By Kyle Parmley
PINSON – The comeback effort fell short on Friday night for Pinson Valley.
The Indians had their chances in a 26-16 loss to Minor at Willie Adams Stadium, but the mistakes proved too many to overcome.
“That’s not the way we wanted to finish (the regular season), but the good thing about it is we’ve got another week to play, so that’s always a positive,” Indians head coach Matt Glover said.
Trailing 26-7, an Errius Collins punt pinned Minor inside its own 1-yard line. The Indians forced a punt, but during the attempt the punter conceded a safety and just stepped out of the back of the end zone.
On the ensuing safety punt, the Tigers punted the ball to Jay Woods, who caught the ball at midfield. The South Alabama commit sliced right through the middle of the coverage unit and beat everyone to the left corner of the end zone, as Pinson Valley pulled to within ten points, but those would be the last points scored in the game for either side.
“We needed a big play at that time,” Woods said. “I just tried to do whatever I could for my team and I got the ball in my hand. I made it, so that was good.”
Pinson Valley (7-3, 4-2) had its chances to draw closer in the fourth quarter, however, but could not overcome the adversity. Faced with a 4th-and-12, quarterback Jackie Matthews completed a 15-yard pass to the sideline to Liallen Dailey, but the play was called back due to a controversial ineligible man down field penalty. The Indians were then forced to punt.
Matthews finished the night completing 17-of-42 passes for 186 yards. Dailey was his top target on the night, as he snagged seven passes for 98 yards. Collins chipped in five grabs for 58 yards.
On their final drive of the game, the Indians drew an unsportsmanlike penalty on first down from the Minor 40-yard line, pushing them back into a 1st-and-25 situation that they could not convert.
“We made some mistakes, but we’ll learn from it and come back. We’ll be OK,” Glover said.
Dynamic athlete Jaylond Adams proved tough to handle for Pinson Valley’s defense, as he wreaked havoc in the backfield and out in space. The do-it-all player for the Tigers scored a pair of touchdowns on the night – one each rushing and receiving – and finished with 115 total yards.
“Jaylond is a special kid,” Minor head coach George Bates said. “The best thing about him is that he’s only a junior. He still hasn’t reached his potential. We still have to find more ways to get him the ball. But he’s our top prospect, no doubt.”
Minor got off to a hot start behind an Adams touchdown and a defensive touchdown in the first quarter. Victor Cullen scooped up a bad snap and walked into the end zone from three yards out to put the Tigers ahead 13-0.
Dailey made his mark in the second quarter, catching an 18-yard touchdown pass from Matthews to draw the Indians to a 13-7 score.
Sophomore Desmond Scott, who for the second consecutive week, blocked a punt deep in the opponent’s territory, set up that scoring drive for the Indians.
Minor took a 20-7 lead into the halftime break, and notched the first dent in the scoreboard in the second half, as Jacore’ Jackson found Delonte’ Evans for a 73-yard pass. Evans ran a fly route and left the defense in the dust and gave his team a 26-7 edge.
Jackson completed 9-of-23 passes on the evening for 182 yards and a pair of touchdown throws. He also rushed for 87 yards on 18 carries.
The game may not have even been close had it not been for Jay Woods. Along with the punt return for score, he also intercepted a pass in the end zone early in the fourth quarter as Minor was looking to score once again. However, the drive led to a missed 32-yard field goal that would have pulled the Indians within seven points.
“We just read the defense good,” Woods said of the interception. “Everybody was in the perfect spot. I just made a big play on it.”
Pinson Valley mustered just 214 yards of total offense on the evening, and just 28 yards on the ground. Running back Torrey Hendrix has been out for six weeks, and is questionable for next week’s game.
“If he’s not 100%, I’m not going to put the kid out there,” Glover said. “We’ll make a call next week and see how he practices.
“Khymel (Chaverst) has done a great job running the ball for us. It would be a great one-two punch we haven’t had in awhile. It’ll help our run game a lot.”
Glover also expects a big challenge from first-round opponent Austin next week, literally.
“They’re big, physical, and a good football team,” he said. “We’ve got our work cut out for us.”
Minor also qualified for the Class 6A state playoffs, as they will travel to face Albertville.