BRUNDIDGE – Flomaton High School junior quarterback Daquan Johnson rushed for 140 yards and threw for another to lead the Hurricanes to a 12-10 win over Pike County High Friday evening in the third round of the Class 3A AHSAA state playoffs.

Flomaton led 12-3 at the half, but the Bulldogs cut the lead to 12-10 in the third quarter and both teams fought back and forth before the Hurricanes sealed the victory.

It was the furtherest a Bulldog team has advanced in the playoffs under head coach Fred Holland, and after the game he was proud of his entire team, and especially the seniors who played their final game in Bulldog Stadium.

“I’m really proud of our kids for what they did all season, as well as our coaches, and while we came up short tonight, our kids played very hard and I’m proud of them for that,” said Holland. “No one likes ending the season like this, but I felt like we made a couple of mistakes in the first half, and played really well in the entire game and just came up on the short end.

“Flomaton played extremely well, they did what it took to win, and their coaches prepared their team very well, and we got outplayed a little bit. That’s part of it. I’m proud of our kids for making it this far.”

After a scoreless first quarter, Pike County got on the board first when they drove 52 yards which ended with Julius Allen drilling a 28-yard field goal to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead with 9:19 to play in the second quarter.

Flomaton recovered a PCHS fumble at midfield, and six plays later Johnson hit Quincie McCall for a 12-yard touchdown pass, the try for two failed, and the Hurricanes led 6-3 with 4:02 remaining in the half.

Pike County then got caught off guard when Flomaton was successful with an on-sides kick, recovering at the PCHS 43, and three plays later Johnson took it in from 9 yards out for the touchdown, the try for two failed again, and FHS led 12-3 at the half.

On the first possession for the Bulldogs in the second half, Pike County started at their own 20, with Darrick and Derrick Myhand leading the offense.

Derrick picked up a short gain, Darrick picked up 11 yards on a big run, and Derrick followed that with a 69-yard touchdown run down the left sideline. Allen was good on the extra point kick, making the score 12-10 with 6:52 showing in the third quarter.

Derrick Myhand ended the night with 122 yards on nine carries, Rayshawn Reynolds picked up 110 yards on 19 carries, and Darrick Myhand had 66 yards on six carries.

The Bulldogs got to the Flomaton 25 in the final moments of the third, but were stopped on fourth down, turning the ball over to the Hurricanes.

PCHS drove the ball again down the field one series later, again making it as close as he Flomaton 21, but could not get any closer, with the drive ending in an interception.

Flomaton got the ball back with 5:33 remaining in the game and used 16 plays with Johnson and Adarius Odom taking turns running the ball to kill the clock.

PCHS ends the season at 10-3, while Flomaton will advance with a 9-3 record to date.

There were eight seniors listed on the 24-man roster for PCHS this year, including Jaidyn Wilson, Kevon Harris, Zerathan McKinney, Julius Allen, Zymirion Simmons, Anquavious Walker, Jeremiah Foster and SanQuez Flournoy.