The Cartersville Hurricanes only led for 23 seconds, but it was the final 23. The home team drove 80 yards in four minutes and scored on a 1-yard run to escape with a 35-31 win over the Sandy Creek Patriots in the AAAA state quarterfinals.
It marks the second straight year the Patriots have been stopped in the round of 8 in their quest for a state title. Sandy Creek concluded the 2014 season with an 11-2 record.
Cartersville will play undefeated and top-ranked Buford for a trip to the Georgia Dome and the title game. Since both teams are number-one seeds, the home team will be determined by a coin toss.
After a fumble on the game’s opening possession deep in their own territory, the Patriots stiffened on defense and a fake field goal attempt by Cartersville didn’t work. Taking over at the 15, Sandy Creek moved up the field with two big pass plays, the first a 52-yarder from Trey Walker to Christian Branch that took the ball across midfield. Three plays later, Walker hooked up with Korey Banks on a 36-yard touchdown pass for the first score of the game.
The Patriots got the ball back when Trent Sellers forced a fumble and Tristan Mann recovered it inside the Hurricanes’ 40. But the drive stalled and Walker’s outstanding punt bounced inside the 5 but couldn’t be covered to avoid a touchback.
Cartersville drove 80 yards, more than 50 on a single pass play, and scored on a 1-yard run with 33 seconds left in the first quarter to tie the game. But Javon Jackson returned the ensuing kickoff 89 yards for a score to put the Patriots back in front.
The Hurricanes tied the score early in the second quarter on a short touchdown pass and Sandy Creek’s next possession was three-and-out. But a muffed punt gave the Patriots new life at midfield and after using the running game to move inside the 30 they got three points from Arnol Spaniol’s 44-yard field goal.
The Patriots’ defense struck again on the next possession, regaining the ball via a Brian Miller interception. Starting with a pass completion from Walker to Sam Beard, Sandy Creek worked the two-minute drill and got big help from a targeting penalty against Cartersville to move into the red zone. But the team could get no points and took at 17-14 lead into the locker room at halftime.
On its first possession of the second half the Patriots faced a fourth down at their own 10, but another muffed punt gave them the ball in much better field position and they took advantage of it. Capping a drive that started at the Sandy Creek 4, Eric Swinney took the handoff on third-and-1 and ran 20 yards for a touchdown and a 10-point advantage.
Cartersville kept its next drive alive with a fake punt at midfield that was converted for a first down, and two plays later the Hurricanes scored on a touchdown pass.
The Patriots struck a huge blow just before the end of the third quarter. Facing a fourth-and-2 at their own 49, they elected not to punt and Walker pitched to Swinney, who raced down the left sideline for a 51-yard touchdown run. Sandy Creek led 31-21 at the end of the third quarter.
But the Hurricanes were not finished. Boosted by an excellent kickoff return to midfield, they took the ball the rest of the way and completed the drive with a short scoring run to cut the lead to three with 8:48 left in regulation.
Walker connected with Banks on another deep ball, this time on third-and-8, to reach the Cartersville 17 as the Patriots attempted to burn the clock and pick up another score. But the Hurricanes’ defense pushed back, and on fourth down Spaniol’s 38-yard field goal attempt was wide right, giving Cartersville one more shot.
On third-and-10 at their own 20, the Hurricanes completed a pass to the Sandy Creek 35. Then, on third-and-8, another completion put the ball just outside the 10. A run attempt was stopped at the 1, allowing the clock to keep running, and a run on first-and-goal was stuffed with less than a minute left, followed by an offside penalty against the Patriots on what appeared to be Cartersville’s go-ahead touchdown. But the Hurricanes punched it in on the next play for what proved to be the winning score.
The Patriots kept their fans enthralled until the game’s final play. After Walker was sacked on first down, he completed a pass that was lateraled to Miller, who reached the Cartersville 30 before being tackled as time expired.
The other AAAA semifinal matchup next week pits St. Pius against Woodward, the only other team to defeat the Patriots this season.
The AAAA state championship game will be Saturday, Dec. 13, at 4:30 p.m. at the Georgia Dome.
