CHICKAMAUGA, Ga. — Gordon Lee’s football program has reached the quarterfinal round of the GHSA playoffs for the first time in 24 years.
The host Trojans, seeded sixth in Class A Division I, did so with a 17-12 win against 11th-seeded Elbert County on Friday night — and they had to overcome several self-inflicted wounds to do so.
Gordon Lee (11-1), the Region 7 champion, will travel next week to third-seeded Worth County, a 38-35 winner over No. 14 seed Bleckley County.
The Trojans (10-1), who avenged last year’s first-round loss to the Blue Devils (5-7), had a pair of blocked field-goal attempts by Garrett Ross and a victory-sealing interception by Landon Norton among their many notable defensive plays.
Those offset a trio of errors on special teams, an interception that ended a promising drive and a fumble inside the Gordon Lee 25 in the fourth quarter.
“In 20 years, it was one of the more exciting football games I’ve ever seen,” Trojans coach Josh Groce said. “That was a battle. We’ve won a bunch of games with big offensive numbers, but tonight we won because the defense made big plays when we had to have them.”
Offensively, Norton took advantage of an Elbert defense that was focused on stopping 1,000-yard rushers Peyton Groce and Layne Vaughn to gain 124 yards on five catches, including an 18-yard touchdown pass from Dustin Day that put Gordon Lee ahead 14-10 with 8:50 to play.
Groce led the ground attack with 60 yards and Vaughn had 50 yards and a touchdown. Ross and Vaughn also led a gallant defensive charge that produced four sacks and four other tackles for loss.
The Trojans harassed freshman quarterback Brody Baker all night, forcing him into a 15-for-34 passing performance that produced 216 yards. The Elbert ground game was held to 6 yards on 27 attempts, including minus-32 yards on sacks.
Gordon Lee trailed 10-7 after Baker’s touchdown pass to Jose Rodriguez in the second quarter put the visitors out front. That lead nearly grew after a dropped snap on a punt attempt from the Trojans’ end zone set Elbert up at the 4. However, three plays netted just a yard, and Ross snuffed out the field-goal attempt to keep it a three-point game.
The Trojans regained the lead on a 78-yard drive to open the second half, capped by Norton’s touchdown grab, and held the lead despite two Elbert drives that moved inside the red zone.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com.