Dorsett's catch lifts Huskies to flag state title
BIRMINGHAM – The play worked the second time.
The Huskies ran the play in the first overtime unsuccessfully. But in the second overtime, Deandrea Powell’s short pass over the middle was caught in traffic by Hannah Dorsett to lift Hewitt-Trussville High School to the championship in the inaugural girls flag football tournament.
Dorsett emerged from the moment half stunned, half elated, setting off an explosion of emotion for the victors.
The successful conversion gave the Huskies a 14-13 victory over Smiths Station on Wednesday to kick off the Super 7 high school football state championship event at Protective Stadium in Birmingham.
“The other team made a good play, then Hannah dove for the ball,” said Powell, Hewitt-Trussville’s quarterback. “When I saw that happen, it was amazing to see.”
Smiths Station tied the championship game with 12 seconds remaining in regulation, scoring on a 26-yard pass from Brynn Repicky to Emily McGuire. But the conversion failed, leaving the score 13-13.
It appeared as if Hewitt-Trussville put the game away just a few minutes earlier. Holding to a 13-7 lead for the entirety of the second half, Jordan Hunter broke up a Smiths pass on fourth down to get the ball back for the Huskies. But Smiths got one more stop and got the ball back with less than a minute to play. The Panthers drove the length of the field and scored to send it to overtime.
Both teams failed to convert in the first overtime, then D’yona Jones knocked away a Smiths pass to open the second extra frame. That set up Dorsett’s game-winning catch to give her team the title in the first season of the sport in Alabama.
“That’s our first overtime — we knew the process but you don’t know it ‘til you go through it and make those decisions,” Hewitt co-head coach Taylor Burt said. “It was just trying to stay calm and keep playing our game and keep doing what we needed to do. Did we stay calm? Not a whole lot, but we definitely tried and when it came time for the whistle to blow, they got it together.”
Hewitt wrapped up an undefeated season with the win, two weeks after beating Oxford 25-0 in the semifinals. Burt, the school’s two-time state champion softball coach and Tonya Hunter, the girls basketball coach, split the coaching duties.
“We learned together and let me tell you, this was the best experience I’ve ever had,” said Hunter, who ran the team’s defense. “I love basketball, but this is the best experience sharing it with Coach Taylor and those kids.”
Smiths Station drove the field on its opening drive and scored a touchdown on Repicky’s 1-yard run. She threw a successful pass to McGuire for the conversion to give the Panthers a 7-0 edge.
Hewitt answered with a nice drive, with Dorsett’s 16-yard reception setting up Powell’s highlight 10-yard touchdown run. She eluded multiple defenders and stretched the ball across the goal line as her flag was being pulled. The conversion failed, leaving Hewitt with a 7-6 deficit.
The Huskies took the lead a couple minutes before halftime. Benson began the drive with a 30-yard run and scored a few plays later on a 6-yard run. Powell completed a pass to Avery Huffstutler for the extra point to make it 13-7.
“It’s an amazing feeling to be with, not just my team, but my family from different sports,” said Audre Benson, one of a few players excelling on both sides of the ball for Hewitt-Trussville.
Benson led the team offensively, rushing for 57 yards and catching six passes for 67 yards. Powell finished the afternoon 18-of-22 passing for 161 yards and accumulated 21 rushing yards.
Dorsett completed three passes in the game as well, totaling 25 yards. She caught five balls for 48 yards in regulation as well. Simon, who celebrated a birthday Wednesday, had 48 receiving yards as well, while Jordan Hunter finished with four catches for 23 yards.
Lily Burford led the Huskies defense with seven stops. Gracie Reeves had five stops, including a sack. Ana Henson had four stops and April Hooks finished with two.
Layla Bradshaw, Kate Hicks, Jasmine Hawkins, Sarah Beth Golden, Chaney Peters, Olivia Burton, Haleigh Chambers, Riley Rudick, Sarah Hindman, Mary Alston, Taylor Davis, Riley Tyree and Olivia Stults all played for the Huskies this season as well.
“It was amazing to win the first ever state championship,” Powell said.