Georgia football playoff roundup: Christian Heritage, Calhoun win in first round

Macro shot of American football ball background football tile / Getty Images
Macro shot of American football ball background football tile / Getty Images

DALTON, Ga. - Christian Heritage has won football games this year with unstoppable offense on some nights and impenetrable defense on others. In Friday night's 38-0 win over King's Ridge Christian, the Lions did it with special teams as they kicked off the GHSA Class A private school playoffs.

Christian Heritage (10-1), after winning its first GHSA region title a week ago, jumped to a 35-0 halftime lead thanks to a blocked field-goal attempt, three blocked (or severely rushed) punts - one returned for a touchdown - and a mishandled kickoff by the visitors, who ended their season 2-5.

"The big thing was how we dominated on special teams," said coach Jay Poag, whose team hosts George Walton Academy (8-2) from Monroe next week. "It's a good start, and now it's on to step number two."

Gage Leonard and Solomon Locke scored two touchdowns each and Ben Hermann returned a blocked punt for a touchdown. Leonard blocked the field-goal attempt and rushed for 64 yards, and Locke led the Lions with 84 yards and scored on a run and a screen pass from Christian Thomas.

Calhoun 46, Lithia Springs 21: The Yellow Jackets (8-3) pulled away from a 29-21 halftime lead to win their Class AAAAA playoff opener on the road and will travel next week to Clarke Central (8-2). It is the 20th consecutive season Calhoun has won at least one playoff game, with 18 of the previous 19 runs reaching at least the quarterfinals.

Calhoun running back Jerrian Hames scored twice in the first half, his second touchdown run for a 20-7 lead, but the Lions (4-7) put together a 13-play drive capped by a Jai'que Hart 26-yard pass to tight end Zay Coerpning. Calhoun struck right back with a touchdown pass from Christian Lewis to Carson Griffin to go up 12 with less than two minutes left in the half, but Lydell Daniel returned the ensuing kickoff 86 yards to make it a 26-21 halftime game.

"We didn't play very well defensively in the first half, and that's the way we practiced this week," Calhoun coach Clay Stephenson said. "But we weathered the storm and took control in the second half. We did a good job up front, and on those two second-half drives we kind of ran it down their throats."

The Jackets got a pair of field goals from freshman Sergio Sanchez to go up 11 and sealed it early in the fourth quarter when backup Dylan Faulkner, in for a hobbled Lewis, hit Blaze Hammett for a touchdown pass.

North Hall 36, North Murray 28: In Class AAA in Gainesville, the Mountaineers (6-4) couldn't recover from an early 21-0 hole.

The Trojans (7-4) got nearly 300 rushing yards and two touchdowns from Clark Howell and made a handful of fourth-down defensive stops. A line-drive opening kickoff bounced off a North Murray player, leading to a Howell score.

After North Murray turned the ball over on downs, Howell broke off a 51-yard touchdown run and, after the visitors fumbled a punt return, Kevin Rochester scored the first of his two touchdowns for a 21-0 lead in the second quarter.

The Mountaineers got on the scoreboard with a Seth Griffin 5-yard touchdown pass to Dante Tidwell just before intermission and made it a seven-point game a minute into the second half when Shawn Myers returned a fumble for a touchdown.

They had the ball inside the North Hall 30 late in the third quarter when a Griffin fourth-down pass was dropped. The North Hall lead was 16 when Griffin hit Noah Lunsford for a 35-yard touchdown pass, cutting the lead to eight with a 2-point pass to Cade Petty. The Mountaineers had the ball back late, but Trey Stover's interception sealed the win for the Trojans.

Cherokee Bluff 35, LaFayette 7: In Class AAA in Flowery Branch, the Ramblers (4-6), making their first playoff appearance in 27 years, took the game's first lead on a Jaylon Ramsey 43-yard touchdown pass to Junior Barber, but the Bears (10-1) used a dominating defense to take control.

"We were very ineffective on offense tonight," coach Paul Ellis said. "They did a good job stopping the run."

Cherokee Bluff's Jayquan Smith scored three touchdowns (two runs, one catch).

Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.

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