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By now everyone knows that the Prep Kickoff Classic is the premier season-opening high school football event in Michigan which is organized by the Detroit Sports Commission and hosted at Wayne State University. While there was plenty of great game action on Thursday, there was even more great action on Friday, starting with the Detroit Cody Comets who faced off against the Warren Mott Maruaders.

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To start the game, Warren Mott received the ball first and as the clock began to tick away, they certainly didn’t waste anytime getting on the scoreboard. Their first score of the game, all started with wide receiver Kenyon Kelly, who did a great job of creating after the catch for a nice 48 yard gain putting Warren Mott in the red-zone and deep into Cody territory.  Soon after that Warren Mott scored their first touchdown of the game, as quarterback Connor Madigan took it in himself with a nice quarterback keeper, allowing Warren Mott to take a 7-0 lead after they made the extra point.

Unfortunately for Cody, it wouldn’t take long for Warren Mott to once again score. After Warren Mott’s defense stepped up in the middle of the first quarter and force Cody to punt, linebacker Ed Yester blocked Cody’s punt, allowing Warren Mott to recover the ball in Cody territory and give themselves a chance to score again. Although Warren Mott wasn’t able to capitalize with another touchdown, kicker Andreas Demetriou was able to convert a 24 yard field goal, giving Warren Mott a nice 10-0 going into the second quarter.

Much to the dismay of Cody, Warren Mott would continue their success in the second quarter, starting with another defensive stop, which forced Cody to once again punt the ball. However, it was on the punt return that defensive back Ty Redding was able to force a fumble, allowing defensive back Kenyon Kelley to recover the ball on the 10 yard line of Cody territory.  Just like clockwork, Warren Mott would once again take advantage of their opportunity as wide receiver Jayvon Wilson took it for three yard touchdown, increasing Warren Mott’s lead to 17-0 after they made the extra point.

Nonetheless, despite the one-sided score, Detroit Cody would not let up as they would continue to push for a good drive and during the middle of the second quarter they were finally able to establish a nice drive leading them into Warren Mott territory. Then with 4:40 left in the second quarter, quarterback Omar Salih was able to connect with wide receiver Kevin Mahone for a 17-yard touchdown. Finally allowing Cody to get on the board, although they would still trail Warren Mott 17-8 after converting a two point conversion.

After Cody’s score, Warren Mott did attempt to come right back another score of their own but due to some missed opportunities and solid defense by Cody, Warren Mott was forced to give the ball back to Cody, after turning it over on downs. Although Cody did attempt to score once more before the first half ended, their drive was quickly stalled as quarterback Omar Salih was intercepted by linebacker Kyran Daniels, once again putting Warren Mott deep into Cody’s territory. Nevertheless, Warren Mott would not able to capitalize off of their forced turnover, only allowing them to go into halftime with a 17-8 lead over Cody.

Unfortunately for both teams, the third quarter was known as the tale of missed opportunities. Cody received the ball first to start to start the second half but after a few lackluster plays they had no choice but to punt. After that, Warren Mott would try to get back in the end-zone, however after a controversial incomplete pass by the referees, Warren Mott was once again forced to punt back to Cody. It was during Cody’s second drive of the game, that things became even more frustrating for Cody. For starts, after moving the chains and getting into the red-zone, Cody constantly shot themselves in the foot with penalties. Then for the finishing touch, quarterback Omar Salih was once again picked off by linebacker Kyran Daniels, giving Warren Mott their fourth forced turnover of the game. However, despite a few nice plays, Warren Mott wouldn’t do much with it, as they were forced to punt it back to Cody to end the third quarter.

Nevertheless it was in the fourth quarter that Warren Mot would finally close out Cody for good. After punting the ball to Cody, Warren Mott defense would step up once again as defensive back Keyon Kelly showed his good hands and intercepted Cody quarterback Omar Salih for a pick six, allowing Warren Mott to extend their to 24-8, after the made extra point. Soon after that, Warren Mott defense would once again come up with a nice stop as defensive back Ty Redding picked off Cody quarterback Omar Salih, giving Warren Mott another chance to score. Warren Mott wouldn’t leave anything to chance because with less than four minutes left in the game, quarterback Connor Madigan would lead his team into the end-zone with a nice quarterback sneak, increasing their lead to 31-8.

However, the ever resilient Cody Comets, wouldn’t go down without a fight, as quarterback Omar Salih connected with wide receiver Kevin Mahoney for a 34-yard touchdown, cutting their deficit 31-16 after converted two point conversion.

Nonetheless, the late Cody touchdown would come to late as Warren Mott officially beat Detroit Cody with a score of 31-16.

Overall, if you ask me, this was a game of missed opportunities and turnovers for Cody. Despite having talent and at times the ability to get down field, Cody continuously shot themselves in the foot with penalties and turnovers. In case you didn’t notice, Cody had five turnovers in this game, while it’s still early in the season and we expect mistakes, five turnovers is unacceptable.

Nevertheless, I did see some nice plays and potential out of this Cody offense, in particular at running back with Javonte Ball, who won of the players of the game award and wide receiver Kevin Mahoney, who scored both of Cody’s two touchdowns.

Although the score shows you that Warren Mott won this game, I still filled they missed a lot of opportunities in this game. Don’t get me wrong, I think Warren Mott played well on both sides of the ball but they could have played better. Offensively, I felt like quarterback Connor Madigan threw the ball well all game but it doesn’t change the fact that his receivers had multiple drops in this game, which ultimately put in a cramp in their progressive drives. Again, I’m not saying that Warren Mott didn’t play well, I am simply saying that Warren Mott has to get in the habit of executing in every way possible because every team won’t be like Cody.

Nonetheless, despite my slight frustrations with the Warren Mott offense, I was really impressed with linebacker Kyran Daniels, who earned two interceptions and defensive back Kenyon Kelly who also had an interception and was named as one of the players of the game, after proving good play on both sides of the ball.

Written by LBeasley (Lauren Beasley), Sports Contributor for Radio One Detroit

For more of L-Beasley’s (Lauren Beasley) sports news and in-depth sports content, click here.

2014 Prep Kickoff Classic: Warren Mott Defeats Detroit Cody, 31-16  was originally published on wchbnewsdetroit.com