RINGGOLD, Ga. - Heritage lost the battle Friday night, but the war is still winnable.
The Generals lost to Gilmer County 27-20 on a 2-yard Chris James pass to Thaddeus Bowers with 22 seconds remaining, but thanks to Northwest Whitfield's last-second win over Southeast Whitfield, those two teams and Heritage will face off in a mini-playoff Monday night to determine Region 7-AAAA's No. 4 playoff seed.
"We're playing Monday night, but I hate it that mistakes cost us this game," Heritage coach E.K. Slaughter said. "We gave them eight points, and if we don't miss an extra point earlier we win the game. I can't complain about how hard the guys played, but the mistakes really bother me."
Heritage (5-5, 3-4) tied the game at 20 on a 66-yard drive to open the second half after a first half in which the Generals scored on an 80-yard double pass, with Luke Grant hitting a streaking Christian King on their first play to tie the game at 7. The big second-half drive featured quarterback Corbee Wilson, who completed three passes for all 66 of the yards and capped the drive with a 1-yard sneak.
Gilmer (8-2, 5-2) was the one making mistakes for most of the second half, twice driving deep into Heritage territory and coming away empty. A drive reached the Generals' 16 before James was rushed into a bad throw on fourth down, and another drive was at the 19 when a chop block and a third-down sack by Heritage's Isaac Miller led to a punt.
However, that punt was downed at the Heritage 1 with 1:29 remaining. Wilson hit Grant for a 13-yard gain on first down, but a penalty, two incompletions and a forced scramble forced a Heritage punt that set up Gilmer at the 38 with 54 seconds left.
James immediately went to the air, hitting Bowers on a streak down the left sideline to the Heritage 6. An incompletion was followed by a James scramble to the 2, where Heritage called time out with 22 seconds remaining even though the Bobcats were without one. James then hit Bowers with a perfect fade pass in the left corner of the end zone for the winning score.
"We were prepared to run a play and then kick the field goal if we had to, but I'm glad they called the timeout," said Gilmer coach Wesley Tankersley. "We seem to find a way to win games like this, but give Heritage credit for playing us hard. Coach Slaughter is building something nice here."
For Gilmer, which will travel to North Oconee next week in the first round of the playoffs, workhorse Russell Cochran had 164 yards on 36 carries and Garrett Rigdon added 119 yards and a touchdown on six pass receptions. Wilson ended 15-for-25 for 232 yards and Grant had 104 yards on six catches for the Generals.
The location and start time for the mini-playoff will be announced today.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296.