Houston County rallies past Mays in football playoffs
The Houston County Bears overcame an early deficit to storm back and hold off the Mays Raiders for a thrilling 42-40 victory in the second round of the GHSA Class-AAAAA playoffs on Friday at McConnell-Talbert Stadium.
It was the second win in three weeks for Houston County over a 2014 class-AAAAA finalist as the Bears also defeated defending state champion Northside in the last week of the regular season to claim the region 2-AAAAA championship.
Houston County quarterback and Alabama commitment Jake Fromm finished the night 31-of-47 passing for 379 yards and three touchdowns. Wide receiver Jaylan Searcy caught 10 passes for 106 yards, while his teammate on the outside Amari Colbert hauled in six catches for 199 yards and pair of touchdowns.
Tailback Chris Brinson added 98 yards on the ground on 25 carries, with almost all of his damage being done in the second half when the Bears needed it most.
Houston County will now face an Allatoona program that advanced by defeating Starr's Mill 30-14. The Buccaneers outscored Starr's Mill 23-7 in the second half to progress to the third round for the fourth time in the past five years.
Allatoona will host the game in Acworth as the home team thanks to a coin flip victory on Saturday morning.
PEACH COUNTY LOSES IN OVERTIME
Peach County had unbeaten and No. 1 ranked Calhoun on the ropes in GHSA class-AAA second round playoff game, but a fumble at the 1-yard line in overtime proved to be the difference as the Yellow Jackets escaped an upset bid by the Trojans to walk away with a 20-14 win.
A 56-yard touchdown run by senior and University of Georgia bound running back Tyrique McGhee tied the game for the Trojans with nine minutes remaining. Peach County then had a chance to take a final lead late in regulation, but a 52-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.
Defending state champion Calhoun has won 64 consecutive home games dating back to 2007.
WESTFIELD FALLS AGAIN TO VALWOOD
Westfield's bid to win back-to-back-to-back GISA class-AAA titles came to a close on Friday as the Valwood Valiants came from behind for a 27-26 semifinal win in Perry.
Westfield finishes the season at 11-2 with both losses coming to Valwood.
The Hornets led by as much as 12 in the third quarter, but saw the lead slip away with just over six minutes to play as Valwood connected on a 35-yard touchdown pass.
Westfield quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick finished 5-of-7 passing for 128 yards. He also rushed for 67 yards on 12 carries.
This story was originally published November 24, 2015 at 7:17 PM with the headline "Houston County rallies past Mays in football playoffs ."