After going 3-1 in pool play on the day followed by four-consecutive wins in the single elimination championship rounds, the Collins Hill Eagles took home the title after the second day of the Brent Key/Corky Kell + Dave Hunter 7-on-7 Classic at Georgia Tech on Wednesday.
“It was a long day, always is,” said Collins Hill head coach Drew Swick after taking home the championship. “The kids did a really good job with hydrating and getting ready for the day and we came in after having won Tennessee last week and we talked about being perfect in everything we do, and the kids were really, really good. From that first game, we stumbled, but from there on out we locked in. I’m very proud of our offense, our defense and the parents that came out and supported us.”
Day two of the event was as evenly matched as it could be as five of the 16 teams finished with a 3-1 record in pool play in Collins Hill, Decatur, West Forsyth, South Paulding and New Manchester. No team went undefeated along with no team finishing the day without a victory.
In its championship run, Collins Hill defeated New Manchester (17-15), Rabun Gap (28-0) and River Ridge (19-9), as its only loss on the day came in the teams first game of the day against Coffee County, 17-13.
After the loss to the Trojans in their first game of the day, the Eagles responded by rattling off seven straight victories including the three in pool play and four more in the single elimination bracket.
Heading into the single elimination tournament, the Eagles at 3-1 were the top-seed out of the 16 teams participating in the second day of the 7-on-7s. During their run to the championship, Collins Hill defeated Rabun Gap (26-8) in round one before facing a talented North Murray team in round two, defeating them 27-17 to advance to the semi-finals.
The Collins Hill dominance continued in the semi-finals as the Eagles defeated South Paulding, 31-6, coasting their way to a championship appearance in day two.
In the championship game, Collins Hill faced a tough Lanier squad as they came into the bracket with a 2-2 record in pool play before winning three-straight games to make it to the championship game against the Eagles.
Collins Hill found themselves in an early 9-0 deficit to the Longhorns as the 20-minute game was as intense as a 7-on-7 can get.
“Our defense loves being in a situation like that,” said Collins Hill head coach Drew Swick. “At the end of the game we want it to be in the hands of our defense, and we had one timeout left that I had saved and the D-boys always come through.”
The Eagles broke their scoring drought as Jamel Tuff went up for a long touchdown catch from Makyree Cross to cut the deficit to two points.
With around a minute remaining in the ball game, with Lanier holding a 15-14 lead on a third down, the pass was broken up giving Collins Hill three points off the turnover on downs which sealed the Eagles victory and earned them the championship.
The 11th annual Brent Key/Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic will be back in action tomorrow at 10 a.m. for another full slate of games at Georgia Tech.
SINGLE-ELIMINATION TOURNAMENT RESULTS
FIRST ROUND
#1 Collins Hill 26, #16 Rabun Gap 8
#12 North Murray 26, #5 New Manchester 22
#10 River Ridge 27, #8 Fellowship Christian 18
#4 South Paulding 24, #13 Dunwoody 17
#3 West Forsyth 28, #14 Coosa 10
#11 Lanier 19, #6 Wesleyan 8
#9 North Paulding 24, #9 Franklin County 23
#2 Decatur 28, #15 Coffee County 24
QUARTERFINALS
#1 Collins Hill 27, #12 North Murray 17
#4 South Paulding 23, #10 River Ridge 15
#11 Lanier 23, #3 West Forsyth 10
#2 Decatur 29, #9 North Paulding 23
SEMIFINALS
#1 Collins Hill 31, #4 South Paulding 6
#11 Lanier 19, #2 Decatur 6
CHAMPIONSHIP
#1 Collins Hill 16, #11 Lanier 14
POOL PLAY RESULTS
10:00 AM:
River Ridge 17, North Paulding 16
Decatur 30, Coosa 4
Fellowship Christian 44, North Murray 0
Coffee County 17, Collins Hill 13
10:25 AM:
West Forsyth 20, Lanier 18
New Manchester 22, Rabun Gap 17
Wesleyan 35, South Paulding 9
Dunwoody 13, Franklin County 12
10:50 AM:
Rabun Gap 17, Coffee 11
Coosa 13, Dunwoody 12
Lanier 19, North Murray 18
South Paulding 23, Fellowship Christian 10
11:15 AM:
West Forsyth 25, River Ridge 9
North Murray 18, Wesleyan 18
Decatur 22, Franklin County 5
Collins Hill 17, New Manchester 15
11:40 AM:
New Manchester 26, Coosa 20
Wesleyan 26, Fellowship Christian 14
West Forsyth 23, North Paulding 15
Franklin County 17, Coosa 16
12:05 PM:
Collins Hill 28, Rabun Gap 0
River Ridge 23, Lanier 14
Decatur 28, Dunwoody 16
South Paulding 27, North Murray 26
12:30 PM:
Lanier 30, Rabun Gap 16
South Paulding 30, Dunwoody 4
North Murray 28, Decatur 27
Collins Hill 19, River Ridge 9
12:55 PM:
Fellowship Chrisitan 27, Coosa 10
New Manchester 24, West Forsyth 23
Franklin County 14, Wesleyan 7
North Paulding 28, Coffee 2
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