The Archer Tigers opened Day 2 of the Kell-Hunter Classic by dominating from start to finish in a 35-16 win over the North Forsyth Raiders on Thursday at West Forsyth.
Tigers sophomore quarterback Jordan Do, making his first prep start, completed 28 of his 47 passes for 279 and three touchdowns to two interceptions, to lead the offense.His leading receiver was another sophomore, Jonathan Stafford, Jr., who had 13 catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns, all game-highs.
With the win, the Tigers (1-0), who compete in Region 4-7A, are on the winning track after going 2-8 last season and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2013.
“For our players, this validates the blind faith they had to have in our process, culture and connection that we’ve been talking about this whole offseason,” Archer second-year coach Dante Williams said. “This was really our first offseason. When I first got the job, I was still splitting half days at Collins Hill. It was just a matter of getting them to buy in to everything, from 5 a.m. workouts in March, when football was so far away...to see the outcome today...I’m really happy for our team.”
In a rematch of last year’s opener at the Kell Classic, which North Forsyth won 21-7, it was the Tigers who jumped to a 21-0 lead with 5:21 left in the half on Do’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Stafford. It was their second time connecting for a score. With 5:40 left in the first, they opened the game’s scoring on a 27-yard pass.
The Raiders got on the board with a Caden Macias 27-yard field goal with 1:22 left in the half, and they opened the second half’s scoring on Elijah Seaney’s 17-yard pass to Brady Holbrook, which made the score 21-10 with 4:31 left in the third.
The Tigers would respond with 0:55 left in the third when Do connected with Isaac Michel on a 7-yard reception for his third passing touchdown, making it 28-10. The Raiders would score again to start the fourth quarter, but failed on the 2-point conversion.
With 2:50 remaining, Jason Fisher ran 19 yards for a Tigers touchdown to bring the score to its final margin.
Offensively, the difference was Archer’s air attack, which netted 279 yards to North Forsyth’s 140. The Tigers rushed for 87 yards to the Raiders’ 81. Another key difference was third-down conversions. Archer was 6 of 15, North Forsyth was 1 of 11.
All game, it was a struggle for the Raiders to find a rhythm offensively. Williams credits his defense, which was led by eight tackles from Amari Jones and Cannan Edwards. Kendall Lee had an interception, and Trent Mapp had a sack.
“They played tenacious,” he said. That’s what our defensive coordinator, Ryan Douglas, wants. A tenacious front seven and guys to be disciplined on the back end. We’re athletic on the back end, so we can do some things. We played physical football. Everything was downhill. We want to dictate what our opponent does to us, and I’m proud of those guys.
The Raiders (0-1) compete in 8-6A and are coming off an 8-4 campaign, the program’s most wins since 2005. They also advanced to the second round after failing to qualify the previous two postseasons.
They were led by Seaney, who was 18-for-35 for 140 yards and two touchdowns and an interception. Cole Smith had six catches for 58 yards and touchdown, followed by Holbrook (4-50-1). Defensively, CJ Lenyszyn led the way with two interceptions and three pass breakups, and Colter Vela and Colton Constable each had a game-high 10 tackles. Brody Hancock had a sack.
Next week, Archer travels to North Gwinnett and North Forsyth hosts Forsyth Central.
Archer 7 14 7 7 - 35
North Forsyth 0 3 7 6 - 16
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