STATESBORO -- The fourth season of football for the Heritage Hawks came to an end Friday night as too much Ellis Lane in the first half and continuation of the turnover bug in the second half gave the Bulloch Academy Gators a 42-12 win in the GISA AA state playoff matchup between the two.
The Hawks, who appeared in the playoffs for the second straight year, finished the season with their second straight 6-5 campaign.
"It was a frustrating night for us because they beat us pretty good," said Hawks head coach Larry Harrison. "The turnovers killed us in the second half and kept us from trying to come back."
Lane made his presence felt early in the game as he took the pitch from quarterback Brandon Walker and ran to his right for a 40-yard score with 8:43 remaining in the quarter.
On the ensuing possession, the Hawks had a chance to answer as they began their first series of the night at their 40 and got to midfield but turned the ball over on downs and the Gators made them pay.
Starting at the Heritage 46, Bulloch Academy (8-3) had a two-yard run before Lane went to his left and raced 44-yards for his second touchdown with 5:43 remaining in the quarter to give his team a 14-0 lead after the extra point.
The Hawks responded quickly on their next series when they started on their 25 yard line when Bready went through the middle of the Gators line for a 75-yard run with 5:24 remaining.
Quarterback Joe Bonner tried a two-point conversion but the attempt failed as the pass was dropped and the Hawks trailed by a 14-6 margin.
The Gators answered the score in an atypical style for them as Walker put the ball in the air on the fifth play of the drive and connected with Taylor Burke 25 yards downfield and raced 75 yards for the score with 2:13 remaining and the lead was 21-6.
Refusing to go away, the Hawks recovered from the surprise pass play and came back on the ensuing series that started at their 31 and after 15-play drive, Candler Rich scored on a one-yard run with 7:48 remaining in the half.
The Hawks tried a two-point conversion again but Bonner's pass was incomplete as the receiver fell down in the end zone and the Gators lead was 21-12.
With the clock running down late in the half, the Gators moved the ball inside the 10 with Walker attempting several passes to score but would fall incomplete.
The Gators would get on the board as the half came to an end as Walker scored on a one-yard keeper and the home team took a 28-12 lead to the locker room after the extra point.
In the first series of the second half, the turnover bug would hit the Hawks for the first time in the game as an eight-play drive came to an end at the Gators 37 on a fumble and the Gators took advantage.
Starting from their 33, the Gators went on a 10-play drive that included more of Lane sprinkled with of Matthew Sapp who would end the drive in a seven-yard run with 2:18 remaining in the third quarter.
On their ensuing series, the Hawks would begin play at their 28 but four plays later would commit their second turnover in as many series and the Gators would take over at the Hawks 20.
Four plays later, the Gator that started the scoring ended it as Lane scored on an eight-yard run on the opening minutes of the fourth quarter with a successful extra point accounting for the final margin.
