By John Goolsby, Prep Sports Editor
NORTH SHELBY — Hewitt-Trussville survived a three-overtime thriller Friday night at Heardmont Park that featured a driving rainstorm, a controversial touchdown call and plenty of late-game drama as the Huskies defeated Oak Mountain 48-45 in a key region matchup.
Hewitt entered the game coming off a loss to Prattville, followed by a bye week.
The Huskies got the scoring going first. Jack Floyd connected with Jackson Martin for a 5-yard touchdown in the second quarter to give the Huskies a 7-0 lead.
Martin was a weapon for the Huskies. Credit: Sherry Parker
Oak Mountain answered with a 49-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 with 5:13 remaining in the first half.
A 33-yard completion from Floyd to Martin on Hewitt’s next scoring drive set the Huskies up at the Eagles’ 10-yard line. Two plays later, Floyd scored on a 3-yard run to give Hewitt-Trussville a 14-7 lead with 2:14 remaining. Nathan Fritz was good on the PAT.
Oak Mountain responded with a drive and scored a 20-yard touchdown pass with 9.7 seconds remaining on fourth down before halftime. The PAT was no good, sending Hewitt into the locker room with a 14-13 lead.
The Huskies finished the first half with 186 yards of offense, while Oak Mountain had 237.
Hewitt fumbled on its opening possession of the second half at their own 40, and Oak Mountain took advantage. The Eagles put together a scoring drive that ended with a short touchdown run and converted the 2-point attempt to take a 21-14 lead.
The Huskies answered in the fourth quarter with a seven-play, 63-yard drive that included two completions to William Miller and runs by Harrison Malone. Malone finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run with 9:49 remaining to tie the game at 21.
Malone scores. Credit: Sherry Parker
The Hewitt defense forced a punt on Oak Mountain’s next possession, but the Huskies bobbled the fair catch, giving the Eagles another opportunity deep in Hewitt territory.
The Eagles drove to the Hewitt 1-yard line, where they faced fourth-and-goal. The Huskies appeared to stop the run at the goal line, but the official on the Oak Mountain side of the field ruled it a touchdown, giving the Eagles a 28-21 lead with 2:51 remaining.
With driving rain falling, the Huskies responded with an 80-yard drive. On fourth down, Floyd scored on a 3-yard run with 14 seconds remaining. The PAT tied the game at 28 to send it to overtime.
Oak Mountain scored first in overtime on a 3-yard touchdown run to take a 35-28 lead. Floyd answered with a 10-yard touchdown run, and the PAT tied the game at 35.
The Huskies got the ball first in the second overtime, and Floyd connected with Martin on a shovel pass for a touchdown to give Hewitt a 42-35 lead.
Oak Mountain answered again, scoring on fourth-and-goal from the 1 to tie the game at 42 and force a third overtime.
The Hewitt defense forced the Eagles to settle for a 21-yard field goal in the third overtime, taking a 45-42 lead and giving Hewitt an opportunity to win the game with a touchdown.
Hewitt did just that. On first down, Floyd took the snap and raced around the left side for the game-winning touchdown, giving Hewitt the 48-45 triple-overtime victory.
“I’m just proud of our guys,” said Hewitt coach Josh Floyd. “I feel like we tried every possible way to lose the game. We kept giving them more and more chances, but our guys showed their toughness tonight, physically, but especially mentally. They just kept fighting.
“I don’t even know how many overtimes it was, but we just kept fighting and found a way in the end.”
Josh Floyd. Credit: Sherry Parker
Floyd accounted for five touchdowns in the win. The sophomore completed 21 of 26 passes for 212 yards and a touchdown and ran the ball 21 times for 130 yards and four scores.
Malone had 64 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries as the Huskies finished with 406 yards of total offense: 212 through the air and 194 on the ground.
Martin caught four passes for 49 yards and a touchdown. Riley O’Neal led the Huskies with 61 receiving yards on five catches, DJ Hall caught six passes for 35 yards. Miller had two receptions for 35 yards, and Malone caught two passes for 28 yards.
The victory was Hewitt’s third region win of the season and its 11th win in its last 12 meetings with Oak Mountain.
The Huskies return home Thursday night for another Region 3 matchup against Thompson.
