Huskies win top 10 showdown at Tuscaloosa County
NORTHPORT -- HuskyFast struck quickly Thursday night, as fifth-ranked Hewitt-Trussville High School jumped out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead at No. 10 Tuscaloosa County in a Class 7A matchup. The score-at-will script flipped in the second quarter, as Hewitt was held scoreless for four drives until finding the end zone twice in the fourth quarter to secure a 35-7 Region 3 road victory.
Tuscaloosa County head coach Adam Winegarden dialed up an onside kick to open the game, and the Wildcats recovered. However, the Huskies defense pushed back the Wildcats’ offense to force a punt. Two plays later, Jadon Loving turned a Peyton Floyd pass into a 73-yard foot race down the T-County sideline for Hewitt-Trussville’s first touchdown with 9:53 to play in the first quarter.
After a blocked punt, Hewitt looked to score again, but was stopped short at the Wildcats 4-yard line to turn the ball over on downs. Pinned deep, Tuscaloosa County was unable to find breathing room, setting up a bad punt to give Hewitt the ball at the Wildcats 24. Three plays later, Floyd strolled into the end zone from 7 yards out for a 14-0 lead with 5:01 to play.
Hewitt’s defense forced another punt, before Floyd found Ka’Darius Barnes down the home sideline for a 51-yard pass to set up a 9-yard touchdown run by Jaqson Melton with 2:45 left in the opening frame.
That 21-0 lead provided a cushion, Hewitt didn’t realize it would need.
“That was big, because we didn’t score again forever,” Hewitt-Trussville head coach Josh Floyd said. “We have to get more consistent. We play good people every week, and we know any time we go on the road in this region it’s going to be tough. There were times we needed to make plays and didn’t … Offensively, we were too sloppy at times, flying up and down the field. We had too many penalties and had to overcome a lot of them tonight.”
The first 11 minutes of the game were penalty free, but an offsides call late in the first half helped Tuscaloosa County move the ball deep into Hewitt territory. However, once the Wildcats reached the red zone, they went backwards with penalties and defensive pressure. Rickey Gibson intercepted a Sawyer Deerman pass to kill the drive at the Hewitt 36. It was the first of three interceptions in the quarter, as Tuscaloosa County’s Quinn Banks and Hewitt’s Riggs Dunn picked off passes on consecutive drives to help send the game into the half at 21-0.
Hewitt had 253 yards to Tuscaloosa County’s 126 yards at intermission, with the biggest factor being the quiet first half by Deerman, who had only 25 passing yards and 24 rushing after dominating the previous week in a Region 3 win at Chelsea.
“The biggest thing about the short week, when they called to say they were going to move the game, was their option stuff is hard to defend. That was one less day to prepare, and I wasn’t too fired up about that. Our guys did a good job. Our defensive line controlled,” Floyd said. “Coach Winegarden has done a great job getting those guys ready. They’ve come a long way since last year. I’d say of anybody I’ve ever seen, they’ve made a ton of improvement over one year. The quarterback’s a scary player. We were scared to death about him, but our defense made some great plays tonight.”
Deerman and the Wildcats offense came out of the locker room refreshed in the third quarter. In six plays, Tuscaloosa County moved the ball 81 yards in 1:39 to get on the scoreboard with a 32-yard Kevin Riley touchdown run. A sack and penalty hurt the Huskies on their next drive, and TCHS once again pushed down the field before being forced to punt.
It wasn’t until early in the fourth quarter before Hewitt scored again, as Mason punched in a 7-yard touchdown for his second of the night. He finished the night with 34 yards on seven carries.
Leading 28-7, Hewitt’s defense held on fourth-and-5 at the Husky 30. Peyton Floyd then marched Hewitt down field, going 70 yards in nearly four minutes, capped by a 40-yard TD pass to Barnes with 1:54 to play. The play gave the junior receiver 124 yards on five catches. Floyd finished with 262 yards on 12-of-17 passing and ran for 60 yards on 14 carries.
Hewitt finished with 361 total offensive yards, and held Tuscaloosa County to 256 yards, including only 181 on the ground. Riley led the Wildcats with 123 yards on 28 carries. Deerman was held to 34 passing yards and 52 rushing before sophomore Braeden Smith took over at quarterback in the fourth quarter, completing 8-of-11 passes for 41 yards.
Hewitt-Trussville (3-1, 2-0 in region) will return home next Friday to host Hoover (3-1, 2-0) for a spot atop the Region 3 standings at the season’s midway point.