In what could be called the most anticipated game of the Kell Classic, the Lassiter Trojans took on the North Gwinnett Bulldogs and it was game expected to have a lot of offense.
There was a lot of offense, at least for the Bulldogs, as they run and throw all over the Trojans and get a huge 34-14 win.
The first quarter of the contest started off the way most fans thought it would; fast and exciting. Lassiter got the fireworks going first as quarterback Eddie Printz threw an 81-yard touchdown screen pass to wide receiver Charlie Hegedus to put the Trojans up by seven. But North Gwinnett was not going to let Lassiter have all the fun, as quarterback C.J. Uzomah threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Kilgore to tie the game midway through the first quarter.
Later in the quarter, North Gwinnett was driving towards Lassiter territory, but Uzomah fumbled on a quarterback draw and the Trojans were able to recover. Lassiter was not able to capitalize, however, due to an illegal shift penalty, a sack by North Gwinnett defensive end Justin Alabi and blocked punt by the Bulldogs killed the Lassiter drive.
That led to a Kilgore 1-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter to put the Bulldogs up by only six because kicker Jeff Haltey missed the extra point. The Bulldogs were able to cushion their lead later in the quarter, as Donnie Miles ran for a 3-yard touchdown run to put North Gwinnett up 20-7. That drive started at Lassiter’s 29-yard line.
North Gwinnett had a shot to cushion their lead late before the half, but another special teams breakdown cost the Bulldogs points due to a Hartley blocked field goal.
That was the last big highlight for the Trojans because North Gwinnett took over the rest of the contest. Midway through the third quarter, Miles hit the hole for 29-yard run which leads to a Miles 1-yard touchdown run to put North Gwinnett up by 20. The Trojans tried to get something going on the ensuing drive, but a deep Printz pass was intercepted by Timothy Hill and that was the nail in the coffin for the Trojans.
The next offensive series for North Gwinnett started late in the third quarter and ended midway through the fourth and it ended with a Dante Sawyer 4-yard touchdown run to put the team from Suwanee up by 27.
Lassiter was able to score late in the fourth with a Printz touchdown pass to Hegedus, but it was too little too late and North Gwinnett improved to 1-0 for the year while Lassiter dropped to 0-1.
For North Gwinnett, they will be back in action next week to host Bob Jones (Ala.). Lassiter will have next week off and look to regroup when they travel to Sprayberry on September 3.