ACE dominates Southwest in complete 40-14 win to move back into playoff conversation

In a battle between a pair of Region 2-A Division I teams looking to bounce back, the ACE Gryphons completely dominated time of possession and leaned on a strong rushing game to secure a crucial 40-14 win over the Southwest Patriots at Perkins Field in Macon Friday night.

With both teams in the thick of the race for the region’s fourth and final playoff spot, ACE shined under pressure and ran a tight ship on offense to move to 5-3 overall and 4-3 in the region. The Patriots fell to 2-5 overall and 2-4 in the region.

Gryphons quarterback Ace Hatcher completed his first eight passes in a row, but ACE would barely need their aptly-named passer’s arm — Hatcher scored four touchdowns on the ground as part of a potent rushing attack despite the Gryphons being without their first and second-string running backs.

“We really talked about it a lot, we had not played a complete game all year. We put it together, offense, defense and special teams, and we did it all night,” head coach Keith Hatcher said. “Everyone did their job, we talked a lot about doing your job, and we came through as a team tonight.”

With the rushing game so crisp, the Gryphons chewed clock with ease. Southwest could only run seven offensive plays in the first half, and that’s including a two-point conversion play.

“They’re an explosive team. We knew we had to keep the ball out of their hands to win, and our offense did a great job of that,” Hatcher said.

The Patriots demonstrated that explosiveness when given the chance, taking one of those six plays for a 57-yard score in the first half that made it a close game early. With so few opportunities, however, Southwest could not keep it close.

“You gotta make some stops defensively, that’s just the bottom line,” Patriots head coach Joe Dupree said. “Time of possession was definitely on their side. They’re well coached, coach Hatcher does a great job with those guys… you just can’t beat nobody when you don’t have the ball enough and you’re not making stops on defense.”

Turnover margin solidified the dominant win for ACE, as the Gryphons held on to the ball all game while forcing multiple fumbles and interceptions. ACE even pulled off a nifty onside kick after a touchdown in the second quarter, a move that kept the offense’s foot on the gas and kept the ball out of the Patriots’ hands.

“First game all season we haven’t had a turnover, so protecting the football. (Ace Hatcher) made a lot of big plays when we needed him to, and so did all the other guys,” Keith Hatcher said. “I think our offensive line played probably their best game of the season, so credit to those guys. It was just a big win for our program.”

The win continues a much-needed upswing for the Gryphons, as they take home their second straight win after losing in blowout fashion against region powerhouses Northeast and Dublin earlier this month.

“We’re focused on us right now, we’ve gotten better the last two weeks after having two really tough weeks,” Hatcher said. “We’re just gonna continue to get better.”

Southwest’s playoff hopes took a blow with the loss in such a crowded region.

“We had some good plays tonight, but we just gotta continue to build and learn from this,” Dupree said. “Hats off to ACE, man, they played their tails off. They ran the ball well, they blocked well, they played a perfect game offensively.”

A flawless performance

ACE dominated the first half both in explosive plays and time of possession. Ace Hatcher completed his first eight straight passes and ended up going 9 of 11 in the first half passing.

The quarterback also contributed to a rushing attack led by Sawyer Raugh — the team’s leading tackle at linebacker is now filling in as a tailback after multpile injuries to ACE’s lead backfield players — James Patterson and occasionally Brice Whitley. The ground game consistently moved the ball in chunks and kept the Southwest offense off the field.

The first long Gryphons drive ended with a rushing score for Raugh and two-point conversion before ACE pinned Southwest deep and stuffed them for a safety in the first Patriots play from scrimmage.

With a 10-0 lead almost right out of the gate, the Gryphons leaned even harder into the run game. After a handful of runs and a Southwest penalty, Ace Hatcher took a 23-yard quarterback keeper into the end zone to extend the lead to 17-0.

Southwest didn’t roll over, however. The Patriots got the ball back and struck for an electric touchdown on their second play from scrimmage when running back Christian Hill took an option pitch around the edge and outran ACE defenders for a 57-yard score.

The touchdown cut the deficit to 17-8 and kept Southwest from losing all momentum, but the Gryphons dominated for the rest of the contest. They scored again on their next possession, then recovered a smooth onside kick before settling for a field goal on the drive because of a penalty.

ACE nearly tacked on more points during a last-second Southwest drive before half, as the Gryphons picked off a Steve Robinson pass on the last play before the break and returned it for a touchdown only to have the score nullified by another penalty.

The 27-8 halftime lead was plenty, though, and ACE shut down the Patriots’ opening drive in the third quarter to maintain control.

The teams then traded empty drives, as Southwest managed two consecutive 4th-down stops of ACE inside the 10-yardline, but the Gryphons eventually kept with an interception in the red zone to set up another touchdown for Ace Hatcher.

The quarterback scored his fourth touchdown after the Patriots fumbled the ensuing kickoff, putting the game virtually on ice. A garbage-time Southwest touchdown on the final drive finalized a 40-14 Gryphons win.