ACE struggles in 17-14 loss to Washington County, falls out of automatic playoff spot with defeat

There wasn’t much momentum for more than three quarters as ACE and Washington County muddled back and forth in one of the lowest-scoring games of the season for both teams.

In one brief stretch in the second half, however, all the momentum — such as it was — settled on Washington County’s side.

The Golden Hawks scored 10 points in a little more than three minutes late in the third quarter and held on for a 17-14 win over the Gryphons at Perkins Field in the regular-season finale for both teams.

The win gave Washington County fourth place in Region 2-A Division I and an automatic spot in the playoffs, the Golden Hawks improving to 6-4 overall and 5-4 in region play.

The Gryphons fell to 6-4 and 5-4 in the region, good for fifth place. They still appear to be a lock for an at-large bid in the GHSA’s new power rating system, which subtracts private schools in Class 3A, 2A, and A/Division I, with 18 departures in A/I, opening the door to several at-large bids.

ACE head coach Keith Hatcher watched a three-game winning streak come to an end on Senior Night. The Gryphons had turnovers, couldn’t move the ball consistently and couldn’t get off the field enough in the second half.

“(That’s) what disappointed me most,” he said. “We couldn’t run the ball, and they controlled the game.”

Washington County head coach Robert Edwards said he didn’t know much about the playoff scenarios going in, other than the winner got fourth place and the automatic spot.

The former Georgia star watched his team eventually get the run game going, win the turnover battle and execute when it mattered.

“(That) pretty much took the words right out of my mouth,” he said. “The defense played great. We were able to run the ball, control the clock, and the defense was able to make some plays, get off the field, and get some turnovers at critical times.

“It wasn’t the prettiest game, but we’ll take it any way we can get it.”

The Gryphons broke the 7-7 halftime deadlock barely two minutes into the third quarter when Sawyer Raugh picked off a Mack May pass and took it in for a 36-yard pick six at the 9:59 mark of the third.

The Golden Hawks answered with a solid 11-play, 80-yard drive that included a third-and-8 conversion followed by a 29-yard screen pass from May to Rekevious Swint.

Three plays later, the May-to-Swint screen to the right worked again, thanks in part to some bad tackle attempts behind the line and downfield. The 15-yard score tied the game at the 5:38 mark of the third quarter.

“They were lined up in ‘zero,’” Edwards said. “We saw them bringing pressure, so we were able to use that against them and throw the screen.”

On ACE’s second play, Aiden Watts waited for a Hatcher pass to come down and picked it off on the Golden Hawks side and returned it to the ACE 23.

The Gryphons defense held, with a sack and tackle for loss forcing Washington County to take a 26-yard field goal from Christian Rountree with 2:22 left in the third quarter.

ACE moved and was on the doorstep of taking the lead, but a fourth-and-3 pass from the 13 was intercepted in the end zone and returned to near midfield only for an unsportsmanlike flag on Washington County to pull it back to the 33-yardline 19 seconds into the fourth quarter.

The Golden Hawks proceeded to ground and pound with Judsen Culpepper running six straight times to get a first down at ACE’s 29 after nine plays. A sack, negative pass play and two penalties forced a punt from ACE’s 40.

The Gryphons started on their 14 with 4:45 left, the offense having watched the opposition eat up nearly seven fourth-quarter minutes.

It took them almost two and a half minutes to run seven plays and gain 17 yards, a fourth and 7 pass sailing incomplete and allowing the Golden Hawks to run a few plays and take a knee.

“I knew they were big and physical,” Hatcher said. “We didn’t handle it well. Even though we held them to 17 points, they moved the ball on us.

“We had a couple big stops to keep us in it, but they were bigger and more physical than we were.”

Washington County ran 32 plays from scrimmage in the second half to 19 for ACE.

Culpepper rushed for 130 yards on 23 carries for Washington County, and May completed 11 of 17 for 140 yards. Hatcher was ACE’s workhorse with 19 carries for 115 yards.

“It’s really tough to tackle their quarterback,” Edwards said. “He’s a heck of a player. He did a tremendous job.”

The quarterback struggled to a 4-for-1o night passing for 20 yards, with three interceptions.

Keith Hatcher said the break comes at a perfect time for several Gryphons to get healthier, but it’ll take awhile to determine if the home loss on Senior Night with a chance to host a playoff game will have any lingering effects.

“We’ve got a week to work and recover,” he said. “It’s a good thing. We’re beat up. We need to heal and get our confidence back.”