WATKINSVILLE, Ga. — The road to the Region 8-3 title has always figured to go through Jefferson.
On Thursday, Cherokee Bluff put itself in position to take the first swing at the Dragons after taking an impressive 17-10 win over Oconee County on the road.
Brooks Brien threw a pair of second half touchdowns and the Bears defense, which came in leading the region, held a Warriors offense scoring 44 points/game during a four-game win streak to just one second half touchdown.
Brien’s TD passes of 53 yards to Malcolm Millsap and 35 yards to Dylan Haley on consecutive drives gave Bluff just enough of a cushion. Apparently no good idea was overlooked in game prep.
“We put a lot of good schemes in this week and came out the second half and ran some of those plays,” said Brien, who threw for 171 yards. “One of the plays we scored on we actually put in during the pregame meal today. It was the first time we ever ran it and we scored on it so that was fun.”
His pass to Millsap broke a 3-3 halftime tie and came after the defense forced a missed Warriors field goal on their opening drive of the third quarter. His 35-yard scoring pass followed a Rylan Ackermn sack of Oconee’s Titus Watkins, their fourth of the game, to thwart another Warriors drive.
“The defense played phenomenal,” Brien said. “Them getting those stops and getting the ball back for us helped us...knowing that they're going to get it back to us again and give us another shot.”
Bluff coach Tommy Jones was all smiles after a post-game speech to his team saying the undefeated Bears (8-0, 3-0 Region 8-3A) still had plenty of doubters.
“I thought Brooks played excellent,” Jones said. “He had some big shots when we needed him to hit them and made some good throws in some timely situations. The defense was outstanding to hold down an offense that good.”
Except for a 49-yard run by Oconee’s Caiden Wood on the Warriors first play and a 28-yard pass from Brien to KT Thompson, the defenses dominated the opening half.
Wood’s long run on the Warriors opening drive led to a 27-yard field goal from Bo Boykin for a 3-0 lead midway through the first quarter. After that, Oconee County was held to just two first downs the rest of the half.
Watkins was sacked three times, including a huge 11-yard loss with 1 second left in the half. As a result, Boykin was unable to convert a 42-yard field goal as time expired.
For the Bears, they were forced to punt on their first three drives. But Brien’s 28-yard strike to Thompson moved them to the Warriors 12. But they failed to convert a 3rd-and-2 at the 4 and settled for a 20-yard Garrett Hyder field goal with 5:37 left in the half.
After giving up the big run to Wood on the Warriors’ first play, the Bears held Oconee County to just 33 yards on 17 carries the rest of the half to go with the three sacks.
Bluff managed just 40 yards rushing on 15 carries but Brien was 6-of-10 for 52 passing in the opening half.
The Warriors (4-4, 2-1 Region 8-3A) opened the second half quickly driving down to the Bears 18. But Thompson knocked down a Watkins pass at the 10 to force another Boykin field goal attempt. However, he hit the left upright to keep it tied at 3.
After the Bears had seized control, Oconee County eventually cut the lead to 17-10 with 4:13 left in the game when Wood capped an 11-play drive with a 3-yard TD run.
But the Bears ran out the rest of the clock as Thompson converted a third down with a 10-yard run and Jackson Pirkle sealed the win with another first down run with just under a minute left.
Now, the Bears will turn their attention to Jefferson (6-2, 3-0 Region 8-3A). The win over the Warriors clinched a playoff berth. They can clinch the region title with a win over the Dragons.
But don’t expect much to change for Jones and the Bears.
“We're going to enjoy this one tonight, then we're going to get to work tomorrow and start looking at Jefferson,” Jones said. “They've got maybe the best football team in the state, but we're going to do our best to get ready to go compete.
“The message isn't going to change at all. It's about paying attention to details, doing the little things well, and playing connected.”
