Tigers drop regular season finale at Heritage-Catoosa
November 1, 2024 On a night when visibility was challenged by a “pea soup” fog draping the Generals' stadium in the second half, Heritage-Catoosa defeated the Adairsville Tigers 17-7.
The win secured Heritage a state playoff berth and moved the Generals ahead of Adairsville in the new GHSA Postseason Rankings, which will seed the top 32 teams in Class AAA.
Adairsville committed four turnovers, and Heritage had three giveaways but built a 14-0 advantage in the first half and kept the Tigers off the scoreboard until the final 73 seconds of the game.
Heritage had the only major scoring threat in a scoreless first quarter, but the Tigers kept the Generals off the scoreboard with a goal-line stand toward the end of the period.
After forcing an Adairsville punt, the Generals marched 46 yards on six plays for their first points. Heritage scored on a 26 yard pass from quarterback Cross Williams to Noah Pierce with 10:04 remaining in the second quarter. Kicker Jake Collette converted the PAT kick for a 7-0 lead.
Adairsville went three-and-out on their next possession and Heritage answered with another score.
The drive covered 74 yards and took six plays, but the scoring strike was a 73-yard pass from Williams to Cody Bryan with 7:14 left in the first half. Collette’s second extra point kick gave Heritage a 14-0 lead.
The Generals threatened again late in the half but were turned away by Colt Sanford’s interception just before halftime.
The third quarter saw both teams commit turnovers as a wet fog settled into the stadium.
Adairsville had a drive stopped on downs at the Heritage 39-yard line with their deepest penetration of the period.
Later in the third quarter, Heritage intercepted a pass and returned it deep into Adairsville territory, but the Tiger defense got a stop at the 1-yard line when the Generals fumbled on the second play of the fourth quarter.
The teams swapped fumbles in the early portion of the final quarter before Adairsville’s Ethan Long connected with Tre Winters on a pass to the Heritage 40-yard line. Another interception a few plays later gave the Generals another possession with 9:44 remaining.
Heritage turned it into a scoring drive when Williams hit Pierce with another reception to the Tigers’ 23-yard line. The Adairsville defense stiffened again, but Collette booted a 52-yard field goal through the fog to give the Generals a 17-0 advantage with 5:46 left.
Adairsville reached the red zone for the first time in the game with just 1:17 remaining, and the Tigers culminated their drive with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Long to Winters just four seconds later. The drive covered 79 yards in five plays, and a successful PAT kick by Cooper Souders made the score 17-7.
The Tigers’ onside kickoff attempt did not cover the required ten yards, and Heritage ran out the clock from their victory formation.
Heritage improved to 6-4 overall and finished 4-2 in Region 7-AAA.
Adairsville (6-4, 3-3) will await other results from across the state in Class AAA to learn their playoff position.
The GHSA is utilizing a Postseason Ranking System to seed the top 32 teams in Class AAA this season. Adairsville and Heritage entered their game with one another ranked No. 25 and 26 in the rankings. Those numbers will shift following statewide results on Friday night and next week.
The state playoffs will begin on November 15 and 16, with higher seeds hosting first-round games.
~~ Larry Gardner contributed data for this report.
