GAINESVILLE — There wasn’t much for North Hall coach David Bishop to breakdown after watching his Trojans get run over in a 42-0 loss to Stephens County on Friday night at The Brickyard.
“They came in here and just put one on us,” Bishop said afterwards. “They hit some big plays early and that took a lot of the wind out of our sails. We had a couple of key guys get hurt and that affected our depth. But it’s a decision process for us right now.
“We’ve been here before and just have got to look at things we’ve got to fix. We’re going to have to get better at fighting and making plays when we need to.”
For one quarter at least, it looked like the game most expected. The defenses controlled the action as the Indians forced a quick three-and-out and the Trojans’ Jeremiah Telander intercepted a Ben Stowe pass in the end zone to snuff out their first drive.
But after another North Hall punt, Stephens County broke the tie on a 4-yard TD run by Stowe to cap a 52-yard drive for a 7-0 lead late in the period.
After a promising Trojans drive was cut short by a penalty, the Indians stuck again. Stowe and Cam Lacy connected on a 63-yard pass for a touchdown for a 14-0 lead just two plays into the second quarter.
Mistakes continued to plague North Hall. A botched snap on a punt attempt ended up with Stephens County’s Vadole Fleming falling on a bouncing ball in the end zone to push its lead to 21-0.
The Trojans finally mounted a drive into Stephens County territory midway through the second quarter on their next possession. But facing a long second down, Bradford Puryear was picked off by Lacy in the end zone, who then returned it to midfield to kill the North Hall drive.
The Indians wasted little time again. Stowe and Corey Ritchie combined for a 46-yard pass to the North Hall 1 and TJ Everett scored on the next play for a stunning 28-0 lead.
The Trojans best chance to score in the first half came on the final play and Luke Brown’s 50-yard field goal attempt was long enough but sailed just wide left at the buzzer.
The Indians picked right up where they left off in the second half. They capped an 80-yard drive with a 20-yard TD pass from Stowe to Kelton Cade to open the third quarter.
After forcing another North Hall punt, TJ Everett capped their next drive with a 33-yard touchdown run to make it 42-0.
North Hall mounted its best drive of the game in the fourth quarter getting to the Indians 4. But a fumble on third down on the next play ended that drive without points.
One week after piling up over 300 yards on the ground in a win over Paulding County, the Trojans were held to just 155. The Indians made sure Kevin Rochester would not be able to repeat his 248-yard performance holding him to just 53 yards on 16 carries. Puryear finished with 90 yards to pace North Hall.
The Indians offense showed plenty of balanced rushing for 191 yards and Stowe went 9-for-11 for 216 yards and two touchdowns passing. Ritchie finished with four catches for 107 yards for the Indians.
SCORING SUMMARY
Stephens Co.....7....21....14....0 -- 42
North Hall.........0.....0......0.....0 -- 0
First Quarter
S -- Ben Stowe 4 run (Morris kick) 7-0, 1:16
Second Quarter
S -- Lacy 62 pass from Ben Stowe (Morris kick) 14-0, 11:32
S -- Fleming fumble recovery in end zone (Morris kick) 21-0, 9:16
S -- Ritchie 1 run (Morris kick) 28-0, 2:16
Third Quarter
S -- Cade 19 pass from Ben Stowe (Morris kick) 35-0, 7:19
S -- Everett 33 run (Morris kick) 42-0, 2:57
