Lassiter struck the first blow with a touchdown on the third play of the game, but third-ranked North Gwinnett responded by scoring the game’s next 34 points and cruised to a 34-14 victory against the Trojans at the Georgia Dome on Saturday in the Corky Kell Classic.
Running backs Ethan Kilgore and Donnie Miles each scored two touchdowns and had more than 100 yards of offense for North Gwinnett.
“Ethan and Donnie, both of those backs are really feeding off each other, and with the receivers we’ve got, that gives them a lot of opportunities,” said North Gwinnett coach Bob Sphire, who is 47-8 in his fifth season at the school.
“That’s the great thing about the spread [offense]; those guys that play those running back positions can do so many things for our offense.”
Kilgore caught a 26-yard pass from C.J. Uzomah for a touchdown to tie the score midway through the first quarter, then gave the Bulldogs the lead for good when he scored on a 2-yard run on the third play of the second quarter. He finished with 59 yards rushing on 10 carries and had five receptions for 50 yards.
Miles had touchdown runs of 1 and 3 yards and finished with 103 rushing yards on 11 carries and had four catches for 25 yards.
Uzomah, who split his time between quarterback and wide receiver, passed for 97 yards, rushed for 12 on five carries, and had three receptions for 32 yards.
Despite the loss of quarterback Hutson Mason (now a backup at Georgia) and coach Chip Lindsey (an assistant at Troy), Lassiter started off as if it wouldn’t miss a beat from last season, when it set several state passing records and averaged 41 points per game.
On the third play from scrimmage, new starting quarterback Eddie Printz, a sophomore, hit Charlie Hegedus with a short pass that Hegedus took 81 yards for a touchdown just 1:18 into the game.
But North Gwinnett shut the Trojans down from there. Lassiter managed only 17 yards the rest of the half and was outgained 422-160 in the game.
“After that one big play I thought our defense really pressured their quarterback and tilted the field with a couple of sacks, and our punt-return game was outstanding," Sphire said.
“So I think the combination of those things really set the table for our offense.”
Printz was 16-for-30 for 174 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
*****
Lassiter 7-0-0-7 — 14
North Gwinnett 7-13-7-7 — 34
L — Eddie Printz 81 pass to Charlie Hegedus (Colin Mills kick)
N — C.J. Uzomah 26 pass to Ethan Kilgore (Jeff Hatley kick)
N — Kilgore 2 run (kick blocked)
N — Donnie Miles 3 run (Hatley kick)
N — Donnie Miles 1 run (Hatley kick)
N — Dante Sawyer 3 run (Hatley kick)
L — Printz 18 pass to Hegedus (Mills kick)
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