Observations the Day after Douglas County’s Win Over North Gwinnett in Georgia High School Opener

North Gwinnett defeated Douglas County, 21-7, in the finale of the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Both teams showed flashes of potential in their season opener, but the Bulldogs ultimately secured the win with a dominant performance from their defense.

What’s notable is that both teams were held scoreless in the second half, with the offensive fireworks of the first two quarters giving way to a stalemate. This defensive battle led to several key takeaways from the game.

1. Key Injuries

Operating its two-minute offense at the end of the second quarter, Douglas County had the ball at its own 49-yard line with exactly one minute remaining. Senior quarterback Michael “Mike” Johnson couldn’t find a receiver and scrambled into open field off the left end. While he was never touched, he slid down on his own after a 14-yard gain at the North Gwinnett 37.

Though the slide was abrupt, it appeared at the moment that he was electing to go down to stop the clock with 47 seconds left after securing the first down. When he popped up, he seemed fine at first. However, a few steps into his jog back to the huddle, he began touching the back of his left leg near his hamstring.

He remained in the game. On the ensuing pass play, with all day to throw thanks to fantastic protection up front, he briefly walked in the pocket looking for a receiver before gingerly rolling to his right and throwing an incomplete pass off his back foot – with his left leg extended and off the ground.

At that moment, it became apparent that something was wrong with the quarterback. He began walking with a noticeable limp and bent over, grabbing his left hamstring on his way back to the huddle. It’s important to note that several players went down with cramps throughout the game.

The drive quickly stalled, and the three-star Utah commit – playing in his first year at Douglas County after transferring from Dutchtown – didn’t play another series for the remainder of the game. He was observed on the sidelines without his helmet for the duration of the second half.

Douglas County failed to score another point and struggled to move the ball with consistency for much of the second half, with junior Ryan Dyce and freshman Cam Anderson sharing duties for the remainder of the way.

2. Missed Opportunities

Perhaps it was just early-season timing issues, but North Gwinnett missed at least four prime touchdown-scoring opportunities on drives that resulted in no points. Had they converted the sure things, the story of this game would have been much different.

They had three passes intended for wide-open receivers (all of them sure touchdowns to receivers who had beaten the defense with no defenders in front of them) that were either dropped or missed fingertips by inches. In the game’s final two minutes, North Gwinnett moved the ball to the Tigers’ one-yard line before getting pushed back and then turning it over on downs with 47 seconds left.

Douglas County’s defense certainly deserves credit for holding the talented Bulldogs’ offense to seven points, even if luck helped cover a few breakdowns in coverage. The group played well collectively, especially on the first two levels, as they got good pressure in the backfield and then buckled down with the game on the line.

3. Both Teams Will Be Fine

With a caveat of good health, of course. Mike Johnson was the clear motor that made the Douglas County offense go on Saturday night. The team moved the ball with relative consistency with him running the huddle, but the offense struggled to do much of anything in the second half with him on the sidelines. If he’s healthy, the Tigers will be tough for anyone to beat.

Conversely, the Bulldogs need to get a few of their own healed up, including standout Jake Godfree – a three-star linebacker with more than 40 offers who plays both ways for North Gwinnett. While he made plays all night on both sides of the ball, he went down on a couple of occasions.

After going down on defense the first time (he appeared to be cramping), Godfree walked off on his own power and quickly got back in the game. He was shaken up again on a punt in the second half, and the Tigers quickly gashed the Bulldogs’ defense with a couple of their longest runs of the night on the ensuing plays with him on the sideline.

Speaking of the Bulldogs’ defense, they seemed to shake the rust with about 25 minutes left in the game and played lights-out for the duration. They played well enough in the second half to win most games.

Neither team was particularly sharp for 48 minutes, but that is to be expected in Week 1. What’s apparent is that as long as both teams get healthy after Saturday’s brawl and clean up a few small mistakes, they’re both going to be making deep playoff runs.