Photo by Shawn Bowles.
Hewitt-Trussville wide receiver Jadon Loving (1) stiff arms the defense in a game at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Aug 26, 2023. Photo by Shawn Bowles.
GADSDEN -- The Hewitt-Trussville High School football team captured its first win of the young season with a hard-fought 42-27 win over Gadsden City on Friday night.
The Huskies (1-1) needed big plays from the offense and a gutsy performance on defense to hold off a Titans squad that kept things interesting.
Gadsden City needed only four plays and just under two minutes to draw first blood on a 49-yard run by T.J. Worthy to take an early 7-0 lead.
Hewitt-Trussville senior quarterback Peyton Floyd settled down on the Huskies’ second possession, leading the Huskies on a 67-yard drive, capped off with a 14-yard strike to receiver Jacob Serena to even the score 7-7.
Gadsden City would capture the lead once more on its ensuing possession. Senior quarterback Luke Waldrop and Worthy led the Titans methodically down the field. However, the Huskies defense held strong, holding the Titans to a field goal to make it 10-7.
Hewitt-Trussville began to pull away midway through the second quarter as the offense heated up. On the next possession, Floyd connected with Jadon “Jet” Loving on back-to-back plays, including a 43-yard touchdown strike.
After another Gadsden City field goal, Floyd led an impressive 70-yard drive, including a 1-yard touchdown plunge with 36 seconds to play in the second quarter, giving Hewitt-Trussville a 28-13 lead at halftime.
Despite an interception midway through the third quarter, Floyd and the offense dominated the second half. He scored his second rushing touchdown from 9 yards out midway through the third quarter. He then found Loving twice in the fourth quarter, first connecting on an 18-yard screen pass, then a 48-yard bomb, essentially putting the game on ice, 42-27.
While Floyd was solid as always, Loving dazzled in the win, with 141 yards on 4 receptions and three touchdowns. Loving said he and Floyd have great chemistry that goes back to youth football.
“We go way back to little league. We’ve been playing forever,” Loving said. “We have a great relationship.”
Hewitt-Trussville head coach Josh Floyd said while he’s happy to get the first win of the year, his team has a lot to correct before beginning Class 7A, Region 3 play at Oak Mountain next Friday.
“The first quarter we had so many penalties. We were moving the ball, but we kept having penalty, after penalty, after penalty,” he said. “But, I thought our offense did some great things and guys made some plays. Jadon Loving went off tonight and made some big catches and I thought Peyton made some big-time throws under pressure.
“We’re just glad to get out of here with a win,” Floyd added. “It’s a hard place to play and just glad to get a W.”
Gadsden City head coach Ali Smith believed his team had a good game plan and a chance to win, but were unable to find the end zone on three drives inside the Huskies 10-yard line, coming away with two field goals and a fumble.
“We thought we had a really good plan, but our kids are a young group of guys, and we made too many self-inflicted wounds tonight,” he said. “You can’t have penalties and different things playing a team and a program like Trussville. They’re too good of a football team to make those kind of mistakes.”
The Huskies racked up 502 total yards on the night, led by Peyton Floyd, who completed 15-of-23 passes for 322 yards. Serena had 5 receptions for 72 yards. Jaqson Melton was the Huskies’ leading rusher with 12 carries for 65 yards, followed by Floyd with 12 carries for 64 yards.
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