DAHLONEGA, Ga. — Ever since a rough 38-13 loss to Cherokee Bluff back in August, North Hall has been using that as a rallying cry of sorts.
“Get back to Bluff.”
That was six weeks ago. The Trojans haven’t lost since. And they took a giant step toward that goal on Friday, holding off Lumpkin County 21-16 at The Burial Grounds to put themselves one win from their first region title since 2012.
“That's our goal. Win a region championship, go 8-2, and get back to Bluff in the playoffs,” junior quarterback Smith McGarvey said.
McGarvey had his best game of the season, passing for 172 yards (18-of-22 overall) and rushing for another 114 with 3 combined touchdowns against the Indians. He had no turnovers and was 5-of-7 on 3rd down throws for 69 yards and 1 TD.
“Smith played a great game. He stepped up and was phenomenal. But you know, he has the ability to do these things,” North Hall coach Sean Pender said. “But I'm very proud of this team as a whole. Ty Kemp and Luke Jenkins. Boy, those guys really stepped up.”
Kemp had 10 catches for 102 yards and Jenkins caught 6 passes for 46 yards and each had a touchdown grab. Jenkins’ TD catch came in the second quarter to give North Hall an 8-3 lead. Kemp’s came in the third quarter for a 15-3 advantage.
After Lumpkin cut it to 15-10 on a 10-yard touchdown throw from Cal Faulkner to AJ Scott, McGarvey answered that drive with a 42-yard scamper midway through the fourth quarter to push the lead back to 21-10.
The Indians got within 21-16 with 5:40 left on a 2-yard run by Nolan Matthews but North Hall would run out the final 5:40 as McGarvey converted a 3rd-and-9 and then a 4th-and-7 with passes to Jenkins and Kemp.
The victory gives North Hall (6-2, 5-0 Region 6-3A) a one game lead over GAC in the standings. But the Trojans own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Spartans after a 27-23 win last week.
“We had a great game plan,” Pender said. “Our defense did a phenomenal job the entire day. Lumpkin’s a good football team. They're going to make plays. But the way that our guys responded and made plays when we needed to, that was huge.”
McGarvey said the defense, especially in the first half, was the key.
“The defense just stepping up and just being huge, not letting them score. I mean, to hold them to three points in the first half? That was big,” he said.
Neither offense could get much going on their opening drives of the game as they exchanged punts.
The Indians got some traction on their second drive following a short North Hall punt. Matthews ran for 14 yards and Cal Faulkner connected on three passes to move Lumpkin to the North Hall 8. But it stalled and Josue Nieto booted a 24-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead late in the first quarter.
The Trojans punted again on their second drive but finally got untracked on their third. After generating just one first down on their first two drives, McGarvey was near flawless on this one.
Twice McGarvey connected with Kemp on third down throws of 17 and 6 yards to get them in the red zone. He finished off the over seven minute drive with his 5-yard TD pass to Jenkins. He capped it with a 2-point pass to Wade Haynes for an 8-3 lead they would take into the half.
McGarvey was 12-of-14 for 103 yards in the opening half. Kemp had 5 catches for 51 yards in the first half.
The North Hall defense held Faulkner to just 39 yards passing and 24 yards rushing in the first half. The Indians had just 100 total yards.
For the game, Faulkner finished just 13-of-22 for 122 yards and had just 47 yards rushing. Matthews had 89 yards on 16 carries, but 41 of that came on one run to set up the Indians’ second touchdown.
The Trojans can wrap up the 6-3A crown for good next week when they play host to winless Johnson. Pender said no matter who they play, they’re faceless opponents at this point.
“Right now, we just see faceless, nameless, opponents,” he said. “We just have to keep working hard every week and keep getting better. And I think we’ve gotten better since the Bluff game.
“(Championships) is what we are trying to work towards, and what we're trying to do, so every year I expect us to keep that mindset. But I’m also excited for these kids to have that chance as well.”
Lumpkin County (5-3, 3-2 Region 6-3A) dropped into a tie for third in the standings with Dawson County (4-4, 3-2 Region 6-3A) and those two teams will meet in Dawsonville next week.
