The Harrison Hoyas used a relentless rushing attack and capitalized on a number of miscues by the Johns Creek Gladiators to win 23-20 in the opening round of the Class AAAAAA playoffs on Friday at The Colosseum.
The No. 6-ranked Hoyas (9-2) advance as the No. 4 seed from Region 6 and will travel to Sugar Hill next week and play Lanier, the No. 2 seed from Region 8. They were led on offense by running backs David Roberts and Jay Ziglor, who each rushed for over 100 yards.
Roberts, a 5-foot-11, 195-pound junior, led the way with 184 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries.
“We just came in mentally prepared,” Roberts said. “Coach (Matt Dickmann) got us right during the week and we were focused, we stayed strong and we played good.”
The No. 7-ranked Gladiators (9-2) were the Region 7 champions and had a chance to win on the game’s final play, when senior quarterback Zach Gibson heaved a pass into the end zone from the Harrison 36 that was broken up by Hoyas defenders. But penalties and the kicking game are what prevented them from winning their first-ever game in the playoffs, where they’re now 0-4 since the program began in 2009.
The Gladiators couldn’t connect on a 20-yard field goal with 3:01 remaining that would have tied the game at 23. The Hoyas took advantage and melted all but 31.6 seconds of game clock before punting the ball back to Johns Creek, which had no timeouts. The Gladiators’ also missed a 34-yarder as the first half expired that would have given them a 23-10 lead. The reason they had 20 points instead of 21 was a missed extra kick.
Penalties also wiped out a number of plays and stunted drives. They were called for a false start seven times and holding four times.
Harrison opened the game with an 87-yard drive that ended on Roberts’ 37-yard run up the middle. The Gladiators responded with an 80-yard drive ending with Yong Min Lee’s 27-yard touchdown, which tied the game at 7 with 8:10 left in the first quarter.
After the teams traded punts, Harrison lost a fumble at the Gladiators’ 40, and five plays later Johns Creek took the lead on a 17-yard run from Nate Hope, making it 14-7 with 1:07 left in the first.
The Gladiators recovered the ensuing kickoff, a high kick that landed in between Hoyas. But the Gladiators failed to capitalize, turning the ball over on a fumble four plays later. Harrison would cash in on a 28-yard field goal from Alex Raynor to pull Harrison to within 14-10 with 10:45 left in the second.
With 4:05 left in the half, Hope would score his second touchdown on a 1-yard run that made it 20-10, a score that would hold through halftime. That would be the last points Johns Creek would score.
Harrison would tack on a pair of touchdowns in the second half, first on another Roberts run up the middle, this one for 21 yards, making it 20-16 with 6:56 left in the third after Johns Creek blocked the extra kick.
The Hoyas brought the score to its final margin with 10:27 left on Ziglor’s 10-yard run. The sophomore finished with 110 rushing yards on 10 carries.
On the ensuing possession, Johns Creek marched 77 yards, all the way to the Harrison 3, chewing 7:26 of clock in the process. Facing a fourth-and-goal, the Gladiators opted for what appeared to be the safer play: a short field goal to tie the game. But that plan backfired and all of a sudden, Harrison had the ball and the lead.
Hope led the Gladiators with 111 yards on 24 carries, and Gibson was 12-of-24 passing for 182 yards and an interception.
Micah Davis had a game-high 77 receiving yards on four catches for Harrison, and quarterback Gavin Hall was 8-of-17 passing for 99 yards.
Harrison 7 3 6 7 - 23
Johns Creek 14 6 0 0 - 0
H - David Roberts 37 run (Alex Raynor kick)
J - Yong Min Lee (Jack Linne kick)
J - Nate Hope 17 run (Linne kick)
H - Raynor 28 FG
J - Hope 1 run (kick failed)
H - Roberts 21 run (kick failed)
H - Jay Ziglor 10 run (Raynor kick)
About the Author
