Photo Credit: Ron Burkett/ The Trussville Tribune
By Damian Mitchell
Sports Editor
PINSON— The Pinson Valley Indians (3-1) defeated the Clay-Chalkville Cougars (3-1) 28-21 in a highly anticipated 6A region matchup.
The game was more of a defensive battle as both teams held each other without a score in their opening possessions.
With 3:14 left in the first quarter Clay-Chalkville’s Demarcus Burris put the firts points on the board after a one yard touchdown run to give the Cougars the 7-0 lead.
The Indians took the ball after the touchdown and scored a touchdown of their own as Bo Nix found Keytonteze Johnson for a 37 yard touchdown which tied the game at the 52 second mark in the first quarter.
The defense for both teams kept finding ways to hold each other out of the endzone for some significant time until Cougars quarterback Willie Miller connected with Jamichael Thompson for a 27 yard touchdown to give the Cougars a 14-7 lead with 4:08 left in the half.
The Indians would tie the game up after a one yard touchdown run by Nix to make the score 14-14 at halftime.
On the Cougars first possession, they took the ball down the field and scored after a 25 yard Burris run to make the game 21-14 and looked to have the momentum. Pinson Valley answered.
A quick bubble screen from Nix to Johnson turned into a 48 yard touchdown as Johnson outran everyone on the field on his way to the endzone to tie the game 21-21 with 6:50 left in the third quarter. This gave the Indians the momentum they needed.
The game remained tied the rest of the third quarter. The fourth quarter was dominated by Pinson Valley as they took the lead 28-21 after another Nix-to-Johnson connection from two yards out with 9:50 left in the game.
The Cougars had a chance late to tie the game after a missed field goal by the Indians, but on a fourth down and one yard attempt, the Cougars were stopped behind the line of scrimmage which sealed the deal for the Indians.
Indians head coach Patrick Nix was proud of the way his guys played even through the mistakes and believes that it will not be the last matchup between the two teams.
“I think it will be like last year. They have a great team and I have a feeling we will see them again for another great game.” Nix said.
Pinson Valley quarterback Bo Nix went 30 for 38 passing for 409 yards and three touchdowns along with the one rushing touchdown. All three passing touchdowns were caught by Keyonteze Johnson who brought in 17 receptions for 247 yards.
Cougars quarterback Willie Miller was 11 for 19 passing for 95 yards with a touchdown. He also led the team with 158 rushing yards on 18 attempts.
The Indians look to keep the momentum rolling for the 2018 season as they travel to Oxford next week.
The Cougars look to bounce back and get back in the win column as they travel to Gardendale.