FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – As the fourth quarter played out at Yonah Field Friday night, it became apparent with each series that the last team to have the ball would win.
That was almost the case. Almost.
Oconee County held on for a 28-24 Region 8-3A win over Cherokee Bluff as the Bears’ last play came up short.
“Oconee made one more play than we did, and that’s a credit to them,” Cherokee Bluff Coach Tommy Jones said. “Our kids fought to the very end.”
The Warriors (4-2, 1-0 Region 8-3A) took the lead with 7.2 seconds left on quarterback Brody Hannah’s 17-yard pass to Brayden Stephens.
Cherokee Bluff (4-2, 0-1 Region 8-3A) did not give up. After the kickoff, quarterback Cooper Dean completed a 24-yard pass to Malcolm Millsap to the Bears’ 44-yard line, leaving 2 seconds on the clock.
As time expired, Dean threw long. His pass was deflected and caught by Cherokee Bluff’s Huddie Kemp inside the 10. Kemp lateraled the ball, which bounced around and ended up in the end zone. After the scramble, Oconee recovered to end the game.
Cherokee Bluff returns to region action at home next Friday against West Hall. The Bears have shown toughness all season, so Jones knows his team will bounce back.
“They will rebound,” Jones said. “This group we have, they're mentally tough, they're mentally strong. They're great kids. They work hard. They're going to come back to work on Monday and get ready for the next one. This is a gauntlet in this region. We didn't get this one, but we're going to go back to work.”
Oconee broke a 7-7 halftime tie with an 88-yard drive to take a 14-7 lead on Caiden Wood’s 12-yard run. The Bears answered with a long drive of their own that ended with Jacoby Guiliano’s 43-yard field goal to cut the lead to 14-10 entering the fourth quarter.
That’s where the game became a classic, with the lead changing four times in the last 6:57 of the game.
Cherokee Bluff running back Jackson Pirkle kick-started the Bears’ first drive of the final quarter with a 29-yard run. After reaching the Warriors' 22, the Bears had touchdowns on back-to-back plays called back by holding penalties.
Facing fourth-and-19, Dean hit Kemp with a 33-yard touchdown pass, giving the Bears a 17-14 lead. Oconee retook the lead on Hannah’s 1-yard run. The key play for the Warriors was Wood’s 49-yard catch and run to the Cherokee Bluff 31.
With less than four minutes to play, the Bears went on a methodical drive. Dean found Pirkle for a 32-yard scoring play with 56.3 seconds to play, and the Bears went back ahead 24-21.
The Warriors had one more drive in them. Blake Thomas caught a 37-yard pass to the Bears’ 31. Oconee reached the Bears’ 17, where Cherokee Bluff defenders Maddax Sutulovich, Brock Hall, and Dylan Haley broke up passes on the goal line.
On the next play, Hannah found Stephens with the winning 17-yard scoring play.
After the start of the game was delayed until 8:20 p.m. due to lightning within eight miles of the stadium, the teams moved the ball, but there was no scoring until early in the second quarter.
The Bears forced their second fumble of the game, and linebacker Conner Cook recovered it at the Warriors’ 12. On the first play of the second quarter, Millsap took the direct snap and swept around the right end for an 8-yard touchdown run and a 7-0 Cherokee Bluff lead.
The Warriors answered on their next possession when quarterback Hannah hit Thomas with a 44-yard touchdown pass with 8:42 left in the half.
Oconee threatened a series later. The Warriors reached the Cherokee Bluff 24 on Josh Woelfl’s 37-yard run, but three penalties and Tony Rushin’s sack pushed the Warriors back to the 50 and ended the threat.
