Douglas County Capitalizes on North Gwinnett Mistakes, Win Georgia Season Opener; key plays, scoring, recap

Saturday night’s clash between the No. 12 North Gwinnett Bulldogs and the No. 4 Douglas County Tigers is shaping up to be a can’t-miss high school football showdown. Both teams are loaded with Division I talent, making this a preview of the future of college football.

Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic is set for 8 p.m. Eastern inside of Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and you can follow along in the space below as we will provide live scoring and updates from the game in real time.

While these two squads don’t often play each other, fans will be treated to a game littered with big-time prospects. Nearly two dozen players hold Division I offers, and many have already committed to major programs across the country.

Douglas County’s roster is particularly stacked with top-end talent. The Tigers’ defense features a trio of four-star recruits in edge rusher Jordan Carter (Texas A&M), and safeties Kennedy Green and Adryan Cole, who have a combined 67 D1 offers. They also have three-star safety Jamar Owens (Indiana). Offensively, look for four-star wide receiver Aaron Gregory (Texas A&M), four-star offensive tackle Joshua Sam-Epelle (South Carolina) from the 2027 class, and three-star running back Zamarcus Lindley (17 D1 offers).

North Gwinnett will be more than ready to compete with its own crop of future college stars. The Bulldogs’ offense is anchored by three-star offensive lineman Zach Lewis, a Georgia commit. Their defense is led by three-star cornerback Chauncey Davis (Southern Miss) and three-star linebacker Jake Godfree, a highly sought-after recruit with 41 D1 offers.

For North Gwinnett

Zach Lewis, IOL: Three-star recruit, Committed to Georgia

Chauncey Davis, CB: Three-star recruit, Committed to Southern Miss

Jake Godfree, LB: Three-star recruit, Holds 41 D1 offers

For Douglas County

Jordan Carter, EDGE: Four-star recruit, Committed to Texas A&M

Aaron Gregory, WR: Four-star recruit, Committed to Texas A&M

Joshua Sam-Epelle, OT: Four-star recruit for the 2027 class, Committed to South Carolina

Kennedy Green, S: Four-star recruit, Holds 25 Division I offers

Adryan Cole, S: Four-star recruit, Holds 42 Division I offers

Jamar Owens, S: Three-star recruit, Committed to Indiana

Zamarcus Lindley, RB: Three star recruit, Holds 17 collegiate Division I offers

Eddie Alford, IOL: Three-star recruit, Committed to Memphis

Pregame

We are getting started a bit late, but the team are taking the field and we are about set for kickoff. The roof is closed at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Douglas County will be kicking off.

First Quarter

Nroth Gwinnett started the game at its own 19-yard line.

Prior to the first snap, North Gwinnett was flagged for a false start, moving the ball back to the 14.

Texas A&M commit Jordan Carter, Douglas County’s two-time all-state selection, got a tackle for loss to put North Gwinnett in a third-and-19 situation.

North Gwinnett was forced to punt. Douglas County’s first possession began at its own 41 with 8:01 in the first quarter.

North Gwinnett linebacker junior Jacob Godfree broke up a pass on third down to force a punt.

TURNOVER! Jake Godfree came in to take a direct snap and Douglas County junior defensive lineman Jordan Smith stripped it. Douglas County took over at the North Gwinnett 32 with 4:23 left in the first quarter.

TOUCHDOWN! One play after converting a second-and-12 with a nice run, Rah’keith Kelly ran up the middle and split two defenders for a Douglas County touchdown. The PAT by Hamza Tavarez-Baker was successful and the Tigers took the lead, 7-0 with 2:24 left in the first quarter.

Banks Halcomb took over at quarterback for North Gwinnett’s drive with 2:20 left in the first quarter. The Bulldogs, however, quickly went three-and-out.

BLOCKED PUNT! Douglas County’s Richard Dvce raced through the middle of the line and blocked a punt off the punter’s foot. The Tigers take over at North Gwinnett’s 1 with 1:29 left in the first.

TOUCDOWN! Douglas County’s Rah’keith Kelly ran up the middle for a 2-yard touchdown, his second of the game. Hamza Tavarez-Baker with the PAT to make it 14-0 with 38 seconds left in the first quarter.

Elam Rahman, North County’s starting quarterback, came back in at quarterback for the Bulldogs’ drive that started with 38 seconds in the first quarter.

End 1: Douglas County 14, North Gwinnett 0

Second Quarter

North Gwinnett, needing a spark, went three-and-out for the second consecutive time on the first play of the second quarter.

TURNOVER ON DOWNS! Douglas County went for it on fourth-and-6 from near midfield, but came up short and North Gwinnett took over with 10:33 left in the second quarter.

TOUCHDOWN! Jake Godfree atoned for the earlier fumble. He took another snap from the Wildcat and ran 14 yards for the TD. Liam Hughey made the PAT and North Gwinnett trims Douglas County’s lead to 14-7 with 7:34 left in the first half.

BIG PLAY! With 5:25 left in the half, Douglas County rolled the dice and went for it on fourth-and-2 from its own 28. It paid off, as senior quarterback Mike Johnson kept it and went off the left end for 18 yards to convert.

TOUCHDOWN! A few plays after the big conversion, Mike Johnson hit senior receiver Dre Reading on a crosser and he ran untouched for 27 yards. Hamza Tavarez-Baker kicked the PAT to make it 21-7 with 2:42 left in the half.

North Gwinnett punted it back to Douglas County with 1:16 left in the first half. After a penalty, Douglas County took over at its own 35.

Douglas County moved the ball into scoring position, but Mike Johnson was flagged for an illegal forward pass with 2 seconds left in the half, moving the ball from near the 10 back to the 32-yard line. The Tigers tried lining up for a field goal, but with no time on the clock, and perhaps not realizing the clock would wind prior to the snap, time ran out and the half ended.

Halftime: Douglas County 21, North Gwinnett 7

Third Quarter

Douglas County opened the second half with the ball and a new quarterback, as junior Ryan Dvce takes over for senior Mike Johnson. Johnson came up hobbling a bit after running and sliding for a first down near the end of the first half, and had a more pronounced limp after a rollout passing attempt on the next play.

Douglas County went three-and-out. North Gwinnett’s defense stepped up with much-needed back-to-back stops on the last two Tigers drives.

KEY PLAY: North Gwinnett had a big opportunity to cut into the lead, but it slipped through their hands, literally. On a perfect RPO look, senior receiver Braylon Jackson got behind the defense on a quick slant and quarterback Elam Rahman hit him in the hands. Unfortunately, he could not secure it. Two plays later, the Bulldogs punted it back trailing 21-7 with 6:16 left in the third quarter.

Ryan Dvce remained in the game at quarterback for Douglas County for the Tigers’ second possession of the third quarter. Mike Johnson remained on the sideline with no helmet.

North Gwinnett got its third consecutive stop on defense, and second of the second half, to give the ball back to the Bulldogs’ offense at its own 17 with 2:37 left in the third quarter.

KEY PLAY: North Gwinnett missed another sure touchdown on a well-designed double pass. Quarterback Elam Rahman threw a lateral to junior tight end Max Patterson who had Braylon Jackson wide open down the right side, but the throw fell inches past Hawkins’ finger tips. The Bulldogs had to punt on the next play.

North Gwinnett’s defense remained on lockdown, getting another stop just before the end of the third quarter. Jake Godfree got banged up on the punt.

End 3: Douglas County 21, North Gwinnett 7

Fourth Quarter

INTERCEPTION! Elam Rahman got hit as he stepped into a long throw and Douglas County defensive back Zaydrean Jackson picked it off at his own 16.

Freshman Cam Anderson entered the game at quarterback for Douglas County following the interception with jut over 10 minutes to go in regulation. He’s the Tigers’ third QB of the game.

TURNOVER ON DOWNS! Douglas County went for it on fourth-and-4 from the North Gwinnett 22, but the pass was incomplete and the Bulldogs came away with another top and took possession with 8:26 to go, trailing 21-7.

North Gwinnett punted it back to Douglas County with 6:11 remaining in the game.

KEY PLAY: North Gwinnett forced another punt, and Douglas County shanked it, allowing the Bulldogs to take over at the Douglas County 30 with 4:47 to go.

KEY PLAY: After back-to-back sacks left North Gwinnett facing fourth-and-15, a personal foul hit on Rahman gave the Bulldogs first-and-goal at the 6. The play was big, as Rahman’s pass was short of the first down with 2:57 to go.

TURNOVER ON DOWNS! After reaching the 1-yard line, North Gwinnett’s offense went backwards on a big play by defensive end Audryan Cole and then a pass on fourth down fell incomplete. There was pretty obvoious early contact on the receiver on the play, but officials hold their flags and Douglas County will run out the clock at its own 10.

Final: Douglas County 21, North Gwinnett 7

Recap

Credit Douglas County’s defense for coming away with stops, but North Gwinnett will look back on this one and shake its collective head as at least four prime scoring opportunities slipped away.

“We’ve got work to do,” Douglas County coach Johnny White said after the game. “That’s a good North Gwinnett team. We’ll fix those mistakes and we’ll be ready to go by Friday.”