Hayden Sphire threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Imatorbhebhe with 1:13 remaining and top-ranked North Gwinnett withstood a last-ditch Hillgrove drive to preserve a 35-31 victory in the Class AAAAAA quarterfinals Friday at Hillgrove.
Eighth-ranked Hillgrove (11-2) played the second half without quarterback Elijah Ironside, who sustained a concussion midway through the second quarter when he was hit throwing a touchdown pass to Justin Denton that tied the score 14-14. It was Ironside’s 40th TD pass of the season.
Running back Richardre Bagley, taking the snaps in the Wildcat formation in the second half, led Hillgrove on three consecutive scoring drives, capped by a 34-yard field goal by Andrew Vaughn that gave the Hawks a 31-21 lead with 11:17 to play in the game.
But North Gwinnett (12-1) scored on its next two possessions to reclaim the lead. C.J. Leggett scored his fourth touchdown of the night on an 8-yard run with 7:49 left to cut the lead to 31-28.
Hillgrove then drove to the North Gwinnett 43, but Bagley fumbled on third-and-19, and North Gwinnett recovered at the Hillgrove 33.
The Bulldogs needed eight plays from there to score the go-ahead touchdown.
But Hillgrove wasn’t done. The Hawks took possession at their 19 with 1:13 remaining and drove to the North Gwinnett 25, where they had a first down with 25.6 seconds remaining.
Sophomore John Devine, who led Hillgrove on its final possession, threw three incompletions and was intercepted by Caleb Scott in the end zone as time expired.
The victory puts North Gwinnett in the semifinals for the first time since 2007, when it lost to Lowndes 34-6 in the AAAAA championship game. Hillgrove matched the best season in its eight-year history, finishing with 11 victories and reaching the quarterfinals for the first time since 2010 and second time ever.
Leggett finished with 152 yards on 39 carries and had touchdown runs of 1, 1, 4 and 8 yards. He had 108 yards and three of his scores in the first half as North Gwinnett dominated time of possession and took a 21-14 lead.
Bagley finished with 27 carries for 168 yards and scored three touchdowns.
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