DACULA – It was the Gavin Hall show on Friday night at Burlingame Field. The Hebron Christian quarterback scored all five Lions’ touchdowns in a 35-28 win over Morgan County.
Hall was effective both through the air and on the ground. He completed 9-of-14 pass attempts for 241 yards and four scores. Hall also rushed for a team-high 157 yards and a touchdown.
Hebron Christian’s leading receiver was Jake Redman. The senior hauled in a team-high four receptions for 167 yards and three scores. Carrington Coombs had the other receiving touchdown.
Morgan County head coach Clint Jenkins gave credit to Hall and the Lions’ coaching staff.
“They (Hebron Christian) were able to break some tendencies they had out of certain sets. From a defensive perspective, their quarterback is the leading rusher in the state right now. They spread us out and checked us on the perimeter. We didn’t play very well on the perimeter, so we had a hard time getting them out of their empty set. They went unbalanced and stayed empty, which kept us spread out. … Credit them. They had a good plan.”
The first half was an offensive showcase as both Hebron Christian and the Bulldogs traded blows throughout the first 24 minutes of regulation.
There were 49 total first-half points scored.
Morgan County got on the board on its opening drive. The Bulldogs started off the contest with junior Zach Moore returning the kickoff to the 50-yard line. A few plays later, quarterback Talan Fuller connected with Jay Elder for a 19-yard gain. That set up senior running back Jacere Cooper for a 20-yard touchdown run.
The Lions answered right back, though.
Hall completed a swing pass to Redman, who took it 74 yards to the house. Hebron Christian’s kicker missed the PAT, so the Bulldogs led 7-6 with 9:46 left in the first quarter.
The Lions’ defense forced a three-and-out on Morgan County’s next drive. They would get the ball on their 45-yard line, and Hall would continue to shine. He would cross the goal line nine plays later on a keeper. Hebron Christian would convert the two-point conversion, giving the Lions a 14-7 advantage with 5:08 remaining in the first quarter.
Fuller threw an interception on the ensuing drive to Hebron Christian defender Justin Hornick. The Lions then drove the length of the field, scoring on another Hall-to-Redman connection. They held a 21-7 lead with 1:57 left in the first quarter and all of the momentum.
However, the Bulldogs didn’t give up.
On the second play from scrimmage, Morgan County decided to run a trick play, which caught Hebron’s defense off-guard. Fuller rolled to his right and pitched it to freshman Hudson Reed, who dropped back and delivered a long pass to TJ Thompson for a run-and-score.
Jenkins highlighted that was a play offensive coordinator Loren Purvis recently installed.
“Coach Purvis put that in last week. It was a great job by him,” Jenkins said. “Kind of knowing how they were going to jump at the jet sweep, and it worked just like he drew it up. They jumped up on the jet and made it an easy one (for us). Give coach Purvis credit for that.”
The Lions led 21-14 after a wild and high-scoring first quarter, but the craziness wasn’t done yet.
The Bulldogs held Hebron Christian to a three-and-out on the next possession. They then put together a long scoring drive, which ended with a 20-yard touchdown scramble by Fuller.
The final scoring strike of the first half came as Hall completed a pass to Redman from 30 yards out. The Lions led Morgan County 28-21 at the conclusion of the second quarter.
The second half wasn’t as exciting from a scoring aspect, but it’s where the game was decided.
Morgan County’s Jay Dorsey came up with a huge fumble recovery late in the third quarter. That play stunted the Lions’ long drive, but the Bulldogs couldn’t take advantage of it.
Fuller took a nine-yard sack on a 3rd-and-12 play. He had a chance to get rid of the ball but couldn’t. That sack by Hebron Christian’s Drew Faucher killed Morgan County’s momentum.
The Lions scored their only points late in the fourth quarter. Hall evaded a few defenders and completed a pass to Coombs, who weaved his way through the Bulldog secondary to make the catch. That touchdown pass put Hebron Christian up 35-21 after the PAT with 5:08 left.
Morgan County then tried to mount a comeback. Fuller kicked it into high gear, connecting with Reggie Ross for a long gain. Junior tight end Antavious Elder would punch it in from one yard out a few plays later with 1:16 remaining.
The Bulldogs were forced to try an onside kick, although Nolan Harris’ effort failed. The Lions came up with it, and Hall kneeled down the final two plays of the contest as the clock ran out.
Jenkins was proud of how his team fought, despite the end result.
“I felt like our kids never stopped fighting,” Jenkins said. “That’s been a big deal for us in the offseason - our never quit mentality. We kept battling through adversity. That’s great to see. Again, it made for an interesting game going back and forth. I am so proud of our kids’ effort.”
Fuller finished the contest completing 15-of-26 passes for 171 yards and an interception against Hebron Christian. He also totaled 39 rushing yards on five attempts with a touchdown.
Cooper led the Bulldogs on the ground. He rushed for 105 yards on 19 attempts and a score. Dorsey picked up 76 yards on 13 rushes but didn’t get into the end zone on Friday night.
Jenkins acknowledged his offense’s ability to move the ball versus the Lions.
“We felt like if we could get a hat on a hat, we could move the ball on them,” Jenkins said. “That was the plan going into the game. They were in a 3-3 stack, so we felt like upfront if we could get a hat on a hat, we’d have no problem moving the ball. We were able to do that.”
Jenkins said the game came down to what team made the plays when it mattered.
“We made a few situational mistakes that we can’t make,” Jenkins said. “We did some good things. It was one of those games where Hebron made some mistakes and we made some mistakes. We both made some big plays, but they just made a couple more than we did. Still, I am extremely proud of our kids’ efforts. They showed a lot of toughness on Friday.”
Morgan County (3-1) will close out the non-region portion of its schedule at Monroe Area (1-3) on Friday.