Huskies win a wild one against Vestavia
TRUSSVILLE — Brad Boyette had to know.
Fifteen minutes after No. 6 Hewitt-Trussville High School downed Vestavia Hills 45-37 in a key Class 7A, Region 3 game at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium, the Huskies offensive line coach was asking for the final game stats. When he followed the stat line for total rushing yards and found 300 under Hewitt-Trussville, he made a dash for head coach Josh Floyd.
“300!” he exclaimed as he embraced Floyd.
It was that kind of senior night in Trussville. The win moved Hewitt-Trussville to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the region. It drops the Rebels to 3-4 overall and 2-3 in region play. Hoover and Thompson are both 5-0 in region play. Tuscaloosa County is 3-2.
“It’s hard,” Floyd said. “It’s hard to get in the playoffs. We know that. I think there’s something special about this group, and I told them that after the game. You get down 16-0 and respond the way we did, guys had to make plays, and so there’s just something special about this group.”
If you were late arriving to the game, you likely missed the 16-0 start. The Rebels went 77 yards in 11 plays on the opening drive, capped by a 2-yard jump pass from John Paul Head to Lane Whisenhunt. Four plays later, a high snap on a Hewitt-Trussville punt sailed through the end zone for a safety. Vestavia Hills scored four plays later when Head connected with Warren Ainsworth on a 24-yard touchdown.
“Before you knew it, they struck back and had a monster second quarter,” said Vestavia Hills head coach Robert Evans. “It’s two very similar style offenses going back and forth. There’s just no break and both defenses are gassed in the second half and it’s just a track meet.”
The Huskies found the end zone late in the opening quarter when quarterback Peyton Floyd scampered in from 26 yards. He scored again from 12 yards out just minutes later on the opening drive of the second quarter. Floyd found Brett Moseley for an 18-yard score to take a 21-16 lead midway through the second quarter. The Rebels responded, going 65 yards in five plays, this time Head plunging forward 1 yard to take a 23-21 lead. Hewitt-Trussville answered with a decisive drive of its own, going 61 yards in six plays, with Jaqson Melton finishing it off on a 14-yard run. Floyd hit Donovan Price on a 9-yard touchdown to take a 35-23 halftime lead.
Riley Rigg’s 30-yard field goal late in the third quarter pushed the lead to 15 points before Head capped a 12-play, 71-yard drive with another 1-yard score. Melton scored his own 1-yard touchdown on the ensuing drive to give the Huskies a 45-30 lead early in the fourth quarter. Jack Lockhart made it a 45-37 game with a 1-yard touchdown of his own with 7:26 left in the game. Hewitt-Trussville kept the ball the remaining 7:17, running 13 plays for 91 yards before taking a knee at the 1-yard line.
“The effort has not been the problem for us,” Evans said. “It’s been the execution in the big games. Credit to Hewitt-Trussville. They played a more physical game tonight. They broke more tackles. You give credit where credit is due, and they outplayed us tonight.”
For Vestavia Hills, Head completed 16-of-29 passes for 236 yards, two touchdowns and an interception to Rickey Gibson. He rushed for 46 yards and two scores. William Tonsmeire led the ground attack with 63 yards on nine carries. Tucker Smitha caught six passes for 94 yards, and Ainsworth finished with three grabs for 72 yards and a touchdown.
For Hewitt-Trussville, Floyd was 18-of-26 for 212 yards and two scores. He rushed 24 times for 104 yards and two touchdowns. Melton led all rushers with 152 yards and two touchdowns on 29 attempts. Moseley led the Huskies receiving corps with 79 yards on five receptions. Jadon Loving hauled in four passes for 72 yards.
Vestavia Hills travels to Oak Mountain next week. The Huskies hit the road for Spain Park.
“We’ll learn from this,” Floyd said. “We’ve still got two more games that we need to win for the playoffs. I think just being able to respond to adversity. I like this group because they respond to adversity well. They don’t get down too much. If you’re going to win a championship, you’ve got to be able to do that.”