GLYNN ACADEMY 20, DALTON 13
The star: Glynn Academy’s Garrison Hurd ran 26 times for 189 yards in the AAAAA playoff win.Up next: The Red Terrors face Stockbridge in a GHSA quarterfinal.
DALTON, Ga. - On a field that felt more like a rain-soaked trampoline than natural grass turf and had the traction of a slip-and-slide, Glynn Academy was sure glad its running game made the difference Friday night at Harmon Field.
Running back Garrison Hurd pounded out 189 yards on 26 carries to lead the Red Terrors to a 20-13 win over Dalton in a Georgia Class AAAAA second-round playoff game. Glynn Academy racked up 275 yards rushing and held the Catamounts to negative-44 yards rushing and recovered two Dalton fumbles.
Dalton ended its season 9-3. Glynn Academy (10-2) advances to face Stockbridge, a 40-34 winner over Gainesville.
"We knew that we would have trouble running the ball," Dalton coach Matt Land said. "We threw the ball OK, but they did outstanding. We were beat tonight by a team that was like playing a mirror. The things they do well are what we do well, but they just did it better tonight. We certainly wish them good luck from this point on."
The proud Dalton squad found a way to stay close to the Red Terrors by going to the passing game, even though quarterback J.P. Tighe was hurried often and sacked four times.
Trailing 20-13, the Cats were still within reach of the Red Terrors when Dalton defensive back Jordan McKinney blocked a 25-yard field-goal attempt by Banks Entwistle with 8:36 left in the game.
On the ensuing drive, Dalton gained a first down with passes of 8 and 5 yards to Wyatt Erwin, but what turned out to be the last Dalton threat stalled when Glynn Academy sacked Tighe on consecutive plays, forcing a punt. The stocky and mud-covered Hurd took over from there, closing out the game with six runs for 53 yards.
"We have worked all week on blocked kicks because we felt we could do that this week," Land said. "Jordan had worked so hard, and he is a guy that is just a playmaker. He was given an opportunity and he didn't disappoint. I wish we could have capitalized."
Dalton actually led 7-6 in the game when Kryric McGowan hauled in a 37-yard touchdown pass from Tighe with 1:47 left before halftime. On the drive, Tighe connected with Tyler Noland on passes of 33 and 9 yards before throwing a strike on a post pattern to McGowan.
However, the Red Terrors stormed back to score on a 29-yard hook-and-lateral with 30 seconds to go before intermission to take a 13-7 lead.
Catamount Austin Mills got the ball back for Dalton early in the third quarter when he recovered a punt that was muffed by Glynn Academy's Morris Demery. Six plays later, Isai Hernandez booted a 28-yard field goal to pull Dalton within 13-10 at the 7:40 mark. Dalton, however, would get no closer as the Red Terrors' running game took over and ate up the clock in the fourth quarter.
Glynn Academy quarterback Deejay Dallas capped an 8-play, 57-yard drive with a 16-yard touchdown run and a 20-10 lead with 5:04 left in regulation.
Dalton's Hernandez kicked a 47-yard field goal with 2:45 to go.
Contact Jeff Rancudo at sports@timesfreepress.com.