Huskies fall short of playoffs after injury-plagued season

The Hewitt-Trussville High School football team experienced highs, lows and everything in between during an up-and-down 2019 season.

The Huskies celebrated wins against Class 7A’s No. 1 team Thompson and 6A powerhouse Pinson Valley, but Hewitt-Trussville missed the playoffs for the first time since 2012 and only the third time since 2001.

Hewitt-Trussville head coach Josh Floyd said the team tried to finish the season the right way despite knowing its fate prior to the last game of the season.

“It’s not the way you like it, but it’s one of those things we tried to make the most of it, have a great week of practice and finish it the right way,” Floyd said after the Huskies’ big win over previously unbeaten Thompson. “This is a really good football team. We will always wonder what would’ve happened if we’d have stayed healthy.”

The Huskies finished with a 6-4 record overall, but a 3-4 Class 7A, Region 3 record doomed its playoff chances. Injuries played a large part in the season, with multiple players going down throughout the season on both sides of the ball.

Hewitt-Trussville began the season with a high-profile win over Class 6A back-to-back state champion Pinson Valley. Armoni Goodwin ran for 227 yards and accounted for four touchdowns in the 40-33 win to begin the season.

A 3-0 start looked promising as the Huskies dominated West Forsyth and began region play with a win over Oak Mountain. However, the undefeated start was soon met with a daunting region schedule, as Hewitt-Trussville went 1-4 through the next five weeks of play.

Hewitt fell to Hoover 28-14, dropping the Huskies back in the region standings, and a 31-28 heartbreaking loss in the final moments to Spain Park put the Huskies at 1-2 in region play. Spain Park’s Jaylen Ward caught a touchdown pass with 14 seconds to play to lift the Jags to the win.

Hewitt bounced back to down non-region opponent Huffman before jumping back into region play. The Huskies then suffered a tough 19-14 loss to Vestavia Hills, and Mountain Brook defeated Hewitt 11-10 on a wild, improbable two-point conversion play.

Despite being eliminated from the playoffs, Hewitt continued to fight in its last two games of the season. The Huskies fended off Tuscaloosa County to win 24-21, as a late interception by Alabama commit Malachi Moore sealed the win.

Moore came up big again with a 57-yard pick-six to seal the win over top-ranked Thompson in the season finale. The Hewitt season did not end as well as the players would like, but Floyd was proud of the way his team responded to his circumstances.

“Our kids showed a lot of character,” Floyd said. “That’s what our program is about. That’s one of those life lessons that I don’t like being in the midst of, but we told our kids a few weeks ago if you’re in the battle, you may as well learn something from it. Don’t waste it.”