 11 selection and Georgia Tech commit, missed time earlier in the season recovering from a leg injury suffered in the 2025 playoffs but had been rounding into form recently, rushing for more than 100 yards in three of his past four games. This week he was dealing with illness and played mainly in the second half, rushing for 38 yards on 14 carries.

Noah Daniel picked up the slack, rushing for 207 yards on 14 carries. Daniel entered the game with 473 rushing yards for the season.

“Noah’s a heck of a player,” May said. “Moonie had strep throat all week, so he’s been battling through a fever and sore throat. We’re glad he gave us anything, but he wasn’t up to his best and Noah stepped up.”

Ultimately, Houston County was undone by turnovers. The Bears lost three fumbles, threw an interception and turned the ball over on downs three times, twice near midfield.

No turnover was bigger than the one on Houston County’s second possession. The Bears had first-and-goal at the Kell 1 yard line after a 64-yard pass from Maxwell to Stinson. On the next play, however, Clyde fumbled into the end zone, and Kell’s Langston Jones recovered it and returned it to the Houston County 45. Three plays later, Kell took a 7-0 lead on Pierce’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Brock Burrus.

“We’re proud of our defense,” May said. “They forced a lot of turnovers. Offensively, obviously we gave them the ball too much, but thankfully our defense stepped up, not only in turnovers but we got a couple of fourth-down stops, big fourth-down stops against a good offensive line and a good running back.”

Houston County tied the game on its next possession, but Kell took the lead for good at 14-7 three plays later on a 79-yard pass from Pierce to Kamoni Adams, who caught it after it deflected off a teammate’s hands.

Daniel’s 62-yard touchdown run and field goals of 41 and 39 yards by Gabe Dias increased the lead to 27-7 by halftime. Houston County never got closer than 10 points in the second half.