PIEDMONT – On most football Friday nights, the Piedmont Bulldogs are the ones who make the big plays against their opponents. But on this Friday night, it was the Ohatchee Indians who were the big playmakers against the top-ranked Bulldogs in their 20-15 victory.
Senior defensive lineman Aiden Simpson batted, caught, and returned an interception of Piedmont sophomore quarterback Jack Hayes 53 yards down to the Piedmont 2-yard line with 8:29 remaining in the third quarter. Junior quarterback Eli Ennis ran it in from there to cut Piedmont’s lead to 15-14.
After a high snap on a Piedmont punt attempt on the Bulldogs’ next possession gave Ohatchee the ball at the 21, the Indians took the lead at 20-15 on senior running back Noah Fuller’s 1-yard touchdown run.
Ennis later preserved the win with another interception of Hayes with 42.6 seconds remaining.
It was the sixth-ranked Indians’ first win at Piedmont since 2003, and it was Piedmont’s first loss at the Field of Champions since Oct. 5, 2018 against Saks.
“I’m excited for our program and our kids,” Ohatchee coach Scott Martin said. “Where we were seven years ago when I got here, Ohatchee had 11 straight losing seasons, the last few years only one or two wins, and my first year was one win. To be able to see the fruits of that labor turn around and be able to get this win, it’s as big as anything we’ve had.”
“Ohatchee played really, really well tonight. They were better prepared than we were,” Piedmont coach Steve Smith said. “They were able to sustain drives. We couldn’t get off the field. I think we scored the first couple of times we had the ball, then we didn’t score the rest of the night. We couldn’t sustain drives. We turned the ball over. They got after us on the defensive side as well. Hat’s off to them for being well-prepared. Coach Martin and his staff did a great job tonight.”
As Smith said, Piedmont (5-1, 3-1) scored on its first two possessions of the game. It looked as if the debut of their brand new gray uniforms with blue numbers would be successful when Hayes marched the Bulldogs 51 yards in nine plays, capped off by his 13-yard touchdown run, to give Piedmont a early 7-0 advantage.
The Indians (5-1, 3-1) answered with a long march of their own. A 14-play, 77-yard drive resulted in Ennis’s 4-yard score. Fuller ran in for the 2-point conversion to give Ohatchee an 8-7 edge seven seconds into the second quarter.
The Bulldogs battled back to take the lead when Hayes connected with junior tight end Coleman Reid on a 13-yard touchdown pass. Sophomore Sloan Smith ran in for the 2-point conversion to put Piedmont up 15-8 at halftime.
Piedmont forced an Ohatchee fumble on the Indians’ first possession of the second half. After a Bulldog penalty backed them up to the Ohatchee 35, Simpson made his acrobatic interception of Hayes to turn the tide in favor of the Indians.
“What a play. That’s like an ESPN highlight play,” Martin said of Simpson’s interception return. “He blocked the ball, tipped it up, caught the ball and almost scored. Everything we got tonight we had to work for. Even though we got some short fields too, they made us work to get it in the end zone. Nothing was easy, but I don’t expect it to be. They’re the defending state champions, arguably the best team in the state.”
Two plays after Simpson’s interception, Ennis ran it in from a yard away. His run on the 2-point conversion fell short, keeping the score at 15-14 Piedmont.
The Indians had another short field in which to work when they forced Piedmont to punt on its next possession. A high snap over Jaden Calhoun’s head gave Ohatchee the ball at the Bulldog 21 with 5:20 remaining in the third quarter. Five plays later, Fuller gave the Indians the lead for good with his 1-yard run. The try for two failed, but Ohatchee was in front 20-15.
Both teams traded punts to begin the fourth quarter, but the Indians were able to put together another substantial drive. The Bulldog defense stiffened and got the stop it needed with 2:18 remaining at the Piedmont 20.
Hayes guided the Bulldog offense past midfield and down to the Indian 40 before Ennis ended the game with his interception.
Ennis led the Indians with 106 yards on 30 carries with a pair of touchdowns. He was also 3-of-9 passing for 58 yards. Fuller added 67 yards and a score on 19 totes.
Hayes completed 8-of-16 pass attempts for 53 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He also had 42 yards on 13 carries with a score. Elijah Johnson finished with 68 yards on nine carries.
“We just couldn’t get anything going,” Smith said. “They played more four-man fronts than we’d seen them play. They got after us pretty good at the point of attack. We turned it over three times tonight. We had a miscue on a punt. When you’re playing in a tightly-contested game against a really good team, you can’t have those kind of turnovers.
“If we’re the type of team I think we are, we’ll come back with a great attitude on Monday. We’ll get to work on Pleasant Valley and see if we can’t get back in the win column (on Friday). We’ve got to fix a bunch of stuff for sure.”