Allatoona holds off Houston County comeback
ACWORTH -- The hole was huge.
A blocked punt here, some unproductive offensive possessions there, and Houston County went from a four-point halftime lead to an 18-point fourth-quarter deficit, twice.
There was little reason to believe Allatoona would break out into any nervous sweat. But Houston County stormed back with three touchdowns in only a little more than two minutes, and suddenly there was hyperventilating throughout Cobb EMC Buccaneer Stadium.
The Bears were within five points, almost out of that hole with more than three minutes left in the game. But the problem for the Bears was that Allatoona quarterback Brandon Rainey kept coming back on to the field, and the Allatoona quarterback possessed the dagger in the form of his legs all night and his arm at clutch times.
Rainey engineered the clinching time-eating drive after the Bears got close as Allatoona topped Houston County 59-47 in a GHSA Class AAAAA quarterfinal game Friday. Houston County's season ended at 11-2 while Allatoona improved to 12-1.
Rainey, listed at 6-foot-1 and 184 pounds but with the game of a jitterbug, ran for seven touchdowns, only three fewer than he had for the season entering the game. He threw some clutch passes, but his reads on the straight option or run-pass option were deadly. Rainey rushed for 118 yards, a jump from his previous season high of 70 yards. He also passed for 181 yards.
Chris Brinson had a monster game in a losing cause, scoring five touchdowns and rushing for 151 yards for the Bears. Houston County wasn't overly sharp but seemed to have righted the ship late in the first half, driving 80 yards on six plays in just 59 seconds to get a 44-yard touchdown pass from Jake Fromm to Eli Watson. Fromm's conversion pass to Brinson was good, and the Bears led 27-21 with a tenth of a second left.
And so ended the Bears' momentum. Brinson got 28 yards on the second play of the second half, but four plays later, a shotgun snap went awry on fourth down.
Rainey connected with Derrand Garrett for 44 yards, but the Bucs settled for a 36-yard field goal to make it a three-point game with 7:53 left in the third. The Bears went three-and-out, and Jordan Strevig managed a 34-yard punt after fielding an off-target snap.
The Bucs converted a 13-yard pass on third-and-9 and and a 19-yarder on third-and-5, and Rainey kept it for a 2-yard score. Skyler Davis' kick put Allatoona up 31-27 with 3:33 left in the third.
Fromm (23-for-44 for 366 yards) was in the grasp and flipped to Brinson in the backfield, but Brinson fumbled at the sideline as he was taken down at the Bears' 37.
Rontravius Byron had two straight tackles for loss, and the Bucs faced fourth-and-7. Then after the Bears jumped offsides, it was fourth-and-2, and Brandon Archibald got the first down, with Rainey going in from the 1 four plays later.
The 38-27 lead grew when Danny Tesler stormed in from the right side and blocked a punt that Tate Tatum took in 37 yards for the touchdown for a whopping 45-27 lead with 8:01 left in the game.
Fromm and the Bears weren't done, going 80 yards on 11 plays and using up less than two minutes, with Brinson scoring from 6.
But a 48-yard run on first down set up Rainey's 3-yard score three plays later, and the margin was again 18 with 5:36 to go.
A 67-yard pass from Fromm to Amari Colbert on the first play of the next drive set up Brinson's 8-yard run two plays later, and then the Bucs fumbled the ball back on first down at their own 44.
Darion Anderson made a superb sliding catch in great coverage for a 31-yard touchdown, and Strevig's kick made it a 52-47 game with 3:19 left. The Bucs converted a pair of third downs, and then Rainey just cruised through a hole for a 36-yard score at the 1:04 mark for the clincher.
This story was originally published November 27, 2015 at 11:45 PM with the headline "Allatoona holds off Houston County comeback ."