McEachern knocks off Harrison for second time in 15 days

POWDER SPRINGS — One year after a painful first-round loss to Walton, McEachern achieved a sense of redemption with a 24-7 victory over Region 3AAAAAAA rival Harrison in the opening round of the Class AAAAAAA state playoffs at Cantrell Stadium on Friday.

Casey Barner ran for 201 yards on 16 carries and two touchdown runs of 48 and 73 yards as McEachern (9-2) overcame a 7-3 first-quarter deficit to outscore Harrison (6-5) 21-0 the rest of the way to claim the win and advance to a second-round game at Colquitt County next week.

While McEachern faced a similar situation from a year ago, when it lost to Walton in the first round of the Class AAAAAA playoffs after beating the Raiders earlier in the season, the Indians were able to achieve a different result this time around against a Harrison team which they defeated after beating them just two weeks ago.

“It definitely feels good,” McEachern coach Kareem Reid said. “We talked about redemption – that was our thing. It wasn’t about revenge, it was about redemption for us and wanted to make sure that we were successful. It’s just one of five (state playoff games) and it’s the first one. We’re excited to have practice on Monday and get an opportunity to go down to wherever we’ve got to go and compete.”

The Indians were boosted by the performance of Barner, who picked up the slack in place of running back Ty Nolan, who sat out the game with an injured foot.

“We knew all week that we had to lean on Casey, because Ty Nolan, our running back, was nursing a foot injury, and so we knew he was going to have to give us everything he had,” Reid said. “He was that for us and we’re blessed to have that guy wearing our colors.”

Quarterback Aiden Watson led Harrison, completing 22 of 43 passes for 183 yards and he also ran for 102 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver DJ Huggins caught 12 passes for 109 yards.

McEachern got on the scoreboard on the first offensive series of the game when Wes Sheehan kicked a 32-yard field goal with 9:02 remaining in the first quarter to give the Indians a 3-0 lead.

The Indians had a chance to extend their lead to 6-0, but Sheehan's 45-yard field goal attempt was blocked, and Neill Ratliff recovered the ball for Harrison at the Hoya 47-yard line with 3:33 left in the first quarter.

Harrison was able to capitalize on its opportunity with a 9-play, 53-yard drive that was completed with a 17-yard touchdown run by Watson with 21 seconds to go in the first quarter to put the Hoyas in front 7-3.

McEachern came right back five plays into the next series when Barner burst up the middle for a 48-yard touchdown run to put the Indians back in front 10-7.

Harrison had a chance to tie the score on a field goal on the next series, but Brenton Groves' 47-yard attempt was blocked and McEachern recovered at its own 37. The Indians needed only six plays to score on the ensuing series, with Brenton James throwing a 34-yard scoring pass to Jarvaris Reed to make it 17-7.

Barner slammed the door on Harrison’s chances with his 73-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to give McEachern its margin of victory.

“After what I saw what they (Harrison was) trying to do offensively (in the first quarter), I felt like our kids settled down and were able to adjust and adapt to whatever they were trying to throw at us and we executed on offense,” Reid said. “We sputtered a little bit in the second half. We weren’t as efficient as I wanted to be. But our defense, who I know we can lean on, came through again.”