Safety-turned-QB directs Peachtree Ridge to victory in first round
Four weeks ago, Trae Macon was minding his own business as a physical, playing-making safety. On Friday night he slid into his newfound role as quarterback and helped propel Peachtree Ridge into the second round of the Class 7A playoffs.
The senior threw for one touchdown and ran for two others, including the game-winner, to guide the Lions to a 31-27 win over visiting Hillgrove. It was the sixth one-score game for the Lions (8-3).
“We had to rally the troops a little bit, but we talk about finding a way,” Peachtree Ridge coach Matt Helmerich said. “That’s our motto. We’ve been finding a way all year to sneak these out. We talked about finding a way at halftime and got them amped up a little bit and got it done.”
Macon completed 11 of 21 passes for 204 yards and rushed 12 times for 40 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown with 3:07 remaining. Peachtree Ridge then iced the game when Declan Delaporte went high to intercept his second pass of the game, allowing the Lions to run out the clock.
“Our motto is ‘Find a Way.’ We’ve got it on our helmet,” Macon said. “That’s what we’ve preached all year. We’ve had some guys go down, but as long as we come together as a brotherhood, we know we can fight through adversity and accomplish anything we want.”
Macon was pressed into action when starter Zain Belfield tore his ACL against North Gwinnett in the eighth game. Macon played some quarterback in the ninth grade and had the athletic chops to handle the job.
“He’s pretty hard on himself but the coaches did a great job calming him down and finding some stuff that we worked in the second and he made some plays,” Helmerich said. “I know it’s coaching cliché 101, but we told him at at halftime he wanted the ball. You could tell he really wanted it.”
Peachtree Ridge was in pickle after being forced to punt the ball away with less than seven minutes remaining, trailing 27-24. Hillgrove faced a fourth-and-1 at its own 31 and opted to go for the first down rather than safely punt it away. The Ridge defense line swelled ahead to stop a keeper from quarterback Trey Hasan, give the Lions the ball back with 4:40 left.
Peachtree Ridge faced fourth-and-1 at the 20 when Macon called his own number and ran through the line and past the secondary for the go-ahead score.
“I knew if the defense got the stop, we were going to punch it in,” Macon said. “It was pretty disrespectful in my opinion to go for it on fourth-and-1 at your own 30, but I believe in my brothers and we got it done.”
Hillgrove (7-4) was led by quarterback Trey Hasan, who completed 11 of 17 passes for 174 yards, one interception and one touchdown. Jaiden Moore rushed 17 times for 179 yards and one touchdown and Dylen James caught six passes for 126 yards.
Peachtree Ridge took the opening kickoff for a touchdown, with Macon throwing a slant to Langston Abernathy for an 11-yard score and a 7-0 lead.
Hillgrove evened the game after punter Emanuel Jimenez punted the Hawks dead at the 5. On the first play of the second quarter Jaiden Moore took an inside handoff and broke through for a 95-yard touchdown run to even the score at 7-7.
Mistakes played a big role in the rest if the half. Hasan fumbled after taking a loss, with Josiah Imoagene recovering for Peachtree Ridge at the 5. The Lions scored on the next play on a reverse pass, with Elijah Bell tossing an easy score to August Hall.
The Peachtree Ridge defense appeared to have held, only to have an illegal participation call give Hillgrove a chance on fourth-and-5. The Hawks went for it and picked up a first down on a pass interference penalty. Six plays later Hillgrove tied it 14-14 on Hasan’s 13-yard pass to Jaden Fisher at 2:27 left.
Hillgrove scored with 1:01 left in the half when Hall fumbled and Bradford Gayle recovered for a 40-yard scoop-and-score. The extra point was no god, giving the Hawks a 20-14 halftime lead.