By Bobby Mathews, sports editor
TRUSSVILLE — Hewitt-Trussville’s Cade Carruth is The Tribune’s Player of the Week for the first week of the 2021 high school football season.
Carruth led the Huskies to a 49-27 win against the reigning 6A state champion Pinson Valley, totaling five touchdowns — three through the air and two on the ground.
Carruth went 20-for-28 passing for 333 yards, including two scores to Clay-Chalkville transfer Jordan McCants and another to James Hammonds. The Huskies’ offense rolled up more than 600 yards of offense against Pinson Valley. Senior wideout Omari Kelly had 130 all-purpose yards, while McCants had eight catches for 112 yards. Hammonds had 127 yards rushing on 18 carries, with two rushing touchdowns in addition to his receiving score.
“This is his third year running the offense, and I think you saw that tonight,” Huskies head coach Josh Floyd said. “The playbook is pretty wide open with him. He can make every throw. We don’t want him to run a whole bunch, but he had a couple of truck runs, too, to help us get in the end zone.”
Carruth threw for 266 yards in the first half, leading Hewitt-Trussville to a 35-6 lead going into the break. But it was his leadership in the second half that sealed the deal on the victory over Pinson Valley. After a PVHS defender stripped the ball from his hand as he was trying to pass, then trucked for a touchdown to cut into Hewitt-Trussville’s lead. Carruth came back under center on the next drive, and the Huskies piled up five first downs on that drive as Carruth settled the team back down to remain in control.
It was the answer Hewitt-Trussville needed, when they needed it.
Carruth then punctuated the victory with 4:45 left in the game, rolling into the end zone for a score that preserved the win for the Huskies.
The Tribune’s Player of the Week is sponsored by OrthoAlabama Spine & Sports.