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POWDER SPRINGS, GA — The final matchup of the Football Hotbed National High School Showcase tripleheader turned out to be a one-sided affair.
This time the Juniors of Team White prevailed, dominating Team Granite 34-10 in a game featuring the some the top prospects from the Class of 2019.
Regardless of the final score, the showcase was a hit with the players who hope to play football on the college level.
“Man this was a great, I learned a lot from here, there was a lot of competition, in practice I had to earn my spot, but I made a lot friends out here, saw a lot of new faces and now I’ve built good relationships for life,” said Team White receiver Amir Spivey.
The final showcase game was littered with explosive plays, most of them coming from Spivey and the White squad.
However, the Granite team set the tone on the opening kickoff with Tyrique Stevenson (Miami, FL).
Stevenson, who admittedly wasn’t too fond of the cold weather, warmed up quick when he caught Kenny Pham’s kick on the three and nearly took it the distance before he was tackled at the 45 for a 42-yard gain.
That big play ability earned him Team Granite MVP honors.
This game was amazing,” said Stevenson. “Football Hotbed showed me a lot of things, showed me a great experience, opened my eyes on how to get ready for college, the cold weather, it showed me alot.”
Tyrique Stevenson
Later in the first quarter Ju’Zion Wade (Miami, FL) took the snap from under center and launched a deep pass over the goal line to Wayne Dennis, Jr. who managed to haul in the pass despite being draped by the defensive back for a ‘sportscenter top-10’ worthy 31-yard touchdown. The Billy McConnell (Plantation, FL) kick made it 7-0 with 8:36 left in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter McConnell boomed a 36-yard field goal to give Team Granite a 10-0 with 11:47 remaining.
Just as it appeared as if the Granite squad would cruise to victory, Team White found new life.
Their first points came on 44 yard field goal from Jack Breedlove that bounced off and over the crossbar to narrow the score to 10-3 with 4:39 left in the second quarter.
Breedlove, a sophomore who kicked in the game before, tacked on three more points with a 38-yard field goal with 1:45 remaining until the half.
The White team delivered some more special teams magic just before the half.
On the ensuing kickoff kicker Kenny Pham (Port Arthur, TX) nailed on onside kick and recovered it himself at the Granite 48. However, the Granite team defense forced a three and out to enter the half with a 13-10 lead.
As the sunset and temperatures dipped, the White team came out hot in the second half.
They took the lead on an impressive 80-yard drive led by QB Kendall Boney (Jonesboro, GA).
On 1st and 10 from their own 46, Boney took a shotgun snap and immediately faced pressure from the Granite front four but he kept his composure and took off up the middle for a nice 21-yard run to the Granite 34.
That run set up the go-ahead touchdown on the next play. Wide receiver Mekal Fuller (Sugar Hill, GA) took the handoff on the end-around and motored past several defenders down the left sideline for the TD. Breedlove’s extra point made it 13-10 Team White with 5:28 left in the quarter.
Amir Spivey (2) battles Tyrique Stevenson (1) for a jump ball.
Team White kept their momentum going when LB Dashawn Dixon (Atlanta, GA) dropped into coverage and intercepted the Granite QB at the 43 yard line before returning it to the Granite 36 with 3:29 in the third quarter.
Quarterback Caleb Dixon (Atlanta, GA) capitalized on the turnover several plays later when he scored on a zone read play from two yards away to give Team White a 20-10 with 2:03 left in the third quarter.
But Team White wasn’t done just yet. With Boney back in the shotgun at their own 29, he tossed a deep pass to a wide open Spivey at midfield and let him do the rest, outrunning the Granite defense on the way to a 71-yard touchdown reception.
The play put Team White ahead 27-10 and likely helped Spivey earn MVP honors for the White team.
He finished with three catches for 108 yards and a touchdown and adopted a new mindset as he approaches his senior year.
“Stay positive, keep my head up, always grind and always have the mentality that you are the best on the field and nobody can stop you,” he said.
Team White put the icing on the cake a short while later.
After recovering the ensuing kickoff on the Granite 32, two plays later Dixon launched a deep pass to end zone to Valerian Agbaw (Powder Springs, GA) who hauled in the pass between two defenders for the 30-yard touchdown. The score put Team White ahead 34-10 with 6:10 to go in the fourth quarter.
For Team White, Boney finished 4-for-9 for 130 yards and a touchdown. Dixon was 6-for-15 for 96 yards and a TD with four carries for 26 yards and a rushing touchdown.
Fuller finished with one catch for 24 yards along with two carries for 36 yards and a touchdown.
Amir Spivey
On defense Myles Farmer (Powder Springs, GA) finished with five tackles one interception and a pass deflection, Cross Patton (Atlanta) and Jacoby Sharpe (Sugar Hill, GA) each recorded a sack.
On the Granite side, Wade finished 10-for-14 with 113 yards one touchdown and one interception.
Dennis, Jr. finished with three catches for 43 yards and score while receiver Dante Kiett (Cherry Hill, NJ) finished with six catches for 36 yards.
On defense, Granite linebacker Richard Watson (Tampa, FL) finished with three tackles (two for loss), and a half sack.
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