The highly anticipated, star-studded matchup between top-10 teams McEachern and Kell in the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic was missing a few of its key pieces Wednesday night — but it wasn’t missing Casey Barner.
Barner, McEachern’s all-around standout, rushed for a team-leading 67 yards on two carries, scored on a 58-yard run, had an interception that set up an Indians touchdown and had four tackles and a tackle for loss in a 40-10 victory over the Longhorns in the teams’ season opener at Kell High School.
Barner is a 5-star prospect ranked among the top five players nationally in the junior class.
“Big-time players step up in big-time games, and he’s a really big-time player,” McEachern coach Kareem Reid said. “He showed out again and shows why he’s so highly ranked.”
One of the noticeable absences was Kell’s Moonie Gipson, who sat out the majority of the game as he continues to recover from an injury suffered in last year’s playoffs. The senior, a two-time all-state running back and AJC Super 11 selection who is committed to Georgia Tech, rushed for 1,918 yards and 24 touchdowns last season and has 4,343 rushing yards in his career. Kell, a state semifinalist last season, is ranked No. 10 in Class 6A.
Without Gipson, the Longhorns couldn’t get much of a running game going and they fell behind, 27-3, late in the first half. Donte Grant and Noah Daniel carried the load in the backfield, finishing with a combined 88 yards on 22 carries.
Quarterback Boston Pierce tried to keep the Longhorns close with 126 yards passing in the first half, including a 33-yard touchdown to Daniel that cut the lead to 27-10 late in the second quarter, but McEachern scored on its first possession of the second half to reestablish control. Kayden Battle returned an interception 99 yards for a touchdown and a 40-10 lead with 5:47 remaining in the third quarter. It was one of two interceptions on the night for Battle.
“It didn’t affect our preparation at all,” Reid said of Gipson’s absence. “They were who they were in terms of schematically. We were down some guys, too. Everybody’s battling injuries. It’s part of football, you’ve just got to play through it.”
McEachern, ranked No. 5 in Class 7A, was playing without linebacker Joakim Gouda and wide receiver Jacorey Shockley. Gouda was held out as a precaution while he recovers from a sprain in his knee. Gouda, committed to Georgia, was a preseason all-state selection after transferring from South Paulding. Shockley is ranked as the consensus No. 3 sophomore nationally at his position.
This was just the second meeting between McEachern and Kell, schools that are about 20 miles apart in Cobb County. They played each other in the Corky Kell Classic in 2021, with McEachern winning, 53-20.
In the first game of the doubleheader, Clarke Central defeated Pebblebrook 34-0 in the first meeting between the schools in 20 years. Clarke Central scored a touchdown two plays after recovering a fumble at the Pebblebrook 6-yard line midway through the first quarter and pulled away from there.
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