By Kyle Parmley
PINSON – A strong overall performance led Pinson Valley to a season-opening 28-13 victory over visiting Hartselle on Friday night at Willie Adams Stadium.
In the matchup of Class 6A foes, the Indians (1-0) scored a touchdown in all four quarters and backed it up with some timely defensive stops to preserve the margin.
“The reason you schedule a game like this is to make you better,” Hartselle head coach Bob Godsey said. “We did a lot of things that were uncharacteristic for us, but you’ve got to credit Pinson for that.”
Pinson Valley put the game away with a sensational touchdown reception from junior running back Torrey Hendrix in the fourth quarter. He took a short pass from quarterback Jackie Matthews, cut back to his right, and rolled off his defender during the tackle attempt. Without the whistle blowing, Hendrix scampered the remaining 50 yards to score and seal the win.
Hendrix was the only running back to garner carries out of the backfield for the Indians, and accumulated 82 yards on the ground on 18 carries to go along with his touchdown catch.
“He sat and watched a good one in front of him (in former standout Nick Gibson),” Pinson Valley head coach Matt Glover said. “He’s a really good, shifty runner, and is hard to tackle.”
Following Hartselle’s only touchdown of the game early in the second quarter, the Indians took no time countering. Errius Collins ran the kickoff into Tiger territory, and it took only three plays for the host team to find the end zone.
Not to be outshined though, the Pinson Valley defense shut the door many times to consolidate touchdown drives, and made a goal-line stand at the conclusion of the first half, as Hartselle had three rushing attempts and was stood up outside of the end zone all three times, lastly by senior Joshua Jemison as time expired. The big stops were not lost on Hendrix.
“The defense gave us a lot of opportunities to score,” he said. “We took advantage of it. When we have a defense like that, we’re not worried about coming off the field. We are confident in our defense.”
Nickel back Trey Minnifield made his presence felt in the backfield many times throughout the evening. He has full confidence that his unit can make a stop on every drive.
“I believe in the defense and that we can do the job,” he said.
Aside from Hendrix’s great play, Glover offered more praise of his offense, which also held the ball for the first seven minutes of the second half with a long, grinding drive that resulted in a rushing touchdown from Matthews.
“The offensive line did a heck of a job blocking,” Glover said. “I am really proud of them.”
That offensive line opened up holes all night for Hendrix and Matthews, as the two combined for 125 rushing yards and scored a touchdown apiece. Matthews also threw the ball well, going 10-of-16 through the air for 208 yards, and two scores.
“I thought Jackie played really well. As a quarterback, you can see his maturity level,” Glover said.
Matthews’ highlight came early, as he delivered a 78-yard strike to quarterback-turned-receiver Collins for the Indians’ first score of the night. Collins beat his defender on a post route, and left him in the dust when the cornerback fell to the ground.
Things could have taken a negative turn for Matthews in the second quarter, when he threw an interception to Hartselle’s Caleb Finn. But the young sophomore refused to let the play ruin his night, and responded.
“He knew he messed up and he could have gotten down,” Glover said of the play. “But he came back and did a great job. I’m very pleased with him.”
Teammates were quick to jump to Matthews’ aid after the interception, a further sign that the team has confidence in the young signal caller.
“The kids believe in him,” Glover said. “They have faith in him and that means a lot. He’s starting to believe in himself. That’s the big thing.”
“Our offense is pretty potent,” he added.
Hartselle donned uniforms very similar to those of the University of Alabama, including red helmets with white jersey numbers. Left-handed quarterback Jake Tiffin may have had some remembering the mid-1980s. Tiffin is a southpaw like Mike Shula and has a last name that people from the state of Alabama instantly recognize.
Tiffin led the Tiger offense on the night, throwing for 159 yards on 15-of-25 passing. He also ran the ball 8 times for 38 yards. Trevor Oakes stepped in at quarterback for one drive and led Hartselle to its only touchdown.
Taylor Easterling added 24 yards on 14 carries. Jordan Stover rushed the ball four times and picked up 33 yards.
Pinson Valley travels to Oneonta next week, a team the Indians shut out 42-0 a year ago. But do not expect the Indians to take the contest lightly.
“We have a good Oneonta team next week,” Glover said. “We celebrate tonight and get to work tomorrow.”