By Gary Lloyd
Hewitt-Trussville senior quarterback Blake Bailey was told he threw for 296 yards in the first half.
“Wow,” he said.
It was that kind of night for Hewitt-Trussville, which blasted Huffman 59-22 at Lawson Field on Thursday night.
Bailey played just the first half, completing 15-of-24 passes for 296 yards and two scores, both 20-yard strikes to senior wide receiver Riley Stokes.
Hewitt-Trussville (4-5, 4-3 Class 6A, Region 6) now awaits the results of Friday’s Gardendale vs. Carver-Birmingham and Mountain Brook vs. Vestavia Hills games to determine the state playoffs participants from the region. Gardendale is 3-3 in the region and Mountain Brook is 4-2. Should the Huskies get in, they will likely travel to Class 6A No. 2 Bob Jones for the first round.
“I hope (the players) would be as excited as I’d be (to make the playoffs),” said Hewitt-Trussville head coach Hal Riddle.
Bailey said the playoffs is what every team shoots for.
“Everybody wants to keep playing,” he said. “Everybody wants to play until December. That’s the total goal.”
Stokes caught seven passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns for Hewitt-Trussville. Junior wideout Cyle Moore grabbed eight passes for 134 yards and a touchdown. The duo combined for 253 receiving yards in the first half alone.
Hewitt-Trussville senior quarterback Blake Bailey had a big night against Huffman.
file photo by Ron Burkett
“They’re athletes,” Bailey said. “You’ve just got to get the ball to them.”
Things started slowly for Hewitt-Trussville. Huffman (2-7, 2-5) needed just five plays to score on its opening drive. Marvin Flowers found Brandon Sanders for a 42-yard score to cap the drive.
The Huskies tied the game midway through the first quarter when Bailey found Stokes for a 20-yard touchdown. Senior running back Peyton Palmer rushed six yards for a score early in the second quarter to give Hewitt-Trussville a 14-7 lead.
Sophomore quarterback Zac Thomas scampered 10 yards for a Hewitt-Trussville touchdown three minutes later to make it a 21-7 game. Flowers then found Sanders for a 7-yard TD on Huffman’s next drive to pull within seven points.
Senior kicker Timothy Sullivan booted a 28-yard field goal with 2:32 left until halftime to increase the lead to 10. Senior defensive back Harper Johnson then picked off a Flowers pass and returned it all the way to the Huffman 3-yard line, and Thomas punched it in a play later with 1:39 until halftime.
The Huskies forced a three-and-out and Bailey hit Stokes for their second TD hookup with :26 until the half, giving them a 38-14 halftime lead.
Thomas hit Moore for an 18-yard score down the left sideline midway through the third quarter and junior running back Trevian Jenkins rumbled 21 yards for a score to put Hewitt-Trussville up 52-14 entering the fourth quarter.
Demetrius Davis scored on a 1-yard run and converted a two-point conversion on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it a 52-22 game. Hewitt-Trussville quickly answered when Thomas found junior receiver Dalton Meadows for a 27-yard TD with 10:15 to play in the game.
Thomas completed 5-of-7 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown, and rushed 10 times for 43 yards and two scores. Palmer rushed 11 times for 43 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, sophomore defensive end Jaison Williams had two tackles for loss.
For Huffman, Flowers completed 10-of-29 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns to one interception. Sanders was most of the Huffman offense, catching five passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.
