North Atlanta outclassed Johns Creek in all facets in the first half of the opening game of the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic on the way to a 58-14 victory Wednesday against the Gladiators. It marked The Warriors second consecutive victory in the kickoff event.
“I was just happy to see our guys come out and start fast,” said North Atlanta coach Jamie Aull. “They were just ready to get after it and they came out and competed their tails off.”
The Warriors outgained Johns Creek 208-41 on rushing yards and 163-44 on receiving yards in the opening half, led by quarterback Ian Reynolds, who was 7-of-7 for 163 yards and two touchdowns to Grant Thompson and Xaden Benson.
Running back Demeitrus Barnes rushed for 102 yards and three touchdowns on eight carries to help North Atlanta build its 51-7 halftime lead.
The Warriors scored first on a 5-yard touchdown run from senior Barnes, following his 16-yard run to set up first-and-goal with 9:54 left in the first quarter and forced a safety with 7:43 left in the first quarter to expand the lead.
North Atlanta took little time capitalizing on the safety when Reynolds passed to Thompson for a 50-yard touchdown. Reynolds scored on the 2-point conversion to extend the lead to 17-0 with 7:25 left in the first quarter. The Warriors expanded the margin on a 26-yard touchdown reception from Benson with 4:03 left in the first quarter. Barnes found the end zone with 40 seconds left to push the advantage to 30-0.
Johns Creek forced a turnover and scored on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Mike McClellan to Larry Blumen with 9:09 left in the first half to cut into the lead 31-7.
Darrius Malcom, a star on the Warriors’ track team, broke free on a 92-yard kickoff return with 8:53 left in the first half to extend the lead to 38-7 for North Atlanta. With 3:55 left in the first half, Barnes scored on a 25-yard run, marking his third rushing touchdown of the game, and pushing the lead to 45-7.
Reynolds scored on a 30-yard run with 50 seconds left in the half to extend the lead to 51-7.
“It’s been huge to get our school and community and program in front of the whole state,” Aull said of playing in the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic. “We have won the last two years now and it’s huge for our program.”
Malcom added a 97-yard kickoff return to start the second half and extend the lead to 58-7 for North Atlanta.
“Guys like Malcom were on our track and field team,” Aull said. “Our track program is huge at our school and our running backs coach is our head track coach and so we try to get all of our skills players in that program.”
Johns Creek scored on a 7-yard touchdown pass from McClellan to Taz Smith with 11:39 left in the game to cut into the lead 58-14.
Barnes finished with 120 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries. Reynolds was 7-of-7 passing for 163 yards and two touchdowns with four carries for 85 yards and a touchdown. Thompson finished with two receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown while Benson had two receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown.
McClellan was 5-of-9 passing for 61 yards and two touchdowns for Johns Creek.
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