Christian Heritage School responded to an early Macon County touchdown to tie a Class A Division II first round playoff game at 7 in the first quarter Friday night.
The Lions just couldn’t manage to muster much more offense after that.
Macon County, the third-ranked team in Class A DII, shut down Christian Heritage and pulled away for a 30-7 win over the Lions in Dalton Friday night.
Macon County (9-2) advances to the second round of the state playoffs, while Christian Heritage wraps up the first season under head coach Frank Barden with a 5-6 record and a first-round exit.
“If you take numbers out of it, you’re so proud of these kids,” Barden said in a postgame interview on the Lions’ broadcast on WBLJ. “We’ve come so far and jelled as a team this year.”
To open the game, Macon County put together a run-only drive before Tyler Stephens broke off a 20-yard touchdown run with 7:33 left in the first quarter.
Where Macon County’s drive was methodical, the Lions’ was explosive. A long run by Benji Michmerhuizen set up a Carter Triplett four-yard touchdown run.
Where the first Lion drive was explosive, the rest of the night lacked. Christian Heritage finished the game with just 135 total yards and struggled to string together effective drives against a speedy, stingy Bulldogs defense.
The Lions’ second drive was stopped on fourth-and-short, and the two teams exchanged turnovers on consecutive plays.
Sawyer Corn hopped on a Macon County fumble, but Josh Fulks picked Triplett on the next play.
Macon County’s Tyler Felder broke off a 55-yard touchdown run to make the score 13-7 midway through the second.
Felder added a four-yard touchdown late in the half as Macon County got its fast-paced, misdirection run offense going.
Early in the third quarter, the two teams exchanged turnovers on back-to-back plays for the second time. The Bulldogs hopped on a Triplett fumble before the Lions recovered a Macon County fumble.
Midway through the third, Macon County added a field goal. The Bulldogs appeared ready to score a game-finishing touchdown late in the third, but Christian Heritage’s Charlie Idom stepped in front of a pass to the end zone to erase the scoring chance.
The Lions put together their best drive since the first quarter as the clock ticked over to the fourth thanks to a big Triplett run, but, as the Lions tried to cut the score to a one-possession game, Macon County instead picked off a Triplett throw to the end zone.
Macon County’s Brian Harris Jr. made it 30-7 with a spin move and score to finish off the game.
In the first year under Barden, and with only one senior on the roster — kicker Carson Russell — Christian Heritage rallied from 0-3 and 1-4 records to reach 5-5 and secure a home playoff game by season’s end.
“It’s a tribute to the kids for growing up and buying in,” Barden said.