Starr’s Mill (5A) capped off the first Fayette-Coweta Kickoff Classic with a 28-14 win over Newnan (7A) Saturday night. 

“Everyone doubted us coming into the season because we lost so many seniors,” senior Barrett Schmidlkofer said. “We were senior heavy last year so, just keep it rolling, we can go as far as we want to.”

Senior Brandon Mathis ran 14 times for 151 yards and scored two touchdowns. Junior Jacob Free rushed for 75 yards on four attempts and scored one touchdown. Junior Anderson Cardoza rushed 11 for 59 yards and scored a touchdown. Starr’s Mill finished the night with 365 yards on the ground.

For the Newnan Cougars, senior Nick Owens rushed 14 times for 55 yards. Quarterback junior James Paige rushed 14 times for 48 yards, and completed seven of 14 passes for 141 yards with two touchdowns. Paige also threw two interceptions. 

Both teams got off to a slow start in the first quarter with neither team scoring.

The Panthers got on the board to begin the second quarter after a missed snap by Newnan gave Starr’s Mill the ball on the 2-yard line. Mathis punched it in, giving the Panthers an early 7-0 lead.

“Senior season I was hoping for a good start, kick things off for the season, set a great tone, and we just brought it out today, so it felt great,” Mathis said.

Newnan evened the score three minutes later on a 16-yard pass from Paige to senior Jonathan Clark. The only other scoring attempt by either team was a missed field goal by Starr’s Mill sophomore Max Prozny with 1:18 left in the first half.

The Starr’s Mill defense and running game showed up in the second half. The offensive line cleared the way for the running backs and tight ends. 

In the third quarter Starr’s Mill took the lead 14-7.  Free scored on a 53-yard run and Prozny added the extra point. 

Senior Josh Thompson snagged an interception on the next Newnan possession. Five plays later, Cardoza increased the Starr’s Mill lead with a 14-yard touchdown run. 

“We got off the field on third down when we needed to and we played solid defense and the offense moved the ball which was a big factor in the game,” Schmidlkofer said. 

Another interception by sophomore Bo Walker gave the ball back to Starr’s Mill in the middle of the fourth quarter. Mathis broke free for an 87-yard touchdown, pushing the lead to 28-7.

Newnan answered with 1:19 to play when junior Justyn Reid scored a touchdown on a 26-yard pass. The game ended with a final score of 28-14 Starr’s Mill. 

“They kind of picked up where we left off last year and played very well,” head coach Chad Phillips said. “I thought the effort and the passion was tremendous. Once we get some things cleaned up we got an opportunity to compete for a region championship.”

East Coweta began the day by defeating Whitewater 41-24. The Starr’s Mill win along with Sandy Creek’s 28-3 win over Northgate, gave Fayette County schools 2-1 win over Coweta County in the inaugural Fayette-Coweta Kickoff Classic. 

“Hopefully this signifies the beginning of an event that’s going to take off and get even bigger as we move forward, but it was really really an honor to host this event,” athletic director Shane Ratliff said. 

This Friday is Youth Night in Panther Stadium as Starr’s Mill hosts Mt. Zion. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.