It might have been the first round of the playoffs, but for Chattahoochee High School, it was business as usual Friday night. After running through the regular season with a 10-0 record and outscoring their opponents by an average score of 43-11, Chattahoochee displayed the same dominant prowess in their 42-14 first round playoff win over Pope.

Cougar quarterback Timmy Byerly accounted for six total touchdowns. The senior signal caller threw four touchdown passes and ran for two others in the win.

Chattahoochee had seven possessions in the game and six of them ended with touchdowns – the seventh ended with a missed field goal. As far as punting goes, punter Ammon Lakip had the night off. Cougar coach Terry Crowder expected his team to be good, but not perfect. "I don't know that I expected us to be flawless like that and not punt the ball," Crowder said after the game. "Pope has a really good football team, so it’s a credit to our kids and our coaching staff to get such a big win."

Chattahoochee didn't score their first touchdown until the second quarter, but after that, the floodgates opened. The Cougars got their first score with eight minutes left in the second quarter when Byerly hit wide receiver Kane Whitehurst for a 41-yard score. The duo would hook up for three touchdowns on the night and Whitehurst would finish the game with six catches for a team high 122 yards.

Whitehurst also made a big defensive play in the second quarter when he intercepted Pope quarterback Holland Frost. The pick setup Chattahoochee's second touchdown, which was a 3-yard Byerly run.

Chattahoochee stretched the lead to 21-0 just before halftime when Byerly hit Whitehurst for a 10-yard score.

On their first possession of the second half, the Cougars turned the game into a full-fledged blowout. Byerly engineered an 11-play, 81-yard drive that he capped with a 2-yard run that gave the Cougars a 28-0 lead.

Pope finally got on the scoreboard late in the third quarter when Frost scored on a 5-yard run. Frost, Pope's versatile quarterback, was shutdown for most of the night. However, he did finish the game with 121 yards rushing and 123 yards passing. All 123 of Frost's yards went to Pope receiver Garrett Brown. Brown finished the game with nine catches for 123 yards.

A third touchdown by Whitehurst and a 55-yard touchdown catch by Josh Gregory would stretch the Hooch lead to 42-7 in the fourth quarter. Pope's Brown would score the final touchdown of the night when he caught a 4-yard pass from Frost late in the fourth quarter.

Byerly's fantastic night consisted of 186 yards rushing and 204 yards passing in a 11-for-15 performance. The quarterback threw touchdown passes of 41, 10, 42 and 55 yards. "I think you're always judged by how you perform in the playoffs." Crowder says of how players are usually rated. "And if that's any indication, then Timmy is a heck of a quarterback for us." [Byerly, pictured right, was unstoppable on Friday night]. 

Thanks to the win, Chattahoochee now advances to round two of the AAAA playoffs. The Cougars will host state power Marist next Friday at Cougar Stadium. On Friday night, Marist beat Heritage, Conyers, 27-10. The War Eagles finished the regular season 8-2. They are the No. 2 seed out of Region 6-AAAA. 

Photo by Randi Risman