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Maroons clinch Hogo

By JIM CUNNINGHAM/Staff

Seth White scored the go-ahead touchdown with only one second left in the game to give the George Wythe Maroons a 14-7 victory over the Chilhowie Warriors Friday night at Pendleton Field.
The victory also allowed the Maroons to clinch the Hogoheegee District championship. GW finishes its regular season at 5-0 in the district and 9-1 overall. The Maroons automatically earn a berth in the Region C, Division 2 playoffs.
Chilhowie finishes at 4-1 in the district and 8-2 overall. Although Chilhowie might be out of the playoffs, there was still a chance it could go, depending upon games scheduled for this Friday.
George Wythe Head Coach Donnie Pruitt called the victory a good “first step” for his team’s entry into the post-season. He thought both teams played well. “They’ve got a good football team, and we’ve got a good football team,” he said.
White was also the leading rusher for GW with 97 yards on 12 carries. Devin Smith carried nine times for 68 yards. Larry McCoy, who has been recovering from an ankle injury, had 38 yards on five carries.
Chilhowie was led in rushing by Tyler Grinstead with 67 yards on 20 carries and Alex Russell with 62 yards on seven carries.
Smith started the Maroons off well by ripping off about 18 yards on the first play from scrimmage for a first down at the Chilhowie 43.
GW quarterback Jacob Sharitz completed a pass to Brandon Atwell that was stopped for no gain but then found Robert Yonce for a reception good for about seven yards. Yonce had two receptions for 29 yards.
But the drive stalled there as the Warriors stopped GW on a fourth and three play to take over on downs.
Both teams’ defenses took control for the rest of the quarter as the offenses traded punts.
The Warriors began to move the ball early in the second quarter. Grinstead had a 15-yard run for a first down during the drive that ended up at the GW 18-yard line.
But the Maroons took over on downs after a fourth and 10 play failed.
George Wythe then came back on their next possession with a scoring drive that was capped off on a one-yard run by Sharitz. Brett Grimes kicked the extra point to put GW up 7-0 with 3:48 left in the first half.
Chilhowie failed to threaten over the rest of the half, but went to work on its first possession of the second half.
The Warriors were faced with a fourth and inches situation at midfield, when Russell broke through the line and outraced the defense for a 49-yard TD run. Russell’s kick tied the game at 7-7 with 10:03 left in the third quarter.
The offenses failed to make any scoring threats for the rest of the third quarter as most possessions were ended on punts or fumbles. Jordan Polk of Chilhowie intercepted a pass deep in Warrior territory, but CHS failed to move the ball.
Then Brandon Davis of GW made an excellent punt return to set the Maroons up at the CHS eight, first and goal, with time running out.
The Chilhowie defense stopped three straight running plays to make it fourth and goal from a few inches away. The Maroons called a time-out with only four seconds left.
The ball was then handed off to White who busted through a crease in the defensive line for the winning touchdown. Grimes kicked the PAT to make it 14-7 with only one second showing.
The Warriors tried several laterals on the ensuing kickoff in a desperate attempt to get the tying touchdown but were stopped around midfield.

Chilhowie 0 0 7 0 –7
George Wythe 0 7 0 7 – 14

Scoring:
GW – Sharitz 1 run (Grimes kick)
CHS – Russell 49 run (Russell kick)
GW – White 1 run (Grimes kick)

Stats CHS GW
First downs 7 8
Yards rushing 148 198
Yards passing 6 58
Comp-Att-Int 3-6-0 5-8-1
Fumbles-lost 3-1 2-0
Punts-avg 7-36 4-40
Penalties-yds 3-35 3-30
(T – 1:59)