DOUGLASVILLE — It was a playoff-like atmosphere Friday night as Allatoona and South Paulding squared off in a crucial Region 5AAAAA.
The teams did not disappoint.
Trailing the whole game, Allatoona scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns, propelling the Buccaneers to a 25-18 road victory.
The win put Allatoona (4-1, 3-1) in the region title hunt after knocking off South Paulding (3-1, 2-1), which came into the game ranked 10th in Class AAAAA by the Georgia Sports Writers Association.
“This was big,” Allatoona coach Gary Varner said. “Our kids are resilient. Our kids believed the whole time, and they kept saying, ‘We’re going to get it done,’ and they just came through.”
Both offenses were effective to start the game as each side reached the red zone in the first quarter.
Allatoona ran the ball seven times on its first possession before getting stuffed on fourth down at the South Paulding 15-yard line. The Spartans, meanwhile, turned that turnover into a field goal, marching 79 yards in 13 plays to set up Marielle Serge’s 20-yard kick.
Allatoona helped South Paulding out again two possessions later when Brandon Rainey’s pass was deflected and intercepted inside the Buccaneers’ 35-yard line. The Spartans scored five plays later, taking an 11-0 lead and sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
“It was a great high school atmosphere,” Varner said. “(The noise) definitely threw us off in the first quarter, but we adjusted and handled it well in the second half.”
South Paulding had a lot of success in the short passing game in the first half, collecting 106 yards through the air before halftime. The Allatoona defense buckled down in the second half, however, giving up only 66 yards before an 80-yard touchdown on the Spartans’ last possession ended a 33-minute scoring drought.
“We made some adjustments at half, didn’t panic and held on in the end,” Allatoona defensive coordinator Troy Petersen said. “At first, we gave them more cushion than we probably should have, but we played tighter coverage and forced them to beat us deep (in the second half).”
As Allatoona trailed 11-10 in the fourth, star running back Russell Halimon put the team on his back, leading a six-play drive that included rushes of 17 and 15 yards before breaking a 33-yard touchdown to give his Buccaneers their first lead of the evening with only 7 minutes left.
Two more long runs on the next possession set the Buccaneers up at the goal line before Rainey finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown dive to seal the game.
Allatoona will now enjoy a week off before hosting Alexander on Oct. 2.