It took the Eagles a few possessions to find the end zone, but once they did they couldn’t stop, building a large halftime lead they’d carry through to a 36-10 win on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the final game of the Corky Kell Classic.
The Eagles had a big game from 5-star receiver and Florida State commit Travis Hunter, who had 13 catches for 232 yards and two scores. He also completed his only pass, a 28-yard touchdown.
“That was a down drop,” Hunter said of the designed pass play. “I’m the QB1 now.”
His quarterback, Sam Horn — a 4-star committed to Missouri — was 31 of 44 for 402 yards with three touchdowns to two interceptions.
The Eagles (1-0), ranked No. 2 in 7A after reaching the championship last season, saw their first three drives end in two punts and an interception. However, Hunter broke their scoring seal with 8:08 with a 77-yard touchdown reception to make it 7-3 Collins Hill. On the play, he separated himself from the Broncos defense by at least 15-yards as raced to the end zone.
“I don’t want to say that I got so open, it’s just, that’s me,” Hunter said. “That’s why I’m so open. That’s me. That’s why.”
Though the Broncos would respond when quarterback Dylan Lonergan connected with Stone Bonner on a 24-yard touchdown, the Eagles would tack on two unanswered touchdowns to close out the half and take a 21-10 lead into the locker room. Horn hit Richard Ransom for a 17-yard touchdown, and then Hunter through his touchdown pass to Cameron Pedro, which came with 0:26 left in the half.
The Eagles would tack on a 30-yard Isaac Bonacci field goal and a 24-yard Horn rushing touchdown to extend the lead to 30-10, and closed out their scoring in the fourth with Hunter’s final touchdown, a 31-yard reception from Horn.
Pedro had eight catches for 86 yards and a touchdown and Ryan Stephens led the Eagles ground attack with 62 yards on seven carries. Jayvon Hatch led the defense with 11 tackles, and Jaylen George had 2.5 sacks. Hunter, for good measure, also reeled in an interception at defensive back.
Now the Eagles will look to capitalize on Horn and Hunter’s final year by winning their first state title for a program that began in 1994. They set a record for wins last year (12-3) and reached their lone title game.
Eagles coach Lenny Gregory was proud of the way his team fought through its struggles.
“We shot ourselves in the foot a lot tonight,” he said. “We had a lot of missed opportunities. We had two interceptions that we threw in the red zone that should have been touchdowns...A lot of weird things going on but I’m proud of the kids for never doubting themselves, playing hard and just sticking to the plan. So, it was a good team effort. It’s Week 1 and we’ve got a to improve on from this week.”
The Broncos (0-1), unranked out of 7A, finished 8-3 last season, qualified for the playoffs a fifth consecutive season.
Lonergan was 16 of 31 for 197 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Bonner was his leading receiver with six catches for 111 yards and a touchdown. Defensive back Patrick Campbell had two interceptions.
For complete game stats, go here.
About the Author
