By Phil Gibson
The Hewitt-Trussville Huskies got their first win Friday night, defeating the Woodlawn Colonels 28-18 at Woodlawn stadium.
“There’s nothing more fun than Friday night football,” said Huskies senior running back Dakota Harwell. “It feels so great, words don’t explain it.”
After coming back from an injury that limited his action in the first few weeks, Harwell had plenty of fun finding the end zone three times to lead the Huskies to victory.
Woodlawn seemed to have the early edge in the game, reaching the Huskies’ two yard line before the defense recovered a fumble in the end zone. The ensuing drive seemed to stall near midfield, but a successful fake punt resulted in a Huskie first down.
“We were trying to sustain a drive,” Hewitt- Trussville Head Coach Hal Riddle. “We had one blocked last week and one snapped over our heads the first week, so we wanted to do something different.”
The early gamble worked, and a 27-yard scamper by senior running back Donovan Miller put the Huskies on the Woodlawn 21-yard line. Three plays later, Harwell found the end zone for the first time in the game with 4:13 left in the first quarter to give the Huskies an early 7-0 lead.
Late in the first quarter, a 64-yard run by Woodlawn junior running back Justin Windham almost went all the way for a touchdown. In what proved to be a crucial play, Huskies senior defensive back Eli Ashley caught Windham from behind to prevent the score.
Two plays later, senior linebacker Nick Lee forced a fumble to give the Huskies the ball at their own 33-yard line. On the ensuing drive, another Harwell rushing touchdown gave the Huskies a 14-0 advantage with 8:57 left in the second quarter
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Later in the half, it seemed like Hewitt-Trussville would take a three touchdown lead. The Huskies made it to the Woodlawn 11-yard line, but an interception by Colonels’ junior Justin Brown went all the way for a touchdown.
After the missed extra point attempt, the score was 14-6 in favor of the Huskies with 3:51 left in the half. On the next Huskies’ possession, a quick drive set up Harwell’s third rushing touchdown of the night, making the score 21-6 going into halftime.
On the first possession of the second half, Miller capped off a 78-yard Huskie drive with a 13-yard touchdown run to make the score 28-6 with 8:31 left in the third quarter. Woodlawn senior quarterback Darion Holden answered with a 21-yard rushing touchdown of his own, and a failed two point conversion made it a 28-12 ballgame with 2:17 left in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Colonels were on the move again before an interception by senior defensive back Nathan Stotser gave the Huskies the ball with 5:01 left in the game.
After a Woodlawn interception on the ensuing drive, the Colonels would score a touchdown with 23 seconds left in the game. But it was too little too late, and the Huskies took a knee after the kickoff to seal the victory.
According to Harwell, unselfish play was the key to the Huskies’ rushing attack.
“The linemen did their job,” Harwell said. “We’ve got unselfish receivers and unselfish backs. They executed their blocks and we were able to push the ball down the field. They did a nice job.”
Harwell finished with 159 rushing yards to go along with three touchdowns. Miller finished with 99 yards and a touchdown. Senior quarterback Sam Miller completed nine passes out of 16 attempts for 71 yards and threw two interceptions. He also rushed for 32 yards.
The Huskies defense recovered two fumbles to go along with an interception.
Next week Hewitt-Trussville faces G.W. Carver High School at home.