NORTHWEST WHITFIELD 31, OCONEE COUNTY 21
The star: Northwest senior receiver Jay Jones had 200 yards on 14 catches.Up next: Northwest is at Woodward Academy for the second round.
TUNNEL HILL, Ga. - Momentum had switched sides, and what was a comfortable lead had grown precariously uncomfortable for Northwest Whitfield's football team.
Once ahead 17-0 against Oconee County in the first round of the Class AAAA playoffs Friday night, the Warriors scored with 5:24 left to get within four points, then got the ball back with ample time to break the Bruins' hearts.
However, the Northwest defense, which had been gouged for 225 yards in the second half, got a Jon Tant third-down sack to halt the drive. Luke Shiflett then added a 5-yard touchdown run in the waning seconds to finish off a 31-21 win.
Northwest will travel to Woodward Academy next Friday for a second-round game.
"Tant's sack was huge and really sealed the win," said Northwest coach Josh Robinson, whose team celebrated the school's first home playoff win. "It was a good team effort tonight. I told these guys, no matter what happens from here they are the first team to win a home playoff game and no one can take that away from them."
Northwest (8-3) had its offense in high gear early as Shiflett and senior receiver Jay Jones lit up the Warriors (7-4). The two, who hooked up for 200 yards on 14 completions, had three connections on a 65-yard opening drive, with Jones scoring on a 7-yard pass.
The Bruins later scored on a 60-yard drive, with a Jones 20-yard catch setting up Dominique Sistrunk's 1-yard run two plays into the second quarter. The lead grew to 17 midway through the quarter when a 78-yard drive led to Vicente Vaca's field goal, the drive led by 29- and 34-yard catches by Jones.
"We attacked them from the start and went full throttle all game long," Jones said. "We knew they were good, and we didn't want to let up."
Oconee didn't go away, though, using quarterback Sam Middlebrooks' big arm to drive 65 yards just before halftime to cut the lead to with a 6-yard touchdown run. The Warriors opened the second half by driving 53 yards for a Middlebrooks 1-yard touchdown and two-point conversion pass to Roques Dowdy.
The teams then exchanged touchdowns, Northwest driving 80 yards to make it 24-14 on Shiflett's 9-yard run late in the third and Oconee scoring midway through the fourth on an 88-yard drive when Middlebrooks hit Dowdy on a 45-yard touchdown to make it 24-20.
"They were a good football team, and we didn't expect it to be easy," Robinson said. "When we were up 17-0 we were happy, but we knew we hadn't seen the end of them. Our kids found a way. The bottom line is, things went wrong at the end, but we didn't fall apart."
A poor kickoff return set the Bruins back at their own 14 after the Oconee touchdown and a sack by Dylan Pettway forced Northwest to punt with 3:51 to play, setting up the final Warriors' drive and Tant's big sack.
Shiflett was 17-of-25 passing for 221 yards, with Sistrunk rushing for 97 yards on 12 carries.
Christian Casey led Oconee with 101 rushing yards, with Middlebrooks passing for 174 yards.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.