GAINESVILLE — For the entire game, senior linebacker Jeremiah Telander and the North Hall defense had done just about everything right to slow down Cherokee Bluff and Class 3A’s No. 1 offense.
Telander, with 11 tackles, and the Trojans, who posted 14 tackles for loss, limited the Bears, who came in averaging 48.1 points/game, to just eight yards on 12 attempts in the first half. They also held Jayquan Smith to only 10 yards on 10 carries deep into the fourth quarter.
But a huge strip-and-score by Connor Hulsey late in the third quarter and a clutch 49-yard touchdown by Smith, with just 6:03 left, helped Bluff survive a 251-yard, three-touchdown effort from North Hall’s Kevin Rochester for a 28-26 win at Lynn Cottrell Stadium at The Brickyard Friday night.
The win gave Bluff (9-0, 5-0 Region 7-3A) its second-consecutive Region 7-3A title.
Bears’ coach Tommy Jones said his group never wavered even after falling down, 14-0, midway through the second quarter.
“Our kids were very resilient. We never quit when it would have been easy to. We had some guys step up and make some big plays. I just couldn’t be more proud of our guys,” Jones said. “Telander played one of the best defensive games I’ve seen a guy have in a long time. On Smith’s one big run, we were able to finally get (Telander) caught up (in some traffic). On the defensive touchdown, I didn’t see it and I still don’t know exactly what happened. I just know it was good fortune for us and turned the momentum of the game.”
A scoreless first quarter saw both defenses come up with big stops early. The Bears forced a quick North Hall three-and-out, but on their first play, Ajay Jones intercepted a Sebastian Irons pass.
The Trojans did march down to the Bears 29, but Bluff held, and a Luke Brown 46-yard field goal sailed wide left in the wind and rain. But the Trojans forced another Bluff punt, and the offense finally broke through.
North Hall drove down the Bears 6 on the final play of the first quarter, and then Rochester capped a 53-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown on the opening play of the second quarter.
After another Bears punt, Rochester struck again, this time with a 64-yard blast right up the middle for a 14-0 lead with just under eight minutes left.
With the Trojans seemingly ready to take control, the Bears' offense finally responded.
A 16-yard pass from Irons to Marlion Jackson got things started. Brayden Nance later followed with a 12-yard run to the Trojans 44. A 15-yard penalty on North Hall and a 28-yard pass to Jackson to the North Hall 1 set up Nance’s 1-yard TD run to cut it to 14-7.
The Bears got the first big break of the game 90 seconds later when a bad snap on a punt by the Trojans set up a 9-yard touchdown pass from Irons to Nance with 37 seconds left in the half to tie the game.
But Rochester exploded again for a 68-yard run on the next play to the Bears 6, and Brown booted a 23-yard field goal on the final play of the half to give the Trojans a 17-14 halftime lead.
It was billed as a battle of running backs between Smith and Rochester, who were second and third in Class 3A in rushing coming into the game.
Rochester had a huge half with 194 yards and a score. The Trojans' defense stuffed the Bears' run game to just eight yards on 12 carries in the half. Smith managed negative-three yards on five carries.
“The defensive coaches had a great plan and the guys played great,” North Hall coach David Bishop said. “In the end, (Bluff) made a couple more plays than we did. It was a great high school football game.”
North Hall created another break to open the third quarter when Bradford Puryear picked off an Irons pass on the opening play. But the Bears defense made a crucial stop after the Trojans had a 1st-and-goal at the five, forcing a 20-yard field goal from Brown for a 20-14 lead. That would prove to be huge.
The Bears' defense then provided the biggest play of the game on the next North Hall series when Connor Hulsey stripped Hunter Riley and raced 42 yards on a fumble return for a touchdown to give Bluff a 21-20 lead late in the third quarter.
Bluff got the cushion it needed, stopping the Trojans on downs midway through the fourth, and Smith, who had just 10 yards on the ground through his first 10 carries, finally broke loose rambling 49 yards two plays later for a 28-20 Bears lead.
The Trojans, however, answered with their best drive of the game when they needed it most. Rochester capped the 80-yard jaunt with a 2-yard scoring run. But the Bears stuffed Rochester on the ensuing 2-point conversion to keep the score 28-26 with 2:14 left.
The Trojans’ onside kick then went out of bounds, and the Bears ran out the final two minutes to seal their second consecutive region title.
The Trojans, who came in leading Class 3A in rushing at 310 yards/game, finished with 403 yards on the ground. Jones provided some big plays with 85 yards on just five carries for North Hall.
Bluff’s ground game, which was averaging over 260 yards/game, was held to just 79 yards on the ground. Irons finished 8-of-18 for 103 yards. Jackson had 4 catches for 57 yards, and Justice had 2 catches for 38 yards for the Bears.
SCORING SUMMARY
Cherokee Bluff.....0....14....7....7 -- 28
North Hall............0....17....3....6 -- 26
Second Quarter
N -- Rochester 6 run (Brown kick) 7-0, 11:54
N -- Rochester 64 run (Brown kick) 14-0, 7:54
C -- Nance 1 run (Arbour kick) 14-7, 3:00
C -- Nance 11 pass from Irons (Arbour kick) 14-14, 0:37
N -- Brown 23 FG 17-14, 0:00
Third Quarter
N -- Brown 20 FG 20-14, 9:07
C -- Hulsey 42 fumble return (Arbour kick) 21-20, 1:43
Fourth Quarter
C -- Smith 49 run (Arbour kick) 28-20, 6:03
N -- Rochester 2 run (run failed) 28-26, 2:14
