Calhoun emerged as the area's lone survivor Friday night in the second round of the GHSA football playoffs with a 33-14 win at Clarke Central in Athens.
The Yellow Jackets (9-3) trailed 14-7 but scored the final 19 points of the Class AAAAA game, including two Jerrian Hames touchdown runs, and held their second opponent scoreless after halftime for the second straight week. The No. 3 seed from Region 7, Calhoun will host Coffee in next week's quarterfinal round after the Trojans upset Region 2 champion Starr's Mill.
It will be Calhoun's 19th trip to the quarterfinals in the last 20 years.
The other three area teams in the second round were not so fortunate. Northwest Whitfield fell behind 20-0 in losing at Riverdale, 42-17, in Class AAAA, Gordon Lee, a decided underdog to top five-ranked Commerce, lost 28-14 in Class A public, and Christian Heritage fell in Class A private in a 28-15 upset loss to George Walton Academy in Dalton.
At Clarke Central, Christian Lewis passed for three touchdowns and Hames had another 100-yard game, but the key, Calhoun coach Clay Stephenson said, was the play of the defense in the final 2 1/2 quarters.
"They hit a couple of big plays early, but we caused a couple of turnovers and the coaches did a great job of making adjustments in the second half," Stephenson said. "We got after them. Also, Christian Lewis had a big game and it was big for us that we didn't have any turnovers."
Clarke Central (8-3) led 14-7 after Jairus Mack hauled in a deflected pass and took it 76 yards for a touchdown halfway through the second quarter. Calhoun responded with a tying touchdown, with Lewis connecting with Will Seamons from 15 yards to cap an 80-yard drive with three minutes to halftime.
Hames had a 54-yard run on the opening drive of the second half, but two penalties backed Calhoun up. On third-and-24, though, Lewis connected with Seamons for a first down to the 2, and two plays later Hames scored for a 21-14 lead.
The game's key play came moments later when, after a long Clarke Central drive reached the red zone, Calhoun's Blaze Hammett intercepted a Will Robinson pass in the end zone. Hames ignited the ensuing drive with a 40-yard run, leading to Lewis' 26-yard scoring pass to Cole Speer and a 27-14 lead late in the third quarter.
Hames later added a 5-yard touchdown run.
Commerce 28, Gordon Lee 14: Trey Huff passed for one touchdown and ran for another, and freshman phenom Sammy Brown scored a pair of touchdowns as the Tigers (11-1) held off the Trojans (10-2).
Nate Dunfee scored on a 47-yard run to tie the game at 7 early, but Dreylon Martin capped a long drive to give the Tigers a 14-7 halftime lead. Gordon Lee tied it at 14 with an eight-minute drive to open the second half, with Cade Peterson scoring from 4 yards.
The Trojans appeared to stop the next Commerce drive, but on fourth-and-7 at the Gordon Lee 37, Huff hit Brown off a play-action fake for a touchdown. Gordon Lee had two drives end in Commerce territory, and the game was iced when Brown scored on a 16-yard run late.
"They were very good up front, but I do believe we were very evenly matched," Gordon Lee coach Josh Groce said. "I knew we needed to play perfect, and it came down to the team that executed best and made fewer mistakes. Our kids played their tails off on a very sloppy field, and I'm extremely proud of them."
Peterson ended with 95 yards on 20 carries, giving him more than 1,800 yards for the season.
George Walton Academy 28, Christian Heritage 25: The Lions, coming off their first GHSA region title and home playoff win, came up short against the Bulldogs, who got two touchdown runs from Jackson Ellerbee and two key turnovers.
Two Ellerbee touchdown runs had George Walton up 14-10 at halftime as Christian Heritage had two drives end inside the visitors' 20 end without points. The Lions scored on their first drive of the game as Solomon Locke had a 37-yard touchdown run and had to settle for a field goal at the halftime buzzer after reaching the 3.
They took a 17-14 lead after a 15-play, 65-yard drive to open the second half, capped by a Locke 2-yard run, but a pass interference penalty on fourth down extended the Bulldogs' ensuing drive, which ended on a Laythan Folgman 4-yard run for a 21-17 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter.
The Lions drove inside the 30 but came away empty as the Bulldogs' Russell Hunley intercepted a Christian Thomas pass at the 24. George Walton secured the win with a gutsy fourth-and-2 gamble at its own 32, with Ellerbee converting on a 13-yard run. The drive ended with a short Robinson touchdown pass for a 28-17 lead with 3:08 left.
Christian Heritage got within three on a Thomas-to-Evan Lester 49-yard pass, but the onside kick was recovered by the Bulldogs.
"They were a very good team," Christian Heritage coach Jay Poag said. "A couple of big plays really hurt us in the fourth quarter - a very late pass interference call that led to a score, and when they went for it and made it on fourth down late.
"This group accomplished so much and put Christian Heritage on the map."
Riverdale 42, Northwest Whitfield 17: The Bruins, who got a pair of touchdown passes from Owen Brooker, ended their season 8-3.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.