George Wythe defeats Chilhowie

By JIM CUNNINGHAM/Staff

The George Wythe Maroons held off a late two-point conversion by the Chilhowie Warriors to win the game and to also win the Hogoheegee District championship.
The Maroons held a 23-7 lead at the end of the third quarter Friday night in Chilhowie, but the Warriors came back to with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The last one came with only 1:03 left in the game and provided CHS a chance a tie the game with a successful two-point conversion.
But Chilhowie quarterback Josh Jackson, who had just scored the game’s final touchdown on a 46-yard run, had his two-point pass intercepted in the end zone by GW’s Randy Divers.
The Maroons then got the ball back and allowed the game’s final minute to tick off.
George Wythe captured the district title with a 5-0 record. GW is now 6-4 overall and will play in a Region C first round game on Friday, Nov. 14. The site and opponent haven’t yet been learned.
It was the first loss of the season for Chilhowie who falls to 4-1 in the district and 9-1 overall.
It could not be determined at press time if Chilhowie would be eligible to compete in the regionals.
George Wythe Head Coach Donnie Pruitt said it was a great game “between the two best teams in the district. That’s what it should come down to.”
The coach noted that many of his players came up with big plays throughout the game.
In addition to Wood’s big defensive play at the end of the game, Wood also made four pass receptions for 48 yards. Brandon Atwell scored two touchdowns and kicked a field goal. Will Sawyers was the GW’s leading rusher with 59 yards on 14 carries and also caught two passes for 34 yards, including a touchdown. Jonathan Turpin rushed for 45 yards on 12 carries. Quarterback Jacob Sharitz completed eight of his 15 passes for 96 yards, including two TD throws.
Chilhowie quarterback Josh Jackson completed five of his 15 passes for 122 yards, including two touchdowns. Alex Russell gained 41 yards on 18 carries.
The Maroons took the game’s opening possession and moved down inside the Chilhowie 10-yard line. The drive stalled there, so on fourth down, Atwell connected on a 24-yard field goal. Those points would prove to be vital in the victory.
The Warriors’ first possession of the game was ended when Atwell made an interception to allow GW to take over on its own 11-yard line.
Sharitz picked one a first down with a carry, and Sawyers also moved the chains on a nice run, but GW had to punt.
The Warriors also had to punt as the first quarter came to a close.
Wood made a good punt return for GW to put the Maroons in good field position at the CHS 22. But the Maroons failed to move the ball as Chilhowie took over on downs.
After another Chilhowie punt, GW began to move the ball again as Atwell picked up one first down on a 10-yard run, and Sharitz passed to Wood for another first down.
Sharitz later found Atwell open and connected for a 17-yard TD pass. Atwell kicked the PAT to put GW up 10-0 with 4:42 left in the first half.
Neither team threatened for the rest of the half.
Chilhowie made things a lot closer on its first possession of the second half when Jackson connected with Tuff Williams on a third and 13 play for a 66-yard touchdown. The PAT kick by Russell cut the Maroon lead to 10-7 with 10:25 left in the third quarter.
The Maroons had to punt on their first possession of the second half, but they scored a defensive touchdown when Atwell alertly scooped up a Chilhowie fumble and outran several Warriors for a 51-yard touchdown. Atwell then kicked the PAT to put GW up 17-7 with 6:13 left in the third quarter.
Chilhowie’s next possession also ended quickly when Sawyers intercepted a pass to set GW up at the CHS 30. A few plays later, Sawyers caught a pass from Sharitz and raced 21 yards for a touchdown. The kick missed, but GW was now up 23-7 with 3:17 left in the third.
The two teams traded punts over the rest of the third quarter and part of the fourth.
The Warriors got a break when they recovered a fumble with about five and half minutes left in the game. Jackson completed a crucial fourth down and 10 pass to put CHS inside the GW 10-yard line.
Fourth plays later, Chilhowie scored on a fourth down pass from Jackson to Austin. Jackson passed for the two-point conversion to Blevins to cut the margin to just eight points at 23-15 with 3:58 left in the game.
The Maroons were able to run a few minutes off the clock before turning the ball back over to Chilhowie with only 1:40 left.
It was enough time, however, as Jackson got free on a third and 10 play and ran through the GW defense for a 46-yard touchdown with 1:03 left in the game.
The Warriors went for the potential tying two-point play but came up short.

George Wythe 3 7 13 0 – 23
Chilhowie 0 0 7 14 – 21

Scoring:
GW – Brandon Atwell 24 FG
GW – Atwell 17 pass from Sharitz (Atwell kick)
CHS – T. Williams 66 pass from Jackson (Russell kick)
GW – Atwell 51 fumble return (Atwell kick)
GW – Sawyers 21 pass from Sharitz (kick failed)
CHS – Austin 4 pass from Jackson (Jackson pass to Blevins)
CHS – Jackson 46 run (pass failed)

Team GW CHS
First downs 12 7
Yards rushing 33-138 29-97
Yards passing 96 122
Comp-Att-Int 8-15-0 5-15-2
Punts-Avg. 3-33.0 5-39.2
Fumbles-lost 2-1 3-1
Penalties-yds 8-60 7-47
(Stats courtesy of Kenny Sayers)
(T – 2:21)