Anyone who was concerned that the Kell Longhorns’ offense might struggle while Bryce Clavon was honoring his baseball commitments can rest a little easier after Friday night.
Kemari Nix stepped up in a big way for the star quarterback against host Allatoona, completing 13 of 18 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 53 yards and a touchdown on six carries to lead the Longhorns (1-1) to a 41-29 victory.
“He did a great job,” Kell coach Bobby May said. “He played with poise. We trusted him to do it, and he did a great job making plays when we needed it. I’m really proud of him.”
Clavon found out Friday that he had made the 18U National Team that will travel to Taipei, Taiwan, to compete in the World Baseball Softball Confederation U-18 Baseball World Cup from Sept. 1-10.
Clavon, who also will miss the Longhorns’ next two games, is ranked in baseball by Perfect Game as the No. 1 senior in Georgia and a top-10 prospect nationally. He is a three-star recruit in football.
But this game belonged to Nix, a three-star senior committed to Arkansas State who is projected as a safety in college. His biggest play of the night was likely his 28-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter that gave Kell a 35-22 lead and some breathing room that neither team had enjoyed during a first half full of lead changes, big plays and quick responses.
Allatoona (0-2) closed to within 35-29 on the first play of the fourth quarter, but Kell answered six plays later with an 11-yard touchdown run by Tyriq Green that put the game away.
Green ran for 114 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries, and he got a lot of help in the running game from Moonie Gipson, who had 130 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Kyle Vaka had seven receptions for 164 yards and a touchdown.
After Kell scored on its first possession of the game on a 3-yard run by Gipson, the lead changed hands six times over the next 21 minutes. Four of those changes in momentum were touchdown plays of 58 yards or longer.
An 18-yard touchdown run by Allatoona quarterback Saadiq Teel and the following two-point conversion gave Allatoona an 8-7 lead with 3:29 to play in the quarter. Nix threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to Vaka on the first play after the ensuing kickoff to reclaim the lead, but Allatoona answered with a one-play drive of its own, a 50-yard pass Teel to Aiden Guilbeau to put the Buccaneers ahead 15-14.
The teams also traded long touchdown plays in the final minute of the half. Allatoona took a 22-21 lead on Teel’s 64-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Rucker with 55 seconds left, but Kell reclaimed the lead two plays later on Green’s 65-yard touchdown run.
Rucker led Allatoona with 75 yards and a touchdown rushing. Teel passed for 180 yards.
The teams combined for 50 points and 557 yards of total offense in the first two quarters, but the game settled in in the second half.
“I’m happy to bounce back with a win,” said May, whose team lost to Parkview 43-24 last week. “Obviously a win’s a win, but we’re going to have to play better if we’re going to do what we’re supposed to do.”
Kell - 14-14-7-6 - 41
Allatoona - 15-7-0-7 - 29
First quarter
K - Moonie Gipson 3 run (Colin Mitchell kick), 9:26
A - Saadiq Teel 18 run (Addison Blackwell run), 3:29
K - Kyle Vaka 80 pass from Kemari Nix (Mitchell kick), 3:18
A - Aiden Guilbeau 58 pass from Teel (Gray Kelly kick), 2:51
Second quarter
K - Landon Mayes 30 pass from Nix (Mitchell kick), 9:30
A - Xavier Rucker 64 pass from Teel (Kelly kick), 0:55
K - Tyriq Green 65 run (Mitchell kick), 0:34
Third quarter
K - Nix 28 run (Mitchell kick), 6:01
Fourth quarter
A - Rucker 28 run (Kelly kick), 11:53
K - Green 11 run (kick failed), 9:11
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