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Knights run Gators out of GISA playoffs
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Box Score
    BA    SA
First Downs                9    13
Rushing Yards            166    362
Passing Yards             44    47
Total Yards                 210    409
Passing                     3-5-1    3-5-0
Fumbles                    2-0    0-0
Penalties                   4-35    1-9

Individual Leaders
Leading Rushers: BA: Young 17-54, Evans 12-58; SA: Simmons 14-155, Spears 12-103
Leading Passers: BA: Waters 3-5-1-1, 44; SA: Mitchell 3-5-0-0, 47
Leading Receivers: BA: Averitt 1-20; SA: Pierce 2-28

Bulloch     0     0     0      7  —  7
Stratford    7    14      7     14  — 42

Scoring
1st quarter
3:47 — Simmons (SA) 34 run (Cleveland kick) 2nd quarter
9:26 — Spears (SA) 17 run (Cleveland kick)
8:14 — Simmons (SA) 3 run (Cleveland kick)
3rd Quarter
:46 — Simmons (SA) 25 run (Cleveland kick)
4th Quarter
10:18 — Simmons (SA) 81 punt return (Cleveland kick)
5:42 — Corbitt (SA) 1 run (Cleveland kick),
1:00 – Averitt (BA) 20 pass from Waters (Padilla kick)

    MACON — Austin Simmons rushed for 155 yards and scored four touchdowns to lead second-ranked Stratford Academy to a 42-7 over Bulloch Academy in the opening round of the GISA Class AAA playoffs.
    Simmons scored on runs of 34, 25 and three yards and returned a punt 81 yards for another score. The junior rushed for 155 yards on 14 carries as the Eagles (10-1) rolled up 402 yards of total offense.
    With the win, Stratford advances to the Class AAA semifinals to face Deerfield-Windsor. The Knights were a 24-7 winner over Mount de Sales.
     “We were just got whipped,” said BA head coach Ronnie Hodges. “They were more physical than we were and had more depth. They were better defensively than we thought they were.  We thought we could move the football on them.”
    The Gators (8-3) amassed 210 total yards and were able to drive on the Eagles but were stopped from scoring for three plus quarters. Stratford held a 42-0 lead late in the final period.
    Bulloch battled the stout SA defense and punched holes in the Eagle defense early. But Stratford buckled down to stop the Gators on crucial three and fourth-down situations. BA senior fullback Chris Young managed just 54 tough yards on 17 carries while senior tailback Jaylen Evans had
58 yards on 12 totes.
    The BA defense held firm but big plays were the death of the Gators. Simmons had four runs of over 20 yards while his counterpart, tailback Ken Spears, had a 42-yard run from scrimmage. Spears had 103 yards on 12 carries and a score.
    Down 21-0 at halftime, Bulloch came out in the third quarter and stuff the Eagles on their opening series. Then the Gators mounted a time-consuming drive from their own 36-yard line down to the SA 17. Bulloch had a fourth-and-one but a procedure penalty made it fourth-and-six. BA couldn’t convert and Stratford took over on downs. Five plays later, Simmons scored his third touchdown of the night on a 25-yard run for a 28-0 lead.
    Minutes later, he returned a Harrison Averitt punt for an 81-yard score for a 35-0 lead.
    Bulloch scored late in the fourth when junior quarterback Loy Waters hit Averitt for a 20-yard touchdown pass.