McPherson’s kick sends Moody past St. Clair County 20-17 in the Battle of 411

By Henry Williamson, for the Tribune

ODENVILLE, Ala.  – In a Battle of 411 that stayed within one score the entire way, the Moody Blue Devils pulled through on another game-winning field goal by Ryan “Legatron” McPherson from 45-yards to edge the St. Clair County Saints 20-17 on the road Friday night.

Credit: Henry Williamson

“A will to win that couldn’t be outmatched tonight”, Moody head coach Kyle Tatum said. “When we come in on Sunday, we tell the truth. Guys know where they got to get better and we go to work. Our kids got momentum, they got confidence, and I’m just excited for them. We didn’t quit and we knew that we could win this game. We’ve been in adverse situations.  Past two weeks, every game we played has been a dog fight except really the first one. With this region, it’s gonna be that way. We’ve been through it and we’re ready.”

Starting the game with possession, the Blue Devils established movement with Trigg Murdoch picking up yardage, followed by a downfield shot by Jake Lowery that was called a pass interference to spot the ball at the 15. Moody settled for three as McPherson knocked in a 24-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 6:18 left in the first quarter.

18 seconds later, St. Clair County struck back after one snap. Star receiver Joshua Douthard shook off a defender on the missed tackle and exploded along the sideline for an 80-yard touchdown reception to put the Saints in front 7-3.

The second quarter was a defensive slugfest until Moody found the end zone with 2:18 left before the half. Lowery guided the offense and launched a 33-yard pass to a diving Jalijah Rutledge to bring it to the 24. Austin Dryburg stepped in and used a quarterback sneak to give a fresh set of downs before Lowery located an open Kobe Taylor for a 14-yard touchdown to go up 10-7.

The Saints tried to make a push before halftime, but the Moody defense did their job and denied all options. With 1:15 left, the Blue Devils raced the clock, but McPherson’s 40-yard try fell short to keep the score the same at the break.

 Both sides punted back and forth during the third quarter. St. Clair County pieced together a drive late. Landyn Smith lofted a deep ball to Dylan Philpott before being taken down at the 31. The Saints eventually scored off of a screen pass from Smith to Douthard for eight yards to retake the lead 14-10 with six seconds to go in the quarter.

Zayne Leonard gave Moody favorable field positioning at the Saints 40 on a kickoff return to open the final period. The offense answered as Rutledge elevated for the grab in the back corner of the end zone to shift the advantage back to the Blue Devils 17-14 with 10:19 remaining.

St. Clair County sped up the pace and moved the chains inside the 5. Moody’s defense earned a critical third down stop to limit the Saints to an 18-yard field goal to even the score at 17.

With less than 5 minutes to go, Rutledge kept his balance on a reception to the Saints 45 yard line. He then caught another pass on a slant, but was stopped shy of the first down. That’s when McPherson was called onto the field and owned the clutch for the second time this season, booting through the go-ahead field goal from 45-yards.

“I’m speechless”, McPherson said. “First and foremost, I want to give all glory to God. I missed my second kick, but gotta forget about it. Coach Tatum was talking about it all week to just forget what happened in the past. We can’t chase the past, so you might as well work on the future and that’s how I got it done.”

St. Clair County had one last chance and the full length of the field ahead with 4 seconds left. Smith was pressured in the backfield and the lateral play that was shut down by the Blue Devils to secure the 20-17 victory.

Moody improves to 3-3 overall (2-1 in 4A Region 6) and will make the short trip over to Leeds for the “Battle of the Bridge” next Friday, October 2nd.