GAINESVILLE, Ga. — North Hall’s 43-27 Region 6-3A win over Pickens came down to the Trojans making several clutch plays on offense and defense in the final seven minutes on Saturday at The Brickyard.
The Trojans (4-2, 3-0 Region 6-3A) won their fourth straight overall and remained undefeated in region play at the halfway point of the region schedule.
“Overall, when our defense needed to make stops, they made them,” North Hall coach Sean Pender said. “When our offense needed to put them away, they were able to do that.”
Saturday’s game was a record-setting day for the Trojans’ passing game. They set a school record with 312 passing yards, and Cole Cable’s 202 receiving yards was also a school record. Three of his eight catches went for touchdowns.
“(Cole) is capable of doing stuff like that,” Pender said. “We were waiting for him to have one of those types of games. He came out and exploded. They were putting their corner on an island with him, and he was able to take advantage of that.”
Sophomore quarterback Alex Schlieman completed 13-of-18 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns. Schlieman’s 253 yards was the second most in a game in school history. Junior quarterback Smith McGarvey was 3-of-5 for 59 yards and one touchdown. He also had one rushing touchdown.
The Trojans finished with 474 total yards, including 162 on the ground. Luke Jenkins led the ground attack with 60 yards on 10 carries.
Still, the game came down to several key fourth-quarter possessions.
Nursing a 29-27 lead halfway through the final period, the Trojans’ defense was first game-changer with Pickens facing a 4th-and-10. Defensive lineman Charlie House and linebacker Parker Carlton sacked Pickens quarterback Hayden Jones, giving North Hall the ball on downs at the Dragons' 43.
The Trojans needed just two plays to take advantage. Carlton ran 23 yards to the 20, setting up McGarvey’s 20-yard scoring run to push the lead to 36-27 with 6:30 to play.
On the next Pickens’ series, the North Hall defense stopped the Dragons again on fourth down. On the first play after that change of possession, McGarvey hit Cable with a 37-yard touchdown pass to ice the game.
North Hall has three of its final four games at home – all in region play. The Trojans have a week off before resuming region play at home against Greater Atlanta Christian that will be for the region lead.
“We’ve got to worry about the next one,” Pender said. “We are happy about (the four-game winning streak), don’t get me wrong. We’ve got a bye week to get healthy and to get some stuff cleaned up. We are going to focus on that for the next few days then gear up to play a tough one against GAC."
The Trojans led 29-14 at the half but Pickens (3-2, 1-1 Region 6-3A) scored the first two touchdowns of the second half to cut the lead to two points. The Dragons’ two-point attempt to tie the game was stopped by a good open-field tackle by defensive back Walker Davis.
Carlton led the Trojans’ defense with 13 tackles and linebacker Buddy Clark had nine stops. Carlton had a sack and a forced fumble that was recovered by House that stopped another Pickens drive inside the North Hall 20 in the first half.
The Trojans built their 29-14 first-half lead on Schlieman’s 19-yard touchdown run. He threw scoring passes of 39 and 49 to Cable and 37 to Ty Kemp. Kemp caught five passes for 68 yards.
After Schlieman’s scoring run, the Trojans ran a trick play for a two-point conversion. Dalton Hulsey lined up wide right and was not covered by Pickens. McGarvey hit him with the pass for the conversion.
