Floyd, Huskies run over Vestavia
VESTAVIA HILLS – Peyton Floyd may have earned himself a job offer based on his performance Friday night.
After scoring six touchdowns in Hewitt-Trussville High School’s 55-27 thrashing of Vestavia Hills at Thompson Reynolds Stadium, Rebels head coach Robert Evans sought out the Huskies’ star quarterback and congratulated him on the win.
“I told him if you ever want to coach one day, I’ve got a spot for you, because I know you will coach the way you play,” Evans said.
Any potential coaching career aside, Floyd put on a performance for the ages in a game that gives Hewitt-Trussville firm control of the No. 2 spot in Class 7A, Region 3, a spot that would guarantee a first-round home playoff game.
He ran for five touchdowns and threw another in a game in which he totaled 427 yards. He rushed it 22 times for 257 yards and completed 18-of-23 passes for 170 yards.
“Peyton Floyd is one of the best quarterbacks operating their offense that I’ve ever seen,” Evans said. “I told him I love the way he plays and admire the guy, couldn’t admire him more. I hate playing him.”
Hewitt-Trussville (6-2, 4-1 in region) responded from a blowout loss to Thompson last week with its best game of the season. The Huskies piled up 621 total yards and forced five turnovers on defense.
“It was great. We played pretty good complementary football and that’s one of the first times we’ve done that all year,” Hewitt-Trussville head coach Josh Floyd said following the game.
The Huskies figured they would have to throw it around a little more than they did to keep up with the high-powered offense of Vestavia Hills. But after Peyton Floyd found Jadon Loving for a 12-yard passing score in the first quarter, the Huskies final seven touchdowns in the contest came on the ground.
Hewitt-Trussville benefitted from having offensive lineman Kade Martin in the lineup for the first time all season, and the Huskies were simply the more physical team all night, piling up 451 rushing yards. Hewitt’s top two running backs got in on the action as well. Kennedy Mitchell ran 17 times for 97 yards, scoring twice. Jaqson Melton got 9 carries for 83 yards.
“Our offensive line did a great job and they’ve been getting better,” Josh Floyd said. “I’m proud of how our guys responded after last week.”
Vestavia Hills (5-2, 3-2) was still able to move the ball at times, but the Huskies forced John Paul Head into four interceptions and the Huskies recovered a fumble as well.
Head finished 21-of-33 for 184 yards and a touchdown, while rushing 26 times for 94 yards and a pair of scores. Cooper Mollison was the top target, catching 11 passes for 115 yards.
“John Paul Head is a heck of a player, but we played well,” Josh Floyd said. “Peyton and John Paul Head are the two best quarterbacks in the whole [state].”
The Rebels got on the board first, as Keown Richardson caught a 12-yard pass from Head on the Rebels’ opening drive. But the second quarter was all Huskies. Mitchell scored on a 1-yard run, while Peyton Floyd scored on runs of 33, 77 and 8 yards. Chase Webb returned a kickoff 98 yards for the Rebels and Head dialed up a 4-yard touchdown run in an action-packed quarter that ended with the Huskies holding a 34-20 edge.
Floyd scored on runs of 25 and 24 yards in the second half, while Mitchell scored on a 12-yard run for the game’s final points.
“We started slow,” Josh Floyd said. “They went down and scored really fast, but I thought our guys did a great job responding after that. Our defense got better tonight.”
Riggs Dunn intercepted two passes, while Parker Floyd and Michael Igbinoghene notched the other two. Loving was the top receiver, catching 7 passes for 64 yards. Jacob Serena had 5 grabs for 38 yards.
“They got embarrassed by Thompson, they did some self-evaluation and was supremely motivated tonight, and it looked like they wanted it more than we did,” Evans said. “We’ve got to look ourselves in the mirror to say what do we have to do to get better?”
Josh Floyd acknowledged the importance of the win in terms of attempting to secure the No. 2 seed, while Evans also acknowledged how difficult it will be to make a playoff run as the No. 3 seed.
Next week, Hewitt-Trussville hosts Spain Park, while Vestavia Hills hosts Oak Mountain in region action.