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Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Hewitt-Trussville athlete Connor Thomas (21) runs an interception for a touchdown during the second half of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Photo by Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Vestavia Hills wide receiver Cole Turner (22) is tackled by Hewitt-Trussville linebacker Jamarion White (9) during the second half of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Photo by Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Hewitt-Trussville wide receiver Jordan McCants (15) scores the go-ahead touchdown during the second half of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Photo by Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Hewitt-Trussville athlete Connor Thomas (21) intercepts the ball for a pick-six during the second half of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Photo by Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Hewitt-Trussville athlete Connor Thomas (21) runs an interception for a touchdown during the second half of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Photo by Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Hewitt-Trussville kicker CJ Curtis (42) kicks off during the second half of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Photo by Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Vestavia Hills quarterback/punter Mitchell Towns (16) jumps over the goal line during the first half of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Photo by Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Defensive back KJ Jackson (4), wide receiver Garrett Herrin (85) and other Hewitt-Trussville players motion for students to join them on the field at the end of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Photo by Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Hewitt-Trussville fans cheer at the end of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Photo by Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Hewitt-Trussville fans rush onto the field after a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Photo by Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Vestavia Hills offensive lineman Mark Rainey (56) kneels on the sideline in the fourth quarter of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Photo by Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Hewitt-Trussville wide receiver Jordan McCants (15) scores the go-ahead touchdown during the second half of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Photo by Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Hewitt-Trussville head coach Josh Floyd talks to officials during the first half of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Photo by Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Hewitt-Trussville quarterback Peyton Floyd (7) runs the ball during the first half of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Photo by Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Hewitt-Trussville wide receiver Omari Kelly (82) catches a pass during the first half of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Photo by Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Vestavia fans watch during the first half of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Photo by Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Vestavia Hills wide receiver Max Stewart (82) makes a catch in the end zone for a touchdown under pressure from Hewitt-Trussville defensive back Rickey Gibson (6) during the second half of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Photo by Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Vestavia Hills wide receiver Max Stewart (82) breaks a tackle attempt by Hewitt-Trussville defensive back KJ Jackson (4) on a touchdown run during the second half of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Photo by Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Hewitt-Trussville wide receiver Omari Kelly (82) runs in a touchdown during the second half of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Photo by Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Vestavia Hills head coach Sean Calhoun talks to his team during the first half of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Photo by Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Vestavia Hills quarterback/punter Mitchell Towns (16) scrambles during the first half of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Photo by Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Hewitt-Trussville head coach Josh Floyd is seen during the first half of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Photo by Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Vestavia Hills quarterback/punter Mitchell Towns (16) makes a handoff during the first half of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Photo by Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Hewitt-Trussville linebacker Jamarion White (9) defends against Vestavia Hills running back Tucker Smitha (46) during the first half of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Photo by Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Hewitt-Trussville fans watch during the first half of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Photo by Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Hewitt-Trussville quarterback Peyton Floyd (7) looks to pass during the first half of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
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Laura Chramer
20211008 Hewitt-Trussville vs. Vestavia Hills football
Hewitt-Trussville athlete Connor Thomas (21) runs an interception for a touchdown during the second half of a football game between Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Trussville, Ala. The Huskies beat the Rebels, 49-35. Photo by Laura Chramer
TRUSSVILLE – How did the Huskies win that football game Friday night?
“I have no idea. I’m not sure what just happened,” Hewitt-Trussville High School head coach Josh Floyd said following the game, accompanied by a sigh of relief.
Hewitt-Trussville scored three touchdowns in the final 96 seconds of the contest to pull off a head-spinning 49-35 victory over Vestavia Hills in a pivotal Class 7A, Region 3 contest at Hewitt-Trussville Stadium.
The Huskies drew even with 1:36 to play, as quarterback Peyton Floyd hits Jordan McCants for a 15-yard touchdown grab. On the first play of Vestavia’s next drive Connor Thomas intercepted a pass and ran it back 30 yards to give Hewitt-Trussville (6-2, 3-2 in region) the lead for the first time since midway through the third quarter.
“That was unbelievable,” Floyd said of the pick-six. “That was a heck of a play, just CT being a senior and being such a heady guy. They’ll never forget their senior night.”
Vestavia Hills’ (1-6, 1-4) final gasp came up short as well, as a fourth-down play turned into a Jamarion White 55-yard fumble recovery touchdown to make it 49-35.
“We just made more mistakes than they did, that’s the bottom line,” Vestavia Hills head coach Sean Calhoun said. “Our kids fought until the very end. The effort is fantastic. I’m not going to be able to tell them that enough in the locker room. You can’t make mistakes against a really good team in those moments.”
The game was a back-and-forth affair all evening, with both teams capitalizing at times and missing prime opportunities at others.
Hewitt-Trussville got off to a hot start in the opening quarter. With Peyton Floyd making his first career start — Cade Carruth suffered an injury at Hoover last week — he led the Huskies down the field for three touchdowns in that frame. Floyd hit Matt Miller for a 53-yard score to open the game’s scoring, James Hammonds hit the hole and never looked back on an 89-yard run and Floyd scored on a 7-yard run to make it 21-7 after a quarter of play.
Floyd finished 14-of-23 passing for 311 yards and four touchdowns (one rushing) in his first career start. Hammonds had 120 yards on 11 carries.
Vestavia Hills had its own offensive success in the first half as well. On their opening drive, the Rebels got all the way to the Hewitt 3-yard line before fumbling. But on their next drive, they were aided by a couple penalties and Mitchell Towns hit Cole Turner from 27 yards out for the first of three touchdowns on the night for the receiver.
Towns scored on a 1-yard run to cut the deficit to 21-14 late in the second quarter. Then, Turner returned the opening kickoff of the third quarter about 95 yards for a score to tie the game, and gave his team the lead on a brilliant 15-yard grab the next time Vestavia had the ball.
Turner finished the night with 76 receiving yards on eight catches with three total touchdowns.
“He’s outstanding,” Calhoun said. “How he doesn’t have Power 5 offers is beyond me. He’s incredible. He was really good tonight, really good with the ball in his hands and he did exactly what we anticipated him to do.”
On the very first play of Hewitt’s next drive, though, Auburn commit Omari Kelly struck. He took a quick pass and beat everyone down the sideline for an 80-yard touchdown to tie the game at 28-28 in the final seconds of the third quarter. It was a play his head coach called “the play of the game in some ways.” Kelly finished the night with 154 yards on five grabs.
Max Stewart hauled in a 38-yard touchdown pass from Towns early in the fourth quarter to give the Rebels a 35-28 edge. Towns would cap his night 14-of-25 for 236 yards and three scoring passes. He also rushed for 30 yards and scored on the ground.
But Floyd led the Huskies on a 13-play, 82-yard march that was capped off by McCants’ touchdown catch to tie the game, before the defense put the game away.
“I thought Peyton played well,” Josh Floyd said. “He made some plays. The best part was that last drive to end the game. You’ve got to lead the team down the field. Our offense had been sputtering for really a quarter and a half.”
Hewitt's defense had its struggles getting off the field much of the evening, but stepped up when it was needed most.
Tucker Smitha was a workhorse for the Vestavia offense, which gained 407 total yards on the evening. Smitha toted the rock 29 times for 106 yards. Cooper Mollison caught a pass for 45 yards, Warren Ainsworth had a 35-yard reception and Keown Richardson had two grabs for 33 yards.
Both teams will be favored to win next week in region action, as Hewitt-Trussville heads to Gadsden City, while Vestavia Hills hosts Spain Park.
“It’s a shame somebody had to lose that game,” Josh Floyd said. “We’ll enjoy this one and get ready for next week. We’re fighting for our playoff lives since we already lost two (region games).”
