The 10th annual Georgia Elite Classic came to an end at Rome’s Barron Stadium with three all-star games Thursday between two middle school teams, the freshman/sophomore game and the junior/senior game.
All three games are being broadcast on PeachtreeTV and you can watch by following the link or checking out the game recaps below.
Middle School – National 28, American 14
Grant Hoviland caught two touchdown passes to help the National team to a 28-14 victory over the American team in the opening game of the 10th annual Georgia Elite Classic at Rome’s Barron Stadium.
Hoviland, a Milton tight end, made the most of his two receptions, scoring on a 6-yard pass from Pope quarterback Hudson Marinko and a 70-yard pass from Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy quarterback Luke Stansell.
“The biggest thing with these eighth-grade guys,” said National team head coach Joe Stokowski. “They were invited to this because they have elite-level talent. But the biggest thing to go with that, they’re going to learn the elite-level mental game. A lot of these guys can go out and play and they might not have anything bad happen to them. But with a group as talented as we had today, every single kid faced a little bit of adversity. When you get to high school, you’ll face adversity.”
The Nationals went up 7-0 on a 5-yard run from North Gwinnett’s Andrew Beard. The American team tied the game on a 21-yard pass from North Gwinnett quarterback Elam Rahman. Haviland’s 6-yard reception put the Nationals up 14-7 with 9:58 left in the second quarter. His 70-yard reception put the National team up 21-7 with 7:57 left in the third quarter.
“We try to tell them, never let a compliment go to your head and never let criticism go to your heart,” said American team head coach Dusty Phillips. “Now they must be able to handle being successful. Yes, sure, you did great. But what are you going to do next time?”
The American team scored on a 91-yard touchdown pass from Rahman to Long Cane wide receiver Davis Moncus with :47 left in the third quarter. The National team put the game away with a 17-yard pass from Newnan quarterback Hayes Maginnis to Athens Academy wide receiver Keyon Standifer.