The Adairsville Tigers fell to the Oconee County Warriors 45-20 on Friday night and were eliminated in the GHSA Class-3A High School Football playoffs.
Oconee County received the opening kickoff, and the Warriors hit the ground running early, scoring a 59-yard passing touchdown to take an early lead. Adairsville fumbled on the ensuing kickoff, and Oconee County recovered, regaining possession inside the red zone. A few plays later, the Warriors kicked a 32-yard field goal. Adairsville could barely blink and was down two scores.
Adairsville muffed a punt, and Oconee County recovered the fumble for their second takeaway of the night. The Warriors proceeded to punch the ball into the endzone just a few plays later to go ahead 17-0 early in the second quarter. Later in the second quarter, Oconee County scored a 37-yard passing touchdown to add on to its already impressive lead. After this, Adairsville fumbled for the third time, and Oconee County recovered with a chance to go ahead by enough points to have a running clock. Luckily for Adairsville, the Tigers intercepted a pass, and Oconee County went into halftime leading 24-0.
Adairsville received the second-half kickoff with a chance to start a comeback, but the Tigers threw an interception which the Warriors returned for a touchdown. Oconee County’s fourth takeaway of the game put the Warriors ahead 31-0 early in the third quarter. The Tigers finally scored later in the quarter as Evan Sanders hauled in a short passing touchdown. Oconee County didn’t back down, responding with a big 34-yard touchdown run in response to Adairsville’s score. The Warriors would add on a short rushing touchdown to effectively put the game out of reach with a 45-7 lead.
Adairsville, however, never stopped playing hard. Chris Roper scored two touchdowns near the end of the game to make the score 45-20. It was too little too late as Oconee County walked away with a 45-20 victory, but the Tigers can rest easy knowing they played hard until the final whistle.
Adairsville finishes the 2022-2023 season with a 10-2 record and the AAA Region 6 championship.