The Tri-County Journal
& Chattahoochee Chronicle
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Buena Vista, GA 31803
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44-36 win over Schley County
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By RICHARD HARRIS
(From the November 15, 2006 issue)
Chattahoochee County visited Schley County’s Wildcat Field last Friday for the final game of the regular season with both teams still in the hunt for the playoffs.
In addition to the playoff ramifications, toss in the facts that Schley County was having its best season in school history, and that it was the first-ever season of varsity football for Chattahoochee County (which won’t have a senior class until next year), and that while the teams can’t be described as cross-town rivals there aren’t a lot of miles between them, and Chattahoochee’s coach is even a Schley County native, and, well, you get the picture.
It was in this atmosphere that the Panthers and Wildcats put on a wild offensive show for a packed house – combining for around 1,000 yards and 80 points – before the visitors won by a final score of 44-36.
Chattahoochee improved to 5-5 overall and 4-3 in the region to claim Region 4-A’s No. 3 seed in the state playoffs. They will face Seminole County (8-2 and ranked No. 10) in Donalsonville this Friday, Nov. 17. If they win, they will play again on Nov. 24 against the winner of this Friday’s game between Emanuel County and Hawkinsville.
“This was a great win for our program,” said Coach Josh Kemp. “Schley County has an excellent team and Coach McFather has done a great job with that football program. We knew going into the game that all of our guys would have to have a really good game to win, but they all came through and nobody had a bad night. … At the beginning of the season our team set our goal as making the state playoffs. A lot of people told me I was letting our guys set the bar too high, but I felt we had the talent to do it and I didn’t want us to use our youth as an excuse. The guys worked really hard and now they’re hoping to make some noise in the playoffs, too.”
Schley County fell to 6-4 overall and 3-4 in the region, but it was their first-ever winning season and the team showed a lot of improvement. Coach McFather said he is very proud of his players.
“Our kids persevered through a lot of difficulties this year,” he said. “We learned to keep playing hard even when we were banged up and we also had some kids who stepped up and played well when they were needed. I don’t want our guys to think about what would’ve been or could’ve been. Sure, they were upset about losing, but I told them to reflect on the whole season instead of the last ball game.”
While the game was basically an offensive shoot-out, the game turned on two huge goal line stands by the Panthers.
Then, late in the fourth quarter with the Wildcats only inches from the goal line and the Panthers clinging to an eight-point lead, Quin Jones forced a fumble, which was recovered by Lester Jones to end the threat.
CCHS Leaders:
Quarterback Caleb Horvath, sophomore, had a huge night to lead the Panthers. He completed 22 of 28 passes for 350 yards and four touchdowns, and was only intercepted once.
Delandis Harris was his favorite target, hauling in six passes to 144 yards and scoring two touchdowns. Jacovi White also had a great night as a receiver with 101 yards and a touchdown.
Freshman Niko Jones had a combined 120 yards rushing and receiving, and scored three touchdowns, while Octavius Staton added a combined 93 yards of rushing and receiving and scored a touchdown.
Lester Jones led the defense with 10 tackles, forced a fumble, and recovered a fumble. Quin Jones and Matt Thompson, as mentioned above, both made crucial defensive plays during the game.
SCHS Leaders:
The Wildcats’ sophomore quarterback, Deondrick Pina, also had a good game, throwing for 125 yards and running for another 115. Jontu Solomon led the rushing attack with 107 yards, and Charvis Mann was the leading receiver.
Caleb Justice, who had missed much of the season due to an injury, returned at linebacker and gave a gutsy performance to help lead the defense.
Game Summary:
* Schley jumped out to a quick 20-0 lead in the first quarter and seemed poised to dominate the game, but Chattahoochee kept battling and took advantage of some breaks to climb right back into the game.
* Chattahoochee started from its own 35 and drove for its first score with 2:02 left in the first quarter. The 65-yard drive culminated with a 17-yard touchdown run by Niko Jones (6-20).
* Chattahoochee then used a “squib kick” on the kickoff and it bounced over a Wildcat and was recovered by the Panthers all the way down on the 19-yard line. Horvath then hit Staton for a 17-yard TD pass (12-20).
* Schley then put together a 75-yard drive, with Pina scoring on a 22-yard run and then finding Dustin Kirby in the endzone on the two-point conversion (12-28).
* Chattahoochee responded with another scoring drive, aided by a nice run by Lester Jones and a good catch by Niko Jones. Horvath then tossed a 15-yard TD pass to Harris (18-28).
* After getting the ball back, Chattahoochee’s Horvath tossed a long touchdown pass to Staton (24-28).
* Schley drove to inside the one yard line, but Thompson picked off a pass in the endzone with 3 seconds left in the first half (24-28 at halftime).
* Chattahoochee opened the second half with a 63-yard drive. On the second play, Horvath hit White with a short pass across the middle and White rambled down to the 19-yard-line. On the next play, Jones ran for a touchdown, making a nice cutback around the 5-yard line to go in untouched. Horvath hit Staton on the two-point conversion (32-28).
* The offenses finally slowed down for most of the rest of the third quarter, with several punts going back and forth before Schley put together a 65-yard scoring drive. Pina rushed for an 11-yard score early in the fourth quarter, then also carried the ball in for the two-point conversion (32-36).
* After the kickoff Chattahoochee had the ball on its own 32. On the first play, the Wildcats almost sacked Horvath, but the young quarterback showed poise, scrambled away and launched a long pass that was caught by Antwan Ross who was finally brought down at the 3-yard line. Jones then ran the ball in for a touchdown (38-36).
* Schley County was then forced to punt from its own 27.
* With 6:21 left in the game Horvath threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to Ross (44-36).
* Schley then marched 65 yards down the field and had the ball inside the 1-yard line, but Quin Jones forced a fumble that was recovered by Lester Jones with 1:17 left on the clock and the Panthers ran the clock out.