Fifth-ranked Kell runs through No. 6 Hiram
As the Hiram offense struggled to get anything going against fifth-ranked Kell, the Longhorns stuck to their tried-and-true yet simple formula — hand the ball to Chris Gaines and Brian Randolph.
Gaines rushed for 167 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, and Randolph had 79 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries to lead the Longhorns (5-0 overall, 2-0 in Region 5-AAAA North) to a 30-7 victory over sixth-ranked Hiram at Hornets Stadium on Friday night.
Gaines, a 5-foot-10, 195-pounder had 128 of his yards in the decisive first half. His 38-yard run on the Longhorns’ first possession set up a 32-yard field goal by Kyle Morris, and he gave Kell a 17-0 lead midway through the second quarter with a 37-yard run. Gaines’ touchdown run came two plays after Randolph intercepted a Jared McClain pass and returned it 16 yards to the Hiram 40.
Randolph, a 6-foot, 190-pound senior who was a Super 11 selection this season, scored Kell’s first touchdown on a nifty 16-yard on which he ducked under traffic at the line of scrimmage and emerged untouched.
He added Kell’s final touchdown early in the fourth quarter, racing around the right side and going 23 yards for the score.
“It’s great,” Kell quarterback Austin Petrik said of his backfield. “They’re game-changers. They can take over the game at any moment.”
Petrik also scored a first-half touchdown, sneaking it in from the 1 with 33.8 seconds to play in the second quarter to give Kell its 24-0 halftime lead. He also was 4-for-8 passing for 95 yards.
Hiram (4-1, 1-1) managed just 68 yards of total offense in the first half, but it finally got something going at the start of the third quarter. The Hornets received the second-half kickoff and went on a 17-play, 80-yard drive that was capped by Javon Simon’s 1-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal. The drive, which took almost seven minutes, cut Kell’s lead to 24-7. But the Hornets never threatened again.
“They were highly ranked, but we just had to come out hard and hit them in the mouth,” Petrik said. “They’re a great football team and they fought with us the whole game.”
