By Phil Gibson
“We’ve won three in a row,” Hal Riddle, Hewitt Trussville head coach said. “After being 0-2 that’s where you want to be.”
The Huskies won 21-10 at Minor High School behind strong rushing and tough second half defense. Their record now sits at 3-2 as they look forward to resuming region play against Shades Valley High School next week.
“We played good enough to win,” Riddle said. “When we needed to move the ball down the field we did, and when our defense needed to pick it up they came out in the second half and played really well.”
The Huskies’ three touchdowns came from some familiar faces. Senior running back Donovan Miller broke loose first with a 4-yard touchdown rush in the first quarter, and finished with seven carries for 35 yards. Fellow senior Dakota Harwell had two touchdown runs of his own in the second and third quarter, and finished with 13 carries for 94 yards
. Senior quarterback Sam Miller had an efficient game as well, completing nine of fourteen passing attempts for 125 yards. The most important offensive number, however, may have been zero, which is how many turnovers the Huskies’ offense gave away.
The Huskies’ defense struggled to stop the run in the first half, but held the Tigers to a touchdown by making big plays at the right time.
“We didn’t play great,” David Partridge, defensive defensive coordinator, said. “But, we played good enough on the next down to keep them off the scoreboard. That was the difference.”
The defense came up with a huge stop in the second quarter as the Tigers offense worked their way to the Huskies’ twenty yard line and were threatening to tie the game. Instead, senior defensive back Luke Davis came up with the interception on a fourth down passing attempt to set up a Huskies scoring drive.
In the second half, the Huskies’ defense tightened up, allowing the Tigers into the red zone twice but giving up only three points. They ended another drive into Husky territory with their second interception, this time by senior linebacker Ian Bradley.
“We came out a little bit flat when we started the game,” Partridge said. “We tried to come out with a little bit more enthusiasm in the second half, and I think that paid off.”
The Huskies now look to build on the momentum of their recent success as they face four regional opponents in a row. They start with Shades Valley at home next week.
“Shades valley is putting a lot of points on the board, Riddle said. “So we’ll have to get ready for that. We’ll take it day by day and get ready for those Mounties.”