GAINESVILLE — Hart County scored 41 unanswered points to erase a first-quarter deficit en route to a stunning 55-22 win over North Hall at The Brickyard at Lynn Cottrell Stadium.
The Trojans (0-3) led 9-7 after the first quarter on a 32-yard field goal by Luke Brown, which was answered by a 90-yard kickoff return from Malachi Thomas, and a 4-yard touchdown run from Kevin Rochester.
The Bulldogs (1-2) then exploded for a 28-point second quarter. Thomas scored on a 14-yard run, Jl Lackey added a 1-yard TD run and Austen Whitworth tossing a pair of TD pass to Cane Berrong (31 yards) and 21- yards to Lackey to roll out to a 35-9 halftime lead.
The Bulldogs continued where they left off as Monte Maxwell returned kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown to open the second half. Thomas scored again on a 1-yard to cap their next drive to push the lead to 48-9.
North Hall added a 49-yard touchdown run from Kevin Rochester in the third quarter and got a 2-yard touchdown pass from Bradford Puryear to Cameron Crisp on the final play of the game.
North Hall (0-3) outgained Hart County 373 to 339 for the game and on the ground 280 to 243. But the Bulldogs averaged 14.2 yards a carry for the game. North Hall averaged 5.1 ypc for the game.
Clark Howell finished with 129 yards rushing to lead North Hall. Rochester had 94 yards on the ground for the Trojans.
Thomas, one of the premier running backs in the state, had 205 all-purpose yards on just 8 touches, including his kickoff return for a touchdown.
