CENTER POINT – Brothers Jay and Ty Woods each scored a touchdown on a night where Pinson Valley’s defense completely shut down Center Point, to the tune of a 34-0 shutout victory.
The Indians’ third shutout of the season clinched a playoff berth for the sixth consecutive season under head coach Matt Glover.
Pinson Valley head coach Matt Glover clinches his sixth consecutive playoff berth with win against Center Point. Photo by Ron Burkett
“It’s huge,” Glover said of the playoff berth. “I’m proud of where our program has come. We’re not where we need to be yet, but we’re getting there. I’m really proud of these guys. When we were moved to (Class) 6A, a lot of people didn’t think we had a chance. We’ve held our own.”
Pinson Valley (6-2, 4-2) scored two touchdowns on offense, and one each on defense and special teams.
Jay Woods got things started after the Eagles went three-and-out to start the game. Woods fielded a short punt at the 42-yard-line, and the blockers set up a wall for him to get to the left sideline. The last 30 yards were a piece of cake.
Also making noise on the night was Ty Woods. He intercepted his first career pass in the second quarter, as he was able to jump the route on a softly thrown ball. Woods grabbed it out of the air and coasted into the end zone from 16 yards out to give the Indians a 21-0 lead. He added another pick in the fourth quarter.
“I’m really proud of him. He’s been maligned; he’s gotten burnt a couple times. But he’s stayed focused. He played good defensively,” Glover said.
“I was very excited about it,” Ty Woods said. “I have been wanting it all week. I felt like if I would’ve trusted my block, I could’ve scored on the second one. But I cut back.”
The Pinson Valley secondary is a family affair, as Andrew McKinney is also a brother of Ty and Jay. Ty thought it was “awesome” that he and his brother both scored on the same night.
“I feel great for him,” Jay said of Ty. “He’s been waiting for it all year, but they haven’t thrown it to his side often. He finally got two. I’m proud of him.”
Rhasheed Wilson made an interception of his own in the third quarter, his third in the last two games.
There were no fireworks from either offense on the night. Errius Collins caught a two-yard pass from Jackie Matthews in the first quarter and Matthews added a rushing score in the third quarter. But Pinson Valley only managed 122 yards of total offense, a number that is rarely good enough to win, much less blow out an opponent.
That is because Center Point’s offense was that much worse, gaining a grand total of 52 yards. The Eagles mustered just four first downs on the evening and never threatened to score in the game.
The game was incredibly sloppy, as the teams combined for over 200 yards in penalties, more than they actually gained in the contest. Center Point committed 20 penalties for 133 yards.
“The offense is not clicking yet,” Glover said. “The big thing right now is we just don’t have a lot of confidence. We just got to execute.”
It is worth noting the night that defensive lineman Desmond Scott had for the Indians. Scott essentially figured out the snap count of Center Point and was in the backfield immediately following the snap on roughly a dozen plays. He combined on a sack and picked up at least four tackles for loss.
Pinson Valley wraps up region play next week with a home game against Shades Valley that could determine the third seed in the region. Center Point finishes the season with two non-region contests.
