It seemed like a safe enough gamble. Kell needed six inches for a first down and 6 yards for the fourth-quarter, go-ahead touchdown in a game where points were at a premium. But the Longhorns’ gamble went south, propelling Statesboro to next week’s Class AAAA semifinals with a 17-7 victory.
Needing six inches, quarterback Austin Petrick got half of that on a fourth-down quarterback keeper with 10:24 to play, ending Kell’s go-ahead drive at the Statesboro 6-yard line.
Two plays later, Statesboro’s sophomore Dequan Daniels spun off a tackle at the line of scrimmage and sprinted 90 yards to put the Blue Devils up 17-7 and seal the win.
Daniels ran for 212 yards — all but 36 of them in the second half — to lead the Blue Devils. Kell’s vaunted running game, meanwhile, was largely stifled. Brian Randolph, coming off a 200-plus-yard game last week, ran for only 46 yards on eight carries. Chris Gaines added 55 yards.
Statesboro’s defense kept Kell off balance most of the night, but equally significant was how Statesboro’s ball-control offense kept Kell’s defense on the field too much.
Daniels’ 38-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter gave Statesboro a 10-7 lead. A three-point deficit normally wouldn’t be too daunting for a 12-0 team. But nothing was normal Friday, as Kell never could get its reliable offense on track.
The Longhorns drove the length of the field early in the fourth quarter, setting up their chance for the go-ahead touchdown. They got the ball inside the Statesboro 20 late in the game but again could not convert a fourth-down play.
Neither team could muster much offense in the first half. The field was just wet enough to be slick, the wind was strong enough to be pesky and the defenses were just good enough to bottle up each other’s potent run game.
Statesboro scored first with a 30-yard Caleb Brown field goal late in the first quarter.
A couple of possessions later, Kell’s Petrick found Hunter Marshall for a 32-yard touchdown pass to give Kell a 7-3 lead. That would be the extent of the first-half offense.
Kell’s Brian Randolph, who ran for more than 200 yards last week, had 13 yards on four carries in the first half, and finished with only 48 yards. Statesboro’s answer to Randolph, Daniels, came into the game with 1,312 yards and 16 touchdowns. But after running for 25 yards on his first carry, he totaled only 11 yards on his next 11 carries in the first half.
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