FITZGERALD - The Dublin Fighting Irish band did not arrive to their football team's first round playoff game until the very end of the first half.
The Irish probably wishes the band had stayed at home. That's because up by a 14-7 score, the Fitzgerald Purple Hurricanes outscored the Irish 28-0 the rest of the way to win 42-7.
The win advances Fitzgerald to the second round of the state Class AA playoffs next week at home against Rockmart.
Down 14-7 late in the second quarter, Dublin had the ball first and goal from the Cane 6. But two incomplete passes, a holding penalty and a run for -4 yards, forced a fourth and goal from the Fitzgerald 24.
A 40-yard field goal try from there was short with 34 seconds left in the half. Dublin didn't come close to scoring the rest of the game.
Dublin led Fitzgerald in total yardage, 154-129, in the first half. But the Canes led in the second half, 187-39.
The yardage may have been even more, but Fitzgerald had short fields in the fourth quarter.
After an Ethan Gordon 16-yard touchdown run with 49 seconds remaining in the third made the score 21-7 in the Canes' favor, Dublin went for it three times on fourth down in the final stanza.
Fitzgerald held each time.
The results were a James Graham 41-yard scoring pass to Montrell Harris, a JD King 25-yard TD run and a 9-yard scoring run from Gordon.
The longest scoring drive was 41 yards among those three touchdowns on the Harris pass.
Fitzgerald's scores in the first half were on a 28-yard Gordon run and on a 22-yard Graham run.
Dublin's one score came on a 16-yard run by Israel Phillips in the second quarter.
King led Fitzgerald in rushing with 98 yards on 13 carries. Graham had 67 yards on nine carries and Gordon rushed nine times for 60 yards.
King also caught a pass for 47 yards.
