CALHOUN, Ga. — Beset by injuries and the inexperience that often follows, Calhoun might have seemed ripe for the upset Friday night against Kell in the second round of the GHSA Class AAAAA playoffs.
The Yellow Jackets (9-3), however, turned to a tried-and-true game plan to dominate the visitors en route to a 34-7 win. Calhoun will travel to Ware County in next week’s quarterfinal round.
With leading rusher Caden Williams already out and second-leading rusher Emaree Winston getting injured early in Friday’s game, the Jackets didn’t miss a beat against the Longhorns (10-2). The defense forced five turnovers, and sophomore quarterback Trey Townsend was an efficient 11-for-15 passing for 111 yards and three touchdowns.
“I told them a couple of months ago that we were a team of weeds and that people were going to keep trying to put us down,” Calhoun coach Clay Stephenson said. “I’m as proud tonight of any team I’ve been around in the black and gold.”
Calhoun dominated from the start, going 64 yards on its first drive, all but 20 on the ground as Corbin Fuller, Winston and Kaleb Ray took turns gashing the Longhorns. After Ray ran three consecutive plays for 31 yards, Winston scored on a 3-yard run but was injured on the play and did not return.