FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Not since Cherokee Bluff won the second of its two straight region titles in 2021 have the Bears had a signature win.
They did just that on Friday night, running over North Hall 38-13 in a game many considered a toss-up coming in. The dominating victory gave them their first 3-0 start since 2021.
It was the kind of performance coach Tommy Jones was hoping for but wasn’t necessarily expecting in a rivalry showdown where the last three matchups had been decided by just 14 total points.
“I don’t know about all that (as far as statements), but it was a big win for our football team,” Jones said. “It’s always good to get an in-county win. Our guys seem to be focused and playing with tremendous effort right now.”
Turnovers had plagued the Bears the last two meetings with North Hall, both losses. The Bears had just one Friday on while picking off two North Hall passes, making two fourth down stops, blocking a punt, and taking advantage of another huge special teams miscue by the Trojans.
“We preach every game that every play is big in games like this,” Jones said. “You never know where the five or six plays are that usually turn the game around. The blocked punt was huge. We had a huge tackle on a fourth down when they were trying to get back in the game. We ran the ball really well tonight.”
Bluff ran for 199 total yards, with Connor Griffin (103) and Jackson Pirkle (101) each reaching the century mark. Quarterback Brooks Brien was a modest 8-of-17 for 106 yards, but his 66-yard catch-and-run to KT Thompson in the second quarter broke things open.
The Bluff defense held North Hall (0-2) to just 66 yards rushing and kept the Trojans’ two-headed quarterback monster in check most of the night. Smith Garvey was 12-of-22 for 130 yards, and Alex Schliemann was 5-of-9 for 18 yards, and both were picked off once.
“Coach (Chris) Griffin and our defensive staff always do a good job and have the guys in the right position to make plays,” Jones said. “North Hall has a great football team, and they have an explosive offense. Things just kind of bounced our way tonight.”
It was a tight contest, as expected, with the game tied at 7 following the first quarter as the teams traded touchdowns.
A series of punts gave the Bears a short field at the North Hall 43, eventually leading to a 2-yard Pirkle touchdown. Griffin ripped off a 22-yard run to the 21 and then added an 11-yard run to get Bluff into scoring position.
North Hall answered right back as McGarvey connected on a pair of third-down passes, 13 yards to Jacob Adams and 35 to Ty Kemp, to get the Trojans to the Bears 16. McGarvey finished off the drive with a 16-yard touchdown run to tie the game with 3:34 left in the opening quarter.
But the Bears exploded in the second, getting the two huge special teams plays to set up scoring drives while the defense allowed just two North Hall first downs after their only touchdown of the half.
Bluff put together a 15-play drive, capped by a 33-yard field goal from Garrett Hyder and after forcing a North Hall punt, Brien hit Thompson on a slant, which he turned into the 66-yard sprint to the end zone to extend the lead to 17-7 with just over 6 minutes left in the half.
Bluff forced another quick Trojans punt, and Landon Kemp blocked it, setting up a short field for the Bears. Griffin accounted for all 40 yards on the ground, including an 8-yard scoring run to make it 24-7 with 2:28 left.
North Hall muffed its next punt attempt, with the Bears recovering at the Trojans 1. Brien plunged in with 18 seconds left in the half for a stunning 31-7 halftime lead.
The Bluff defense held North Hall to 104 yards in the first half (52 passing, 52 rushing). The Bears piled up 148 yards on the ground alone in the first half.
Bluff extended the lead midway through the third quarter on a 34-yard scoring run by Pirkle, but North Hall answered, getting a 22-yard TD pass from McGarvey to Ty Kemp to cap a 70-yard drive to pull within 38-13.
Bluff committed its only turnover of the night when Caleb Cooper was stripped, and Dalton Hulsey recovered at the Bears' 30. But they were stopped on downs at the Bluff 7.
North Hall had one last-ditch chance to score, driving deep into Bluff territory, but Malcolm Millsap picked off Schliemann in the waning seconds.
