North Hall rolled into the state playoffs with a 40-13 victory over Lumpkin County on Friday in their regular season finale at The Brickyard.
The Trojans (8-2, 6-0 7A-AAA) finishes as the subregion champs and No. 2 seed in the region. They will play host to the No. 3 seed from Region 6-AAA next Friday.
"I think this football team plays with a lot of heart." coach Bob Christmas said of his squad.
The Trojans’ run game got the scoring started when running back Jordan Chaffin scored from 12 yards out with 9:05 left in the first quarter.
Quarterback Nathan Jones added two more touchdowns. The first came through the air to Ben Booth for 37 yards.
The next Jones touchdown was on the ground, a 1-yard run to cap a 12-play drive with over five minutes to halftime. The Trojans carried a 20-0 lead into the half.
Coming out for the second half, the Indians (4-6, 1-5) scored in just 15 seconds. Kaylen Temples returned the second-half kickoff for 85 yards to cut the Trojans lead to 20-6.
After a Trojan fumble on their first play of the second half, Indians running back Michael Flanagan punched it in from 5 yards out to make the score 20-13 just under two minutes into the second half.
After making the Trojans punt for just the second time, the Indians were poised to take the ball downfield and tie the game. But quarterback Taylor Guthrie was intercepted by Jones.
After the interception, the Trojans turned to the run game, led by Peyton Wilhoite. After taking nearly six minutes off the clock, the Trojans scored on Wilhoite’s 2-yard run, again making it a two-possession game.
Trying to get the momentum back, Indians quarterback Taylor Guthrie was looking for a big gain through the air when he again was intercepted by Jones, this one returned 29 yards for a touchdown.
The Trojans put the game out of reach when Chaffin reeled off a 58-yard touchdown run with just over four minutes left in the game.
Jones finished with three touchdowns. Wilhoite led the Trojans in rushing with 121 yards and a touchdown. Chaffin had 112 yards and two touchdowns.
Lumpkin County’s season is over, but coach Tommy Jones couldn’t be prouder of his team.
"We have a lot of seniors. This is their last game, but they have a lot of pride." Jones said. "Biggest thing is you always want to control what you can control."