Huskies erase early deficit to remain unbeaten

TRUSSVILLE -- It wouldn’t be a Hewitt-Trussville High School football game without a player with Alabama Crimson Tide lineage quarterbacking the team to a win.

Sophomore Cade Ott Carruth, in his first varsity start, hit 15-of-25 passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns in the Huskies’ 47-19 win over visiting West Forsyth, Ga.

Carruth’s uncle, Paul Ott Carruth, was a star running back for Alabama from 1981-84. For the last two years, current Alabama freshman Paul Tyson — the grandson of the legendary coach and player Paul “Bear” Bryant, was the Huskies’ starter.

His father, Bert Ott Carruth, and brother Paul Davis each played at Ole Miss.

Cade’s game came with some adversity, as the Huskies (2-0) fell behind 13-0 early. But he was more prepared than last week, when he took over for injured starter Seth Shelnutt midway through a 40-33 win over Pinson Valley.

“Going into it, I was a little nervous, but the team came and talked to me,” Carruth said. “They said they had full confidence in me. I said I have full confidence in them, so let’s go out there and win.”

Huskies coach Josh Floyd said Shelnutt, who missed this game with a lower leg injury, could return next week. The injury gave Carruth the week to prepare as the starter.

His 8-yard touchdown pass to Dazalin Worsham in the second quarter was the Huskies’ first score, and he threw touchdown passes of 32 yards to Jamyre Reese and 9 yards to Worsham in the fourth quarter.

“I knew at the beginning he was going to be a little bit timid, but as the game went on, he got his mojo,” Hewitt-Trussville running back Sean Jackson said.

Carruth said his wheel route pass to Jackson on third down on Hewitt’s first scoring drive was his favorite pass of the night. 

“Cade’s a confident kid,” Floyd said. “He’s been in our system forever. I wasn’t really worried about the mental side.”

Jackson had a huge game in his own right, rushing for 100 yards and a score and catching four passes for 46 yards. Jackson’s 57-yard run in the second quarter down to the 1-yard line set up his touchdown run on the next play, tying the game at 13-13.

“Sean’s a beast,” Floyd said. “He’s a heck of a running back. He just runs so hard, tough, physical and strong. I don’t think there’s a better fullback-type kid in the whole country. I thought the long run, that really got us rolling.”

Armoni Goodwin, a junior committed to Auburn, rushed for 112 yards on 17 carries. He scored on touchdown runs of 15, 1 and 48 yards.

The Huskies open Class 7A, Region 3 play at Oak Mountain next week. Floyd said playing the Wolverines from Georgia prepares them for region play, but he did not like his team’s start.

“Maybe I have to do a better job of getting them ready to play,” Floyd said. “We just have so many inexperienced, young guys and we’ve got to learn every week that we have to bring it. These guys are like the teams in our region, very well-coached and they were prepared. I’m super proud of the way we finished.”

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