By Ronnie Hagood
MUSCLE SHOALS — The Pinson Valley Indians defeated previously unbeaten Muscle Shoals, 26-14, on Friday to advance into the semifinals of the 2019 AHSAA state playoffs. Unlike the first two rounds, the Indians found themselves in a four-quarter fight that saw the first half played in a deluge of rainfall.
The first half of the game witnessed a pair of teams who averaged 45 points per game in the first two rounds of the playoffs held to just 13 combined points. Pinson Valley scored the first points of the game on a Chris Soto 34-yard field goal. Muscle Shoals quickly answered that score, however. The Trojans broke off a pair of long runs, and capped off the two-minute long scoring drive with a 12-yard Michael McIntosh touchdown run.
The rain then began to fall. The only points put on the board the remainder of the first half came off the foot of Soto. A 26-yard field goal with 9:48 remaining in the second quarter cut the Muscle Shoals lead to 7-6. While the teams where in the locker room, the rainfall finally let up and the offenses cranked up.
Mike Sharp put the Indians back on top with a 12-yard touchdown run with 7:32 remaining in the third quarter. The Trojans then put together an impressive, clock-eating drive that was capped off by a Silas Russell 17-yard touchdown run, which gave the Trojans a 14-13 lead. That would be the last time the Trojans would find the end zone this season.
“Defense has been great all year,” Pinson Valley head coach Patrick Nix said. “They did it again tonight. They just continue to play really, really good.”
Soon thereafter, Barry White hit Ga’Quincy McKinstry on a 14-yard slant for the go-ahead touchdown. Pinson Valley would attempt a two-point try, but backup quarterback Caleb Nix would be stopped just short of the end zone.
Both teams defenses would keep the game close in the fourth quarter, but with the game on the line, it was the Indians who struck the final blow. With the ball on Muscle Shoals’ 4-yard line and facing a fourth down, Pinson Valley elected to go for the touchdown instead of a field goal. The decision paid off as Kenji Christian capped off his impressive night with a 4-yard touchdown run. Christian finished the game with 21 carries for 118 yards and the game-clinching touchdown. When Christian took a breather, fellow back Mike Sharp made sure the Trojans defense did not get a break. Sharp rushed for 61 yards on nine carries with a touchdown.
“Too many bad things can happen on the field goal attempt,” Nix said of his decision to forgo the field goal in favor of going for it on fourth down. “Our defense was playing so good that if we didn’t get it, they would have to drive a long way to beat us.”
The Indians will get a chance to avenge their only loss in Class 6A with a bid to the state finals on the line. Pinson Valley will travel to Oxford on Black Friday looking for revenge following a regular-season loss to the Yellow Jackets.