Editor’s note: This is an opinion column.
By Bobby Mathews, Sports Editor
At Hewitt-Trussville’s football practice earlier this week, the Huskies looked intense and ready to take on Bob Jones tomorrow night up in Madison.
Head coach Josh Floyd reminded his team that they’re going to need to be prepared not only for the Patriots, but also for the weather. It’s going to be chilly in Trussville, and 10 to 15 degrees cooler up in north Alabama. But in amongst the attention to small details and preparation that Floyd discussed with his players, he said something that really boiled down the playoffs to their essence.
“You have two more practices before Friday’s game,” he told his crew. “You aren’t promised anything beyond that.”
That’s a dagger of a reminder. This is the playoffs, and it’s win or go home.
For Hewitt-Trussville, the 7A playoffs are fraught. The Huskies should win against Bob Jones, but a rematch against a Hoover team that bullied Hewitt-Trussville on both sides of the ball looms in the second round. And if the Huskies beat the Bucs, they’ll get another shot at Thompson in the semifinals.
Talk about a murderer’s row, and that’s just to get to the championship game. But that’s life in Class 7A Region 3, and whoever comes out of the playoff bracket that features Thompson, Hoover and Hewitt-Trussville definitely has a great chance in the finals.
However, the Hewitt players and coaches can’t think that way. They can’t afford to look ahead, not even one game, because that’s the kiss of death for a playoff team.
The Huskies went 8-2 on the regular season. Against Thompson, they were in the game for most of the first half but couldn’t get the momentum they needed to pull off the upset. Hoover was a different animal entirely. Hewitt was moving the ball early until a disastrous offensive play turned into a Bucs touchdown. After that, the game got away from the Huskies in a hurry.
This team is loaded with talent. Cade Ott Carruth is healthy again. Omari Kelly is playing his best ball of the season. Jordan McCants is always dangerous, Ryan Shoop is reliable, and James Hammonds remains a steady every-down running back.
Defensively, the Huskies looked really, really good when they finished up the season against Oak Mountain. While it’s true that the Eagles didn’t have their star quarterback, Hewitt still managed to hold them to zero total yards and shut them out for 46 minutes of a 48-minute game. If Justice Finkley, Hunter Osborne and Tyrell Averhart can continue to dominate up front and allow Bam White and Hunter Jones to clean up from their linebacking spots, the Huskies have a real chance to make some noise in the playoffs.
No, they can’t erase the two losses from the regular season. But they can learn from them and move forward. Good teams do that. The Huskies have had a very good season, and they’re going into the playoffs knowing that they aren’t promised a next game past the one this Friday night. They know that every moment counts if they want to make their mark in the playoffs.
Hewitt-Trussville plays at Bob Jones on Friday, November 5, 2021 at 7 p.m.
Bobby Mathews is sports editor at The Tribune. Reach him via email at bobby.mathews@trussvilletribune or on Twitter: @bobbymathews.