Allatoona has remained confident in its running game throughout the playoffs despite the loss of leading rusher Russell Halimon to a knee injury in the first quarter of its first-round game.
It’s likely that the Buccaneers weren’t expecting the production to come from the quarterback, but senior Brandon Rainey stepped up in a big way with seven rushing touchdowns and a season-high 106 yards on the ground to lead Allatoona to a wild 59-47 victory over Houston County in the Class AAAAA quarterfinals at Buccaneer Stadium on Friday.
The victory puts the Buccaneers (12-1) in the semifinals for the second consecutive season. They will be at home next weekend to face Northgate, a 34-21 winner over Kell.
Rainey, who had not rushed for more than 70 yards in a game this season, scored on runs of 2, 39 and 20 yards in a back-and-forth first half that featured five lead changes and ended with Allatoona trailing 27-24. He gave the Buccaneers the lead for good at 31-27 with a 2-yard run late in the third quarter, then scored three more touchdowns (1, 3 and 36) in a 28-point fourth quarter.
Allatoona also got a touchdown with 8:01 to play when Danny Tesler blocked a punt and Tate Tatum returned it 37 yards for a 45-27 lead.
Allatoona eventually built the lead to 18 points, but Houston County was still within 52-47 with 3:19 remaining. The Bucs put the game away with a time-consuming final drive that ended with Rainey’s final touchdown with 1:04 to play.
Rainey was the biggest part of Allatoona’s 256-yard rushing effort. Charles Anderson had 84 yards on 12 carries, and Brandon Achibald carried nine times for 43 yards. Rainey was 9-for-19 passing for 180 yards. Skyler Davis had a 36-yard field goal early in the third quarter that cut Houston County’s lead to 27-24.
Houston County quarterback Jake Fromm and running back Chris Brinson had big nights on offense of the Bears (11-2), who finished with a 534-436 advantage in total offense. Fromm, the state’s leading passer, was 24-for-47 for 369 yards, surpassing 4,000 yards for the season. Fromm threw touchdown passes for 44 yards to Eli Watson and 31 yards to Darion Anderson. Brinson ran for five touchdowns and finished with 151 yards on 20 carries.
The Buccaneers have averaged 302 yards rushing in the playoffs without Halimon, an Arizona commitment who ran for 1,543 yards before his injury against Winder-Barrow. Anderson and Archibald both had 100-yard games in the first two rounds of the playoffs, and now Rainey is part of that group.
Houston County – 7-20-0-20 – 47
Allatoona – 7-14-10-28 – 59
A – Brandon Rainey 2 run (Skyler Davis kick)
H – Chris Brinson 3 run (Jordan Strevig kick)
H – Brinson 1 run (kick failed)
A – Rainey 39 run (Davis kick)
H – Brinson 1 run (pass failed)
A – Rainey 20 run (Davis kick)
H – Eli Watson 44 pass from Jake Fromm (Brinson pass from Fromm)
A – Davis 36 field goal
A – Rainey 2 run (Davis kick)
A – Rainey 1 run (Davis kick)
A – Tate Tatum 37 blocked punt return (Davis kick)
H – Brinson 6 run (Strevig kick)
A – Rainey 3 run (Davis kick)
H – Brinson 9 run (pass failed)
H – Darion Anderson 31 pass from Fromm (Strevig kick)
A – Rainey 36 run (Davis kick)
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