What We Saw: McDonald’s Kickoff Classic At Byrnes

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With most teams involved playing Week Zero contests, the Byrnes segment of the McDonald's Kickoff Classic featured a final tune-up before the regular season begins. Here's a look at some of the standouts from the four two-quarter game-type scrimmages.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Christ Church 35, South Stanly 0</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The defending 1A champions looked sharp in the opening segment. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='267466' first='Dashun' last='Reeder']</strong> did what he does, with several tough, between-the-tackles yards and a couple that went for big gains. The eye-opener of the night was the play of Christ Church's QBs. Starter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1013068' first='Tucker' last='Hendrix']</strong> threw three TD passes on the night, including two strikes to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012637' first='Jackson' last='Repp']</strong> and another that <strong>Luke Baumhoffer</strong> turned into a circus catch. He also turned 3rd-and-20 into a 40-yard gain, finding <strong>Matthew Covington</strong> with a dart down the middle. <strong>Judd Windham</strong> looked good as well, scoring on a keeper and tossing a 20-yard TD to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='816751' first='Jude' last='Hall'].</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Southside Christian 7, Woodruff 7</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Sabres scored in the early going, with<strong> Paul Corbin</strong> finding <strong>Silas Robertson</strong> on a short pass and Robertson turning it into a 41-yard score. The two hooked up on a couple of pretty plays on the night, and Robertson found some running room as well. For the Wolverines, it was all about defense. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578787' first='Hunter' last='West']</strong> picked off a pair of passes, while <strong>Kory Scott</strong> stepped in front of one and returned it for Woodruff's only score of the night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Daniel 14, Crest 7</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the third segment of the night, a big play turned the game for the Lions. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='986041' first='Tremaine' last='Davis']</strong> returned an interception deep into Crest territory, and <strong>Ja'kari Bennett</strong> helped put together the Lions' best offensive series of the evening, with a couple of big runs capped by a QB sneak to tie the game at 7-7. Behind <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1142430' first='Watson' last='Young']</strong> and a physical offensive line, most of Daniel's success came on the ground. <strong>Tory Shaw</strong> scored the game winner from five yards out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Byrnes 21, North Augusta 0</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the nightcap, the host Rebels took over early and never looked back.<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='272705' first='Armoni' last='Weaver']</strong> returned a punt 60 yards for a score, <strong>Andrew Stevens </strong>tossed a TD pass, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036721' first='Tre' last='Segarra']</strong> dominated on the ground in spurts, including on a second quarter drive that included a 42-yard gain and a 3-yard TD. For the Yellow Jackets, QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1031336' first='Corey' last='Tillman']</strong> and RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='402503' first='Michael' last='Doe']</strong> found some success running the ball against the Rebels, particularly early.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->