MACON — The tailback tandem of Austin Simmons and Ken Spears teamed up to help the Eagles grind out a 24-7 victory over Bulloch Academy in the first round of the GISA Class AAA playoffs here Friday night.
    Simmons scored on runs of five and three yards while Spears added a touchdown from three yards out in the struggle. Stratford (8-3) had 337 yards rushing but also had 10 penalties for 90 yards. Simmons had 99 yards on the night while Spears added 77. Stratford had an incredible 51 rushing plays.
    The Gators (8-3) battled toe-to-toe with the larger and more physical Eagles in the first half. But Bulloch could only manage 49 yards rushing in the first 24 minutes as the stout Stratford defense put a stranglehold on the Gator option.
Bulloch runners found a little more daylight in the second half. Harrison Averitt found a seam and broke loose for a 44-yard sprint to the end zone. The Gators had 168 yards rushing on the night.
    Bulloch’s defense bent put didn’t collapse against the constant beating from the bigger Eagles. Gutsy performances from the likes of starters Reed Salter, Dylan Stuckey, Hobby Mills, Asa Johnson and Jarret Humphries kept Bulloch in the contest.
    On Stratford’s second offensive series, the Eagles got down to the Gator 7 when Simmons got loose for a 42-yard jaunt. But Bulloch held firm and limited Stratford to just a 32-yard field goal from William Ham.
    The Eagles upped their advantage of 10-0 midway through the second. Conner Corbitt had a 24-yard return on a J.P. Padilla punt. Six plays later, Simmons bulled over from three yards.
    Stratford took the third-quarter kickoff and raced down the field, scoring on a Spears three-yarder. The big play on the drive was a 32-yard scramble by SA quarterback John Mitchell, who had 71 yards.
    With 3:03 left in the quarter, BA quarterback Loy Waters pitched to Averitt, who got a good block on the corner, evaded one Eagle defender, kept his footing as another swiped at his heels and raced 44 yards for Bulloch’s only score of the night.
    Stratford put the final nail in coffin midway through the fourth quarter on a eight-play, 41-yard drive. Simmons rambled five yards for the score at the 6:58 mark to give the Eagles a 24-7 lead.
    Averitt returned the ensuing kickoff 22 yards and the Gators got a spark when Waters operated out of the shotgun, which seemed to catch the Eagle defense off guard. He took off for a 28-yard gain on the first play and added nine more on the second. Bulloch marched to the SA 25-yard line and threatened to score but a Waters pass to Bailey Smith in the end zone was intercepted at the goal line to end the threat.