Since losing their season opener to Class 7A power Parkview, the Kell Longhorns have done nothing but win. Coach Bobby May’s team has put together a five-game winning streak and have moved back into the AJC rankings at No. 10.
“We’ve been starting to put it together a little bit,” May said. “Hopefully we’re trending in the right direction.”
The Longhorns bring another explosive offensive team in May’s second season at the helm. Kell is averaging 42.3, the fewest points coming in the season-opening 43-24 loss to Parkview.
“Last year we were a little more vanilla. We only started one senior,” May said. “This year everybody’s on their second year with the offense and we’re able to play with a little more tempo. They’re a bit more comfortable with the game, so we can add some things. All these guys have a ton of experience, so that helps a bunch and we have really talented skill players so we’re able to create some big plays.”
The Longhorns have used two quarterbacks this season – Bryce Clavon and Kemari Nix, a pair of seniors.
Clavon threw for 2,668 yards and 24 touchdowns as a junior and is one of the region’s top players, but his future lies in baseball. He missed three early-season games while playing for the USA Baseball National 18-and-under team in the Baseball World Cup in Taiwan. Clavon is expected to be a high draft choice in the spring.
He returned to throw five touchdown passes against Centennial and three against Northview. His totals in three games are 627 yards and nine touchdowns.
“I wouldn’t say Bryce is in midseason form right now, but he’s still playing well,” May said. "
Nix played 11 games last season and threw for 1,408 yards and 12 touchdowns. Through six games this year he’s thrown for 692 yards and nine touchdowns. But his contributions go deeper than that, as Nix is versatile enough to play running back, receiver, linebacker, safety.
“We’re hoping to get both those guys on the field at the same time. It’s really good for us,” May said. “We’re trying to get them on the same page.”
The Longhorns have outstanding players at the skill position. The big guns at receiver are Kyle Vaka (20 catches, 22.6 average, seven touchdowns) who May called “the most underrated receiver in the state. He’s been a big-play guy and he’s really consistent,” and Peyton Zachery (23 catches, 14.9 average, five touchdowns) who he referred to as “the best sophomore receiver in the state.”
May said, “Those two guys are tough to cover and we have some other receivers who are a lot better than their numbers. It makes it hard to double Peyton and Kyle, because the other receivers are very capable, too.”
A pair of youngsters lead the team in rushing. Freshman Quinterrius Gipson has rushed for 431 yards and five touchdowns and sophomore Tyriq Green has run for 426 yards and five touchdowns. Nix (240 yards) and Clavon (158) are also threats to keep it and run.
The defense is led by senior linebacker Elijah Washington (30 tackles, five tackles for loss), who moved over from running back, and junior lineman Tyshawn Natt, who leads the team with 42 tackles, including 17 tackles for loss and six sacks.
Kell plays at Cambridge on Friday, looking for a bit of revenge. The Bears handed Kell its only regular-season loss last season and won the Region 6 title.
In other key games this week:
Dutchtown at Jones County: Dutchtown (2-4, 1-1 Region 2) has had numerous close calls – a one-point loss to Class 3A No. 1 Cedar Grove, a one-touchdown loss to No. 9 Warner Robins. Coach Niketa Battle’s team gets no break this week against Jones County (5-2, 3-0), which has a four-game winning streak and knocked Ola out of the top-10 with its 48-17 win.
Northside Columbus at Northgate: Another intriguing game in Region 3. Northgate (5-2, 1-0) put the hammer down on McIntosh last week, while Northside (4-3, 0-1) was beaten 27-7 by Harris County. A win by Northgate would set up a possible showdown with Harris County for the region title.
“(Northside) is a tough, physical team,” said Northgate coach Mike McDonald, who won the 100th game of his career last week. “I think they were probably the most physical team we played last year. They’ll really get after you.”
Northgate ran for 419 yards last week against McIntosh, with Evan Garrett running for 282 and scoring on a 99-yard kickoff return to start the game. Malachi Mitchell had the highest grade on the offensive line.
Hiram at Cartersville: In an important Region 7 games, No. 8 Hiram (6-1, 1-1) will try to bounce back from its first loss by traveling to play No. 4 Cartersville (7-0, 3-0), which escaped an upset bid last week to beat Cass in overtime.
“Hiram has playmakers across the board and they play hard all the time,” Cartersville coach Conor Foster said on GPB’s Football Fridays in Georgia Podcast. “We’ll have to win the line of scrimmage, be successful on first downs and continue to take care of the ball. We need to create some turnovers and play well on special teams.”
Flowery Branch at Jefferson: Jefferson has been the best team in Region 8 all season. The Dragons (6-0, 2-0) will try to hold onto their share of the region lead against Flowery Branch (4-3, 2-1), who have won back-to-back region games after losing in overtime to Eastside, the other co-leader.
Jefferson celebrated coach John Tester’s 50th birthday last week by scoring 34 points by halftime on the way to a 48-0 win over Winder-Barrow.
“It will be a huge challenge for sure,” Tester told Access WDUN. “All of our goals are still achievable. Jefferson, though, is a different beast.”
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