The 2021 Southeast Bulloch Yellow Jackets broke a nearly 50-year drought of winning a state playoff game. This year’s seniors were freshmen on that team and set a goal this year to not only make it past the first round, but advance past the second round.
Friday night they accomplished that mission as they upset No. 1 seed Harlem 21-0 on the road.
The Jacket defense forced four Bulldog turnovers and stopped Harlem on a pair of fourth down tries. Colby Smith rushed for over 200 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns in leading the Jackets into the state quarterfinals.
“It was a great game and our defense played lights out,” said SEB coach Jared Zito. “Our defense played their best game of the season and won this game tonight. We had three turnovers in the first half alone and made a huge stop in the fourth quarter when they were inside our five-yard line and could have cut the lead to seven.”
Neither team was able to score in the first quarter but Southeast Bulloch got on the board early in the second as Colby Smith broke free on a 37-yard touchdown for a 7-0 lead.
Forest Fretwell recovered a fumble, but the Jackets gave the ball right back on a fumble of their own on their next series.
The defense got the ball right back as Stevie Padgett made an interception at the 38-yard line. The Jackets attempted a field goal but missed leaving the score 7-0. Padgett grabbed another interception at midfield before the half to keep the score 7-0.
“I hate we were unable to take advantage of those turnovers,” Zito said. “I thought we could try and get a field goal after the interception and go into the half with a two-score lead but still, our defense made the plays.”
The game actually remained 7-0 into the fourth, but the Jackets went on a sustained drive on their second possession and would eventually score early in the fourth on a one-yard run by quarterback Rhett Morgan.
“That long drive really was the play of the game for our offense,” Zito said. “To eat up clock and keep their offense on the sidelines was huge for us.”
The Bulldogs managed to get down to the five-yard line on their next drive, but the Jacket defense stopped them on fourth down. Colby Smith put things away a couple plays later as he broke free for a 91-yard touchdown run to ice the game.
“Colby Smith is a warrior,” Zito said. “He injured his knee and was dealing with a bad hip flexor, but he just battled through it. In this kind of cold in a win or go home game he came up huge.”
The win puts the road warriors back on the road for a semifinal matchup with Stephenson, who beat Jenkins 41-7 Friday. That game will take place Friday at 7:30 in Stone Mountain.
