By Joe Crowe, for The Tribune
PINSON — Pinson Valley got quite a score from Mortimer Jordan High’s Blue Devils as the month of Halloween began Friday night, but came back from a halftime deficit to win 40 to 24.
The Indians’ undefeated streak in home games continued, but Mortimer Jordan’s Blue Devils put Pinson Valley to the test in a battle of 6A Region 6 rivals.
Pinson Valley scored in the first quarter, then Jordan got on the board with a 29-yard field goal to make the score 7-3 with under a minute left in the first quarter.
The Indians’ Keywone Posey, completed a 66-yard pass to Amare Thomas, for a touchdown. The point after set Pinson at 14.
After that, the rest of the second quarter belonged to Mortimer Jordan. The Blue Devils also scored off a touchdown pass, moving within 4 points of Pinson, then a second touchdown pass — with under a minute left in the first half — put Jordan in the lead, 17-14.
The Indians were playing their second game without quarterback Zach Pyron and their top two tailbacks in Mike Sharpe and Jaylen Taylor.
As the second half opened up, Pinson Valley’s numbers 15 and 13 proved to be a top-drawer tag team again, as Posey (no. 15) completed a 10-yard pass to Thomas to bring the lead back to the Valley, 20-17.
The Indians failed on the point-after attempt, but made up for it moments later, with 5 minutes left in the third quarter.
That’s when Posey and Thomas struck again, as Posey threw a 58-yard completion to Thomas, setting the score at 27-17 Pinson.
Posey and Thomas were not the only players to light up the scoreboard, as Taurus Chambers slid into the end zone with a 1-yard rushing touchdown. Then, with around four minutes left in the game, Tevis Metcalf (no. 25) ran 22 yards to push Pinson Valley to 40 points.
The Blue Devils kept their fire burning, however, scoring again with less than a minute left to play, setting the final score at Pinson Valley 40, Mortimer Jordan 24.
After the game, Indians coach Sam Shade credited the Jordan team’s efforts.
“They compete,” he said. “They play hard. They’re well coached. Just a lot of respect for those guys. We had to make some adjustments in the second half, to come back and win the ball game.”
The team was not all hands on deck this week. Shade pointed out that QB Zach Pyron and two running backs, Mike Sharpe and Jalen Taylor, did not play.
“We had to find another way to get it done,” Shade said.
The win sets Pinson at 5-2 overall and 3-1 in region play, while Jordan falls to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the region.
Oct. 8 is a bye week for Pinson, then they get a shot at Clay-Chalkville on Oct. 15.
