Commerce battled No. 1-ranked Irwin County down to the final play Friday night in a wet, foggy Class A Public shootout in Ocilla.
The Eagles marched 57 yards on their final possession to win 26-23 and eliminate Commerce from the Class A Public playoffs.
For three quarters, however, it looked as if the Tigers were on their way to the semifinals. Behind the rushing attack of Sam Roach, Dejuan Wood, and Nate Ray, the Tigers chewed up clock and lit up the scoreboard to take a 14-0 lead with 3:32 to go in the half.
Wood ended the night with 11 carries for 98 yards and a touchdown. Roach finished with 94 yards on 21 carries.
Turnovers and a stingy Tiger defense kept Class A’s No. 2 offense in check in the first half. Irwin fumbled twice, once inside Commerce territory. The Eagles only score came on a Jay Stanley 1-yard dash with 30 seconds left, closing the gap 14-7 at halftime.
Irwin’s only possession of the 3rd quarter opened with a big run by DJ Lundy down to the Tiger 22-yard line, but a short gain and back-to-back fumbles forced the Eagles to punt with 7:53 left.
The Tigers tacked on a 26-yard field goal by Eryck Diaz giving the Tigers a 17-7 lead with 11:30 left in the game. The drive ate up almost 9 minutes of the half.
But, the Eagles No. 2-ranked offense put it in overdrive when they scored on the next possession with Lundy going in from 18 yards out and inching them closer 17-13
Irwin then capitalized on a Commerce fumble more than a minute later as Lundy took it 20 yards to the goal line, giving the Eagles their first lead of the game 19-17 with 6:45 to go.
But, there was still hope, thanks to Caleb Mason. Mason danced 48 yards to the end zone with 3:02 to go, but a failed two-point try left the Tigers up 23-19.
Only up by four, the Tiger defense knew it had to dig in and stop the Eagles to advance. It didn’t happen.
After a short Tiger kickoff, Irwin hit for runs of 5, 13, and 2, before Zach Smith hit Jamal Paulk for a 22-yard pass down to the Tiger 18-yard line. Six plays later, Lundy walked into the end zone with 39 seconds left to seal the win.
