SPORTS
Bill Murphy Sports Editor | 770-718-3415 | sports@gainesvilletimes.com
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gainesvilletimes.com
Saturday, November 24, 2018
TIMOTHY D. EASLEY I Associated Press
Georgia Tech quarterback TaQuon Marshall (16) runs from
the pursuit of Louisville linebacker Dorian Etheridge (17)
during the first half of a game on Oct. 5 in Louisville, Ky.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL I Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, noon, SECN
Jackets hope to stir trouble
Ga. Tech looks to mess up No. 5 Georgias postseason plans
BY PAUL NEWBERRY
Associated Press
ATLANTA — Georgia has
a looming showdown against
the nation’s top-ranked
team, a game that seems
destined to determine if the
No. 5 Bulldogs get another
shot at the College Football
Playoff.
Georgia Tech would love
nothing more than to mess
up those plans.
The state rivals close out
the regular season Satur
day between the hedges,
where Georgia (10-1) is a
17-point favorite to clear its
final hurdle before the Dec.
1 Southeastern Conference
championship game against
No. 1 Alabama.
The Yellow Jackets (7-4)
are sure playing up their role
as underdog, even though
they are in the midst of a
four-game winning streak.
With an ample amount of
awe in his voice, coach Paul
Johnson pointed to Georgia’s
701-yard outburst last week
in a 66-27 rout of UMass.
“I’m not sure we could
do that to our scout team,”
Johnson said. “They looked
unstoppable. Maybe they’ll
let us play with 12 on
defense.”
While it might be easy to
look ahead, the Bulldogs
insist their focus is firmly on
this game.
“The other team calls
themselves a Georgia team
as well,” receiver Terry
■ Please see TECH, 2B
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS I Class 5A quarterfinals
AIN’T THAT A KICK
Photos by AUSTIN STEELE I The Times
Buford’s Aaron McLaughlin (right) attempts to recover a fumble with Bainbridge’s Anthony Brooks closing in during the
Class 5A quarterfinal game on Friday, Nov. 23, at Tom Riden Stadium in Buford.
Special teams doom Buford in 23-20 loss to Bainbridge
Buford’s Derrian Brown carries the ball as he looks for an opening against
Bainbridge during the Class 5A quarterfinal game on Friday, Nov. 23, at Tom
Riden Stadium in Buford.
BY NATHAN BERG
nberg@gainesvilletimes.com
For the first time in over a decade,
Buford will not play in the state foot
ball semifinals.
On a night when cold temperatures,
swirling winds and constant rain made
for sloppy football, a slow start and
special teams errors doomed the No. 2
Wolves in a 23-20 Class 5A quarterfinal
loss to Bainbridge to end their season
on Friday night in Buford.
Senior running back Derrian Brown
rushed for 204 yards and a pair of
touchdowns on 30 carries for Buford
(10-3), but his heroic offensive effort
was not enough to will the team to vic
tory in a game where nothing really
seemed to go right for the home team.
Bainbridge (8-5), already coming off
back-to-back upsets in the previous
rounds, took advantage of two blocked
kicks — one punt and one field goal
attempt — and a Buford miss on a
potentially game-tying field goal try
late to pull off the shocking victory
over the second-ranked Wolves.
With the win, the Bearcats move on
to face Stockbridge in the semifinal
next Friday night.
“We just kept believing in our
selves,” Bainbridge coach Jeff Little
ton said. “The coaches believed in
our kids, they believed in the coaches,
and we just went back to work. I’m
so excited, it’s hard to say right now.
Nobody gave us a chance to be right
here in this spot except us. ”
The first quarter was about as disas
trous as it could have possibly been for
the Wolves. After losing 22 yards due
to a high snap that went over quar
terback Aaron McLaughlin’s head,
Buford was forced to punt from deep
inside its own territory. The kick was
blocked through the back of the end
zone, giving the Bearcats a 2-0 advan
tage early.
Following the Buford punt, it only
took Bainbridge two offensive plays
to go 43 yards and score a touch
down on a 15-yard rush from Caleb
McDowell. The Wolves gave the ball
up inside their own 10-yard line fol
lowing another mishandled snap, and
three plays later, McDowell got in for
his second score in a one-minute span.
Less than four minutes in, Buford
trailed 16-0. The Wolves’ defense
stepped up from there, but the offense
stayed cold, and after 12 minutes of
play it had accounted for -32 yards
from scrimmage.
The second quarter was an entirely
different story.
After exchanging three-and-outs to
start things off, Brown and the Buford
offense started to heat up. McLaugh
lin connected with Xyrie Wilson for
a 23-yard pickup, and Brown did the
rest of the work, taking it in from nine
yards out to put the Wolves on the
board.
After another quick stop, the Wolves
wasted no time in getting the offense
going again. Brown took a carry 45
yards from midfield, and McLaughlin
took it the rest of the way in on a QB
keeper.
“We started off a little iffy, but then
we got to where we needed to go,” said
Buford linebacker and strong safety
Davin Bryant, who recovered a fum
ble and made a fourth-down tackle
that forced a turnover on downs in the
game.
The score made it 16-13 in Bain
bridge’s favor, but momentum had
made a notable shift in the Wolves’
direction. A botched snap on a Bearcat
field goal sent the teams into halftime
separated by just three points. Bryant
said the message from the coaches
during the break was a simple one.
“Just keep going,” he said. “Don’t
quit. Just keep on going.”
The second half appeared des
tined to be a high-scoring affair after
McDowell returned the opening kick
91 yards for a Bainbridge score. Brown
picked up his second touchdown of the
game a few plays into Buford’s first
drive of the half to cut the Bearcats’
lead to 23-20.
But that would be the end of the
scoring for the night, as both defenses
locked down while the quarterbacks
struggled to complete passes with the
rain starting to intensify.
Both squads failed to move the ball
much until late in the fourth quarter.
Bainbridge drove deep into Buford
territory with time ticking down and
elected to go for it on fourth down
from the Wolves’ 8-yard-line rather
than risk a field goal attempt.
But Bryant came through to make
a tackle for a loss on Bainbridge’s
attempted end around, giving Buford
the ball back needing only a field goal
to tie things up.
“That’s just practice,” he said. “Like
I said before, coach, he prepares us all
week. We’ve just got to trust him, trust
his scheme and all that. If you buy into
his scheme, then good things happen. ”
■ Please see BUFORD, 2B
NFL
BUTCH DILL I Associated Press
New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins
(98) tries to sack Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt
Ryan (2) in the first half of the game on Thursday, Nov.
22, in New Orleans.
Back to the
drawing board
Falcons to consider O-line
changes after QB Ryan
sacked 6 times against Saints
BY CHARLES ODUM
Associated Press
ATLANTA — Changes are being considered on
Atlanta’s offensive line after Matt Ryan was sacked
six times in the latest of the Falcons’ three straight
losses.
Coach Dan Quinn said Friday backup linemen Zane
Beadles and Ty Sambrailo could have bigger roles as
the Falcons try to find better protection for Ryan and
improved run blocking.
The Falcons (4-7) ran for only 26 yards on 16 car
ries in their 31-17 loss at the New Orleans Saints on
Thursday night. Atlanta was eliminated from the NFC
South race and would need a dramatic turnaround to
revive its fading wild-card hopes.
Ryan and wide receivers Julio Jones and Calvin
Ridley lost fumbles in the red zone. Quinn said those
turnovers and the play on the line of scrimmage were
the “the two biggest factors in the game and that part
of our game needs a lot of attention and focus.”
“Obviously when you have a run game perfor
mance like we did, there’s a lot to look at and a lot
that needs our attention because that was consider
ably below the line,” Quinn said. “That was also the
big thing in pass protection.
“To have the six sacks and have the run game that
we did, that’s not going to get the job done.”
The Falcons have lost starting guards Brandon
Fusco and Andy Levitre to season-ending injuries.
Quinn said replacement starters Wes Schweitzer and
Ben Garland don’t deserve all the blame for the strug
gles against the Saints.
“It was a little bit spread around,” Quinn said. “If it
had just been one area we’d have tried to address it as
■ Please see FALCONS, 2B
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Alvarado rallies Ga. Tech
past Prairie View A&M
Jose Alvarado scored all 15 of his points in the sec
ond half Friday night when Brandon Alston scored 13
of his 14 to help Georgia Tech overcome a dreadful
shooting start and rally to beat Prairie View A&M and
avoid a home upset loss to a SWAC opponent for the
second season in a row.
The Yellow Jackets (4-1) trailed by nine points
early in the second half before Alvarado scored nine
consecutive points and gave Tech its first lead of the
game with 11:56 left. He took a defensive rebound,
dribbled the length of the floor and laid in a basket
between multiple Panthers in McCamish Pavilion.
Guard Gary Blackston led Prairie View A&M
(1-6) with 19 points and nine rebounds, and forward
Devonte Patterson pitched in 16 points.
Nearly one year ago, Tech fell behind Grambling
State of the SWAC by 16 points and rallied to take the
lead only to fall 64-63 when two Jackets inadvertently
tipped a ball into the goal with six seconds remaining.
Friday night, Tech missed 16 of 20 shots to open the
game, including all eight 3-point shots, and Prairie
View A&M took a 24-14 lead on a pair of free throws
by Taishaun Johnson with 4:11 left in the first half.
From there, the Jackets went inside, and scored at
near point-blank range on four consecutive posses
sions — by James Bank III, Moses Wright, Michael
Devoe and Curtis Haywood II — and closed to within
27-26 by halftime. The Yellow Jackets made their
final six shots, all in the paint, before intermission.
The Panthers started quickly in the second half,
too, but Georgia Tech shot 56 percent in the second
half to pull away.
Associated Press
