Falcons hold off Patriots in dramatic fashion

CONYERS -- Flowery Branch football coach Lee Shaw has said all year his defense is the glue that has held together his Class AAAA third-ranked Falcons.

The unit proved it on Friday night, stopping Heritage on a fourth-and-5 from the Flowery Branch 8 to preserve a 21-13 win over the 10th-ranked Patriots.

"A lot of people talk about our offense but the defense is the unsung heroes of this team," Shaw said after watching his team let a 21-0 lead dwindle to just eight points in the final 5:24 of the game.

Falcons defensive back Noel Padmore supplied the clinching stop, drilling Heritage running back Dominic Craft -- who had exploded for two 30-plus touchdown runs in a 1:22 span -- to douse the Patriots' comeback hopes.

"We didn't play at our best, but Heritage was playing tough," Shaw said. "We found a way to win in the end and that's all that matters."

The victory pushed undefeated Flowery Branch (7-0, 7-0 Region 8-AAAA) into sole possession of first in Region 8-AAAA over the previously unbeaten Patriots. Heritage (7-1, 7-1) falls back to second place one game ahead of Clarke Central.

Flowery Branch looked to have total command of the game when Jeremy Haley scored his second touchdown of the game on a 6-yard run with 8:39 left in the game. Haley finished with 105 yards rushing and two scores on 14 attempts.

Yet the Heritage offense, which had been stifled most of the night, finally got going.

Craft capped a 60-yard drive with a 30-yard TD run to make it a 21-7 game and then the Patriots caught the Falcons napping, recovering an on-side kick. Craft struck again for a 37-yard TD run with 4:02 left to pull the hosts within 21-13.

Heritage held the Falcons to a three-and-out and got the ball back at the 50-yard line, where a pass interference penalty on the Falcons kept the Patriots' drive alive. But the Falcons defense refused to crack for a third straight possession.

Flowery Branch's C.J. Curry had a huge night, hauling in nearly 152 yards receiving on six passes from Kanler Coker, including a 14-yard TD catch to give the Falcons a 14-0 lead with just over a minute left in the first half. Coker finished the game 15-of-25 through the air for 274 yards -- though he was also sacked a number of times and finished minus-6 yards rushing for the contest.

Heritage's power ground game also rolled up a number of yards, as Craft and Quami Stanley helped the Patriots to 207 yards -- after amassing just 65 in the first half. The rushing game also helped Heritage to hold the ball for 27:31 against the Falcons' 18:33 of possession.

Despite the heart-stopping finish, the game started slowly for both teams. The two teams traded punts on their opening possessions before the Falcons were able to strike quickly to grab the lead. Coker connected with Casey Osborne (two catches, 52 yards) on a 30-yard pass which set up a 30-yard touchdown run by Haley on the next play for a 7-0 lead.

The score stayed that way until late in second quarter as both defenses dominated the action forcing a dozen punts combined. Flowery Branch, however, would increase its lead, led by the improvisation of Coker.

The senior was able to elude two Heritage defenders in his own end zone before finding a wide-open Curry in the middle of the field for a 71-yard pass to the Heritage 16. Two plays later the two would connect again a 14-yard TD pass for a 14-0 lead.

The Falcons will look to keep rolling next week when they play host to Loganville in Flowery Branch.