GAINESVILLE — North Hall's ground and pound game carved out 325 yards rushing en route to a 16-0 shutout win over Jackson County Friday at The Brickyard.
North Hall's JT Fair led the way with 203 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns, while Cody Smith added 77 yards on 14 carries. The North Hall (2-0) defense held Jackson County to just 48 yards on 27 carries.
"When you talk about defense, I couldn't be more proud of coach Stuart Cunningham and Coach David Nichols," he said. "They kept us in the game. JT Fair had an outstanding night. He had some big plays on the night"
Early on, both teams were stingy on defense with neither team able to get much offense going. Following a second-quarter missed field goal by the Panthers, the Trojans capitalized on the next drive.
Fair grabbed the handoff from quarterback Trey Sanders and sprinted past the Panther defense 80 yards to paydirt, giving the Trojans a 7-0 lead with 4:57 left in the half.
Following the big play, Jackson County (1-1) was forced to punt after only being able to move the chains once. The Trojans sensed the opportunity to double their lead.
That's when Sanders led the Trojans on an eight-play, 73-yard drive, taking all but 13 seconds of the remaining time until halftime. Two minimal gains had the Trojans facing a 3rd and 8 on their 29-yard line when Jacob Dickey (10 rush, 38 yards) contributed his best run of the night, a 13-yarder, to move the chains. With under 30 seconds remaining, Fair scored his second touchdown of the night from 47 yards out giving the Trojans a commanding 14-0 lead going into the half.
North Hall opened the second half looking to put the game out of reach with a long drive that ended with a fumble on the Panther 3-yard line.
Jackson County came out throwing the ball more and following two nice completions, the Panthers were in North Hall territory. The drive abruptly ended there when quarterback Jesse Whiting's pass was intercepted by the Trojans' Keegan Chambers.
The Panthers would force a turnover on downs, but after just three plays, the Trojan defense came up with another interception. This time it was an impressive one-handed snag by Jacob Dickey.
Both teams traded possessions into the 4th quarter, highlighted with a safety, set up by the Trojans Luke Brown's 42-yard punt downed by Luke Volle at the 2-yard line. Two plays later, North Hall defensive end Jeremiah Teelander busted through to make the tackle in the end zone, giving the Trojans a 16-0 lead with 3:59 remaining.
The Trojans travel to Cherokee Friday, and Jackson County will play Lumpkin County at home. Both games are set to kick off at 7:30 p.m.
SCORING SUMMARY
| Jackson County | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| North Hall | 0 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 16 |
Second Quarter
NH -- Fair 80 yard run (Brown kick), 4:57
NH -- Fair 47 yard run (Brown kick), 0:13
Fourth Quarter
NH -- Teelander Safety 3:59
