By Chris Yow
Editor
ONEONTA — The Pinson Valley Indians took advantage of a pair of special teams miscues from Oneonta and used a stifling defense in the second half to earn a 26-7 road win Friday night.
The Tribe came out of the locker room at halftime determined to make a statement, and the defense certainly did just that. Pinson Valley held the Redskins to 12 plays in the second half and zero total yards. Oneonta also muffed and punt and fumbled during a punt return as well.
“Those two plays on special teams turned the game around for us,” Pinson Valley head coach Matt Glover said. ”
Pinson Valley didn’t see as much success on defense during Oneonta’s first drive of the game. The Redskins drove methodically down the field in 12 plays — the same number of plays they would run the entire second half — before scoring a touchdown to open the game’s scoring.
“We did some things in the first half that just weren’t working,” Glover said of his defensive scheme. “They had a good game plan for us early.”
From that moment forward, however, it was all Pinson Valley.
Torrey Hendrix found his way to the end zone with 10:24 left in the second quarter, but a missed extra point kept Oneonta ahead for another drive. Jackie Matthews put the Indians ahead for good, however, when he found Errius Collins from 10 yards out. The Indians missed their second extra point of the night, but held a 12-7 lead at the break.
That’s when the dominating began.
Pinson Valley took the second half kick, but were forced to punt. Oneonta muffed it, and the Indians capitalized. Hendrix ran for his second score of the game to cap the drive. He finished his night with 18 carries for 78 yards and two scores.
Matthews and Collins hooked up again in the third, connecting on a 51-yard touchdown pass. They pair added the two point conversion and gave the Indians the final margin of 26-7.
“We made a lot of mistakes tonight,” Glover said, speaking specifically about the number of penalties the Indians committed. “We’ve got to correct those going forward, but I’m proud to get a win.”
VIDEO — Torrey Hendrix scores a touchdown: