Augusta Prep rode its vaunted ground attack on a rainy Oct. 8 night and the Cavaliers gained a 34-14 non-region victory over Creekside Christian Academy at Cavalier Stadium.
Prep was led by senior running back Andrew McKinney and sophomore all-around player Sam Connell. McKinney finished with 123 yards on eight carries and scored two touchdowns. Connell added 52 yards on nine carries and two touchdowns. Connell made four extra points and had a 69-yard kickoff return.
“Sam Connell was just awesome,” said Prep Coach Harry Bacheller. “He’s special. He’s only a 10th-grader. This is my 39th year in coaching, and I told him, ‘You’re one of my top-five favorites.’”
Bacheller also praised McKinney, who ran with abandon.
“McKinney is tough as a two-dollar steak,” the AP coach said. “You can count on him.”
In all, the Cavs had 269 yards on 33 carries, keeping it simple in muddy conditions. They only threw two passes and did not complete either.
The Cavaliers (4-2) built a 21-6 halftime lead with a pounding running attack led by Connell, who opened the game with a 69-yard kickoff return and scored on a 3-yard run after an encroachment penalty on Creekside. The AP sophomore added the PAT kick for a 7-0 lead.
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The Cougars cut the lead to 7-6 with an eight-play, 46-yard drive to start the second quarter, but the pass on the conversion try failed.
Prep scored twice more before halftime, on a 1-yard Connell run that capped an eight-play, 45-yard drive and on a 17-yard run by sophomore Andrew McKinney that finished off a seven-play, 45-yard drive. Connell added both PAT kicks for the 15-point halftime cushion.
The Cavs expanded the lead in the third quarter to 27-6 with a six-play, 69-yard drive. Quarterback T.J. Waiters scored the touchdown on a 22-yard run with 5:29 left in the third. Connell’s low PAT kick missed — a rare blemish for him on the night.
Prep was not through, though, as McKinney went 35 yards for his second touchdown of the night with 11:44 left in the game. Connell’s PAT kick made it 34-6.
Creekside closed out the scoring with a methodical 16-play, 61-yard drive. The Cougars (0-5) scored an 11-yard Brazley-to-Gibson connection with 16.4 seconds left in the game. The two-point conversion accounted for the final points.
Travis Moon led Creekside with 72 yards on 24 carries, but he never got into the end zone.
McKinney and Connell also led AP on defense. Each had an interception and limited the Creekside quarterback to a 9-for-22 night.
“I am proud of our defense,” Bacheller said. “Last year, some of those runs up the middle would have been touchdowns, so we are getting stronger. We got beat up a lot, but now it’s starting to pay off.”
The game was delayed 20 minutes by lightning, and the field was saturated throughout.
Next Friday, Augusta Prep will host Piedmont Academy while Creekside hosts North Georgia.
David and Viraj Bulla are sports contributors for The Augusta Press. Reach David at DBULLA@augusta.edu
