BEARVILLE — Appling County’s Jaiden Knight scored three touchdowns finishing the night with 276 yards rushing leading the Pirates to the Region 3-AA title here Friday night with a 31-14 victory over Pierce County.
Knight’s 64-yard run in the second period gave Appling County (7-3 overall, 4-0 region) a 17-7 halftime advantage. He scored on runs of 13 and 28 yards in the third period pushing the margin out to 31-7.
“Not getting our alignment was the whole key,” said head coach Ryan Herring. “The cornerstone of every defensive scheme is getting aligned. The only set that hurt us was not being able to get aligned against our ‘Big Bear’ with two tight ends, a wing and a sniffer.”
“I am so proud of this team going 8-2, though. We’ve come a long way since June, but the pain of losing doesn’t stop with the culture we have here. It’s back to work Monday to get focused to play in the playoffs.”
The Pierce County defense surrendered six plays of 28 yards or longer (four runs, two passes) totaling 268 yards. Appling County gained just 104 yards on its other 30 snaps with six first downs.
The loss was the second straight for PCHS (8-2, 22) at home for the first time since 2017 when the Bears fell 31-0 to Brooks County (September 15) and 30-8 to Wayne County (September 22). The span between the back-to-back losses covered 60 games.
In between, Pierce County went 49-5 in home matchups and won 32 of the first 35 games on the turf under Herring.
The region crown earned the Pirates a No. 5 seed in the Class AA 32team field and a matchup with 28th-seed Hart County (3-7).
PCHS, which has lost two of its last three games after opening the season 8-0, enters as the 16th seed and will host 17thseed Ringold (6-4). The Bears are making a 15th consecutive trip to the post-season.
Pierce County has hosted 13 of the previous 14 first round games since 2011 going 12-1 at home with 12 consecutive victories since falling 43-22 to Cook. PCHS played at Cedar Grove in 2015 losing 47-0.
The Bears’ special teams caught Appling County flat-footed to start the game. Garrett Stevenson pooched a kick into “no man’s” space with teammate Dylan Johnson racing down to make the recovery at the Appling County 28.
A 15-yard run by Jae’Veon Williams (25 carries, 186 yards), the region’s leading rusher and scorer with 1,398 yards and 26 touchdowns, advanced the ball to the Pirates’ 13. PCHS would turn the ball over downs when a fourth-and-six pass play from the Appling County nine gained three yards.
“Scoring there could have been real big,” Herring said. “We came up short on the pass and so that was a lost opportunity.”
Appling County then set the tone for its attack driving 94 yards on seven rushing attempts to take the early lead. Knight’s 58-yard scamper on the first play moved the ball into PCHS territory at the Bears’ 36.
Zacchaeus Shinhoster (four carries, 14 yards) did the honors six plays later plunging in from two yards out with 5:10 showing on the clock. Alan Ramirez drilled the first of his four PATS for a 7-0 lead.
The Bears counter punched with an 80-yard scoring drive in three plays. Williams raced 58 yards on the initial snap. After Drake Dowling (17 carries, 72 yards) ripped off 10 yards, Williams capped the drive racing 12 yards off left tackle with 4:22 remaining in the opening stanza. Stevenson’s PAT tied the score at 7-apiece.
The Pirates responded with a seven-play drive ending with a 46-yard field goal by Ramirez to take the lead for good at 10-7 just 39.6 seconds before the first quarter horn.
The big play for Appling County was a 45-yard run by Knight off an option pitch on a third-and-13 from the Pirates’ 31 across to the Pierce County 24. Three plays, along with a penalty, lost five yards back to the PCHS 29 setting up a fourth-and-15.
After an exchange of punts, the Bears’ first possession of the second period started at their own 46. A penalty thwarted a fourth-and-one at the Appling County 35.
A second first half fourth down attempt came up two yards short with the Pirates’ defense getting the stop at their own 36.
Knight would cover the 64 yards on the ensuing snap finding a hole at left guard and running past the PCHS secondary. Rameriz’s PAT pushed the margin to 17-7 with 4:34 left in the half.
Pierce County moved the ball from its own 20 to the Appling County 40 with 1:24 showing on the clock. A third-and-seven pass over the middle was intercepted ending the possession.
The Bears went three-and-out to start the third quarter after gaining just four yards. Stevenson’s careerlong 64-yard punt flipped the field with the ball coming to rest at the Appling County 12.
The visitors followed with an 88yard, 10-play scoring drive stretching the advantage to 24-7. The big play was a 35-yard pass from Harrison Hickox to Reece Norris (two catches, 73 yards) covering 35 yards on a third-and-10.
The final 28 yards came on a 15yard run by Mikel Crayton and Knight’s 13-yard run for the touchdown with 4:33 left in the third period. Rameriz split the uprights with the PAT.
A third fourth down attempt, this one fourth-and-three from the PCHS 27, was stopped by the Appling County defense on the Bears’ ensuing possession two yards shy of the mark.
Knight iced the game on the next snap again finding a hole at left guard for the 28-yard touchdown with 2:14 remaining in the third stanza. The Rameriz PAT pushed the advantage to 31-7.
Pierce County followed with the last scoring drive of the night spanning the third and fourth quarters. The Bears moved 80 yards in 11 plays eating up 5:01 off the clock.
A pass interference against the Pirates on third down kept the possession alive. Dowling (4-of-6, 30 yards) connected with Nigel Brown for a 13-yard gain on a third-and-12.
Appling County was hit with another 15-yard penalty advancing the ball to the Pirates’ 16. PCHS scored four plays later with Williams running through a hole at left tackle for the four-yard score. Stevenson’s PAT with 9:13 remaining cut the deficit to 31-14.
The Pirates chewed 4:57 off the clock on its next offensive series reaching the Pierce County 40 before stalling and punting the ball away.
Pierce County ran out the final 4:16 with an eight play drive taking the ball from its own 18 to the Pirates’ 24 when the final horn sounded.
