By David Knox
Sports Editor
HUNTSVILLE — Hewitt-Trussville continued its unbeaten run with a 45-3 win over Huntsville High at Milton Frank Stadium but, more importantly, the Huskies clinched the Class 7A, Region 4 championship with the win.
That makes it two region championships in a row for the Huskies(8-0, 6-0), and a chance to complete an unbeaten run through the region at 14-0 with a win next week at James Clemens in Madison.
“I’m just excited we played like we can,” Huskies coach Josh Floyd said. “I think we played up to our potential tonight. There’s still room for improvement in a lot of different areas, obviously, but overall I think we played really well. Our defense did a really nice job not giving up a touchdown.
“We’re not obviously not done, we’re just getting started, but to be able to lock up the No. 1 seed and get another region championship is a big deal.”
Paul Tyson threw five touchdown passes, four in the first half when the fourth-ranked Huskies built a 28-3 lead. Tyson, who finished unofficially with 18-of- 24 passing for 351 yards, put his team up with a 52-yard strike down the middle to Elliott McElwain on the game’s opening drive. Parker Colburn made the first of his five successful extra points to give Hewitt a 7-0 lead.
Two possessions later, Tyson made a great play-fake, raised up and drilled a 42-yard bullet to Dazalin Worsham for another score.
After a three-and- out for Huntsville, Tyson hit Lee Reagan for a 46-yard gainer to the 4 with less than a minute left in the second quarter. It looked as if the Huskies would let the clock run out, but Tyson took the snap and hit Reagan again for a 4-yard TD.
Huntsville mounted its only momentum of the first half after the Huskies were stopped on downs, driving to a first-and- 10 at the 22. A TD pass was called back, then the Huskies stiffened. The Crimson Panthers had to settle for Jackson Bruno’s 32-yard field goal with 2:30 left before halftime.
Tyson ran the 2-minute offense perfectly, taking the Huskies down the field with big throws to Logan Pitts twice, then a scoring strike to Worshaw for 24 yards with 50 seconds left. Colburn made it 28-3, the halftime score.
“I think the way we finished the first half was key,” Floyd said. “They hit a field goal and we were able to drive down the field and score. It ends up being 28-3 instead of, it could have been 21-7 with them getting the ball to start the second half, that could have been different. So the way we closed the half, I was pretty happy about.”
Huntsville kept the ball for over six minutes in the third quarter, using a slow-tempo approach and eating clock, but Bruno missed a 26-yard field goal that Simon Miskelley almost blocked.
It took just three plays for the Huskies. McElwain ran twice for 27 yards, then Antonio Reed blazed 52 yards for the score. Colburn’s PAT made it 35-3 with 4:58 imn the third quarter.
After another Panther three-and- out, the Huskies went 81 yards, Tyson finding Cameron
Bledsoe behind the defense at the goalline. That made it 42-3. Miskelley picked off a Panthers pass, setting up a 20-yard Colburn field goal to end the scoring with 6:43 to play.
Hewitt, at 6-0 in the region, stayed ahead of Bob Jones, which beat Grissom to improve to 5-1. But the Patriots can only catch the Huskies if they win their region finale next week and the Huskies lose to James Clemens. That would leave the teams in a tie, but Hewitt holds the
tiebreaker since it won head-to- head over BJ.
But the Huskies can finish it off with a win over the Jets at Madison City Schools Municipal Stadium next Friday.
One Comment
Linda Horne Travis
Goooo Huskies!