CHATSWORTH — It came down to one point.
North Murray led Ringgold 27-26 with two minutes left on the clock Friday night when the Tigers attempted to go for a two-point conversion and a win instead of the tie after a touchdown.
But as Ringgold quarterback Garrett Edgar made a pass towards Kishaun Taylor in the end zone, Hudson Hulett stepped in to quell the Tiger’s final chance at victory.
“I saw him get across the center and I knew they wanted to get it to (Taylor), so I just stayed with him and got under (the ball),” Hulett said. “I read it right.”
The Neers (5-2, 4-1 Region 7-2A) shut down the 2-point attempt to beat Ringgold (5-3, 3-3 Region 7-2A) in a hard-hitting Region 7-2A game.
Following a scoreless stalemate in the first quarter, North Murray would put up the first seven points on the scoreboard halfway through the second, when Hulett ran in for a 6-yard rushing TD followed by a successful PAT.
In what would begin a back-and-forth stretch for the two teams, Ringgold’s Edgar would answer back with a 1-yard rushing TD of his own, with a successful Manuel Saldana PAT tying the score at 7-7.
Not to be outdone, Neers running back Layten Myers would score his first of two touchdowns in the ensuing possession with a 1-yard rushing TD with 30 seconds left in the half to put the Neers up 13-7.
It only took one play from the Tigers to take the lead for the first time just seconds later as Zachary Grower would throw a long 63-yard pass to Taylor, who would run it in on a trick play to lead 14-13.
The second half would see both teams keep each other to punting on fourth down twice a piece before Ringgold’s Logan Moore ran easily up the middle for a 2-yard rushing TD early into the fourth quarter.
North Murray’s Corbin Patterson, however, would block the Tigers’ PAT attempt to keep the lead at 20-13.
Blocked kicks would become somewhat of a theme in the final minutes of the game, as North Murray’s Tyler Henry would block an attempted Ringgold punt, scoop it up and run it back into the end zone for a 15-yard TD. A successful PAT put the score at 20-20.
As Ringgold began their next possession, an almost immediate fumble in the backfield was picked up by North Murray’s Jacob Daley on the Tiger 30 yard line, opening the opportunity for a Hulett-Myers connection and a 31-yard passing TD to cap the Neers’ scoring at 27 with 3:47 left.
That would lead to a long Ringgold drive down the field and a 1-yard rushing TD from Edgar before the failed two-point conversion attempt to cap the score at 27-26.
Hulett ended the game 6-for-11 with 128 passing yards and 151 rushing yards.
“I’m just proud of our guys and the coaches,” Hulett said. “We put in so much work this whole week and this whole season just to be in dogfights like this. We’re a really tough team.”
North Murray faces three more weeks of region play, where they will first travel to Kennesaw next Friday at 7:30 p.m. to take on North Cobb Christian before hosting Coahulla Creek and an undefeated Rockmart.