Chattooga Indians Epic Homecoming Victory

Homecoming night is typically scheduled to be as close to a “guaranteed win” as possible. Regrettably, for Gordon Central, they are currently on the top of everyone’s homecoming wish list. On Sept 23rd, the Warriors were a homecoming offering for the Chattooga Indians, 3-2 (2-0 Region 7AA). Senior QB, Isaac Foster, and twin brother RB, Isaiah Foster, led a highly prepared Indian squad onto the field with the knowledge that this game may be put away in the first half. But they couldn’t know that this win would be sealed in the first quarter.

The Foster twins combined for just 8 carries against Gordon Central. But that was enough to do considerable damage to a shaky Warrior defense. Isaac and Isaiah rolled up 188 yards and four Touchdowns on the ground but the brothers weren’t quite finished there. No record can be found in Georgia of another instant where twin brothers in the same game both recorded an interception returned for a touchdown. Leading 14-0 midway through the opening quarter, Isaac Foster leapt in front of a Warrior pass and took the interception 30 yards for a score. In the opening seconds of the 3rd quarter, Isaiah made his move, snatching a floundering Gordon Central pass from the air and waltzing 25 yards into the end zone for his pick six. With six combined touchdowns under their belt, the Foster twins quietly turned the show over to the back up players who were already beginning to make an impact on the game.

Right from the opening kickoff, the Indians established control over the line of scrimmage and the pace of the game. On both sides of the ball, Chattooga out-manned Gordon Central. A 6-play, 80 yard drive was capped by an 18-yard scoring run off of a reverse from junior running back, Montavious Shropshire #25. Senior tailback, Tyler Griffin had two receptions from the slot position for 67 yards to move the Indians inside the Gordon Central red zone and set up Shropshire’s score.

Kicker C.J. Martin began a record tying night with his first successful PAT attempt. By the end of the night, back up kicker, freshman Hector Reynoso, came in to the game to complete his first career extra point. Coaches were unaware that Martin was one kick away from owning the record of most PAT’s in a single game after going a perfect 7 for 7.

Isaiah Foster hit pay dirt on the Indians next possession. After Nick Hawkins scooped up a Gordon Central fumble just inside their own 30 yard line, Isaiah took just one carry to go 29 yards for the touchdown and Martin put the PAT through the uprights for 14-0 Indian’s lead.

Gordon Central didn’t manage two plays before turning the ball over again as Isaac Foster, playing cornerback, intercepted the Martavious Harris pass and returning it 30 yards for another Indian touchdown. PAT number 3 from Martin made it 21-0 with over 6 minutes still remaining in the opening quarter. After a Gordon Central 3-and-out, the Indians took just 5 plays to strike again. Isaiah Foster had a 22 yard run and Cam Perry had a 23 yard reception on this drive as the Indians worked deep into the Warrior’s red zone Isaiah Foster finished off the drive with a 5 yard touchdown run and Martin came in for PAT number 4 as Chattooga stretched their lead to 28-0 and just under three minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Gordon Central kept going to the air on their next possession but Harris couldn’t connect or his receivers simply dropped the ball on numerous occasions as the Warriors were again forced 3 and out. After two incomplete passes, Isaac Foster took a quarterback draw and broke free, going 78 yards down the sideline for his 3rd score of the quarter and gave Chattooga an eye-popping 35-0 1st quarter lead.

Several penalties led to a relatively uneventful 2nd quarter before Isaiah Foster took a hand off and bolted 43 yards for the final score of the first half. Martin banged in his 6th PAT and sent the Indians into the locker room with a comfortable 42-0 halftime lead.

In the 2nd half, the Indians featured their entire JV team and freshman punt returner Jamarious Mosteller again wowed the home crowd with a 59 yard punt return for a TD early in the 3rd quarter. Before taking the sideline for good, Isaiah Foster intercepted a screen pass and danced 25 yards into the end zone for a 56-0 Chattooga lead. C.J. Martin spent some time at quarterback before joining the other starters on the sidelines but left the field with a record tying 7 PAT attempts. Freshman Hector Reynoso went on to complete the final two PAT attempts on the night after freshman quarterback, Quintavious Knox went in for the final score from 3 yards out in the 4th quarter, after engineering a 5-play, 62 yard drive.

The Indians JV squad allowed 4 Gordon Central 1st downs on penalties as the Chattooga was penalized 13 times overall, for 145 yards. The sloppy play was partly due to so many young players getting significant playing time, but is something Coach Hammon’s staff will certainly be addressing this week. Mosteller led all rushers with 14 carries for 144 yards to add to his 59 yard punt return. Knox picked up 58 yards and a score on just three carries and looked poised in the pocket for the entire 4th quarter. Both Mosteller and Knox ran the ball with power and speed against the Gordon Central starters and gave the coaches a lot to look forward to in the future.

HIGHLIGHTS:

For the starters, Isaiah Foster earned Offensive MVP honors with 5 carries for 103 yards and 3 touchdowns, 1 reception for 17 yards and a pick-6 on defense. Malachi Mack again picked up Defensive MVP honors with his team-leading 8 tackles, 1 sack and 1 quarterback hurry. Mack currently has 58.5 tackles, 50 solo, 17 assisted, 10 tackles for a loss and 1 sack. On the Offensive Line, Mike Adams set the pace with 3 unassisted Pancake Blocks and graded out at 74%. Freshman Standout Jamarious Mosteller had a 59 yard punt return for a touchdown on top of his 14 carries for 144 yards.  State record for twin brothers having a pic 6 in the same game. School record high of three non-offensive touchdowns, two pic 6s and one punt return. Interesting tidbit, Chattooga’s record high scoring game is 68 points, this team was very close to breaking the record Friday night. CJ Martin tied the school record PAT with 7.

If you missed the game watch it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsWzTDfx5k4

 

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