Grangers hold off Washington Co. in AA semifinal

ATLANTA - Justin Patterson rushed for 142 yards on 26 carries and Ben Higgins kicked a 50-yard field goal as No. 4 LaGrange beat No. 5 Washington County 20-17 in a Class AAA state semifinal on Friday.<br> <br> The Grangers (13-1), seeking their second championship in three years, advance to next week&#39;s championship game, where they&#39;ll face the winner of Saturday&#39;s game between No. 2 Peach County and No. 10 Spalding.<br> <br> LaGrange won the 2001 Class AAA championship.<br> <br> Washington County (12-2) scored on a 97-yard kickoff return by Stacy Walls, who also rushed for 169 yards on 24 carries.<br> <br> LaGrange held a 253-220 advantage in total yards over the Golden Hawks, who came in averaging 369 yards and 39 points per game.<br> <br> The kickoff return in the first quarter tied the score at seven, but LaGrange got a one-yard run from Thad Todd and field goals of 50 and 21 yards from Higgins to fashion a 20-10 lead.<br> <br> Walls caught a 12-yard pass from Justin Burden with 3:48 left cut it to 20-17, but LaGrange&#39;s Montoya Young intercepted Burden&#39;s pass on Washington County&#39;s last possession to seal the win.

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