By Bobby Mathews, Sports Editor
PINSON — It wasn’t always pretty, but Pinson Valley got the job done against McAdory here on Friday night, August 26, with a 21-13 victory that wasn’t secure until a final defensive stand by the Indians forced a turnover on downs.
Quarterback Keywone Posey, who didn’t have his best day passing, knelt down to run the clock out on the final play, and Pinson Valley moved to 2-0 on the season. The Indians will have a week off before they host the No. 1 team in 6A, Clay-Chalkville in the fourth week of the season.
“We made way too many mistakes, and we’ve got to be better conditioned,” first-year head coach Lee Guess said. “That was the first thing that came to my mind. We were not making it through the third quarter, and we have got to be able to find a way to lessen our mistakes and lessen getting cramps.”
Guess relied on his defense to bail the Indians out, and the stop unit rose to the occasion, forcing four turnovers — a fumble recovery by T.J. Metcalf, an interception by Tevis Metcalf, an interception by Rod Ivy, and another pick by Amare Thomas — and sacks by Jacobi Jackson and Zi’keith Springfield.
“McAdory gave us a really good game,” Guess said. “I knew they were ready to come out and get a chance to clean up some of their first game under the rain. I know they had a tough time controlling the ball. I knew they’d give us the best game they had, and they did … Hat goes off to our defense. They kept us in that game. They did everything they needed to.”
Posey put the Indians up 7-0 after a 28-yard connection with a diving Ivy in the end zone. Damien Gonzales added the point after, and it looked like Pinson Valley might have an easy night of it.
But McAdory would fight back, scoring with 11:42 remaining in the second quarter on a four-yard touchdown run around the right side by quarterback Jacob Clopton.
The game remained tied at 7 until 9:56 in the third when Posey hit senior slot receiver DeMarion Hatton for a 46-yard pitch-and-catch. Gonzales added the PAT, and it was 14-7.
“I used to play running back, and making people miss in the open field is what I do,” Hatton said. “So when they moved me to slot … it’s like all I’ve got to do is catch the ball, and I can make people miss.”
The turning point in the game came on the Indians’ next possession, as Taurus Chambers broke off a 15-yard run for a first down. The Indians then went on a seven-play drive that consisted of nothing but running plays, driving the ball through the heart of the McAdory defense.
With 5:09 left in the third, Chambers bulled in from four yards out to make it 21-7.
McAdory wasn’t done, though. After Ivy intercepted Clopton, the Indians couldn’t do anything. On the Yellow Jackets’ next possession, Clopton hit JaCory Whitted on a 36-yard TD strike over the top. A missed PAT made it 21-13.
“Coach Guess is an offensive guy, but he really just knows the game of football,” T.J. Metcalf said. “We just go out there and execute. Even if we mess up, we’ve got that next-play mentality.”
With McAdory threatening on the Indians’ side of the 50, Metcalf locked up Whitted on the right side one-on-one, refusing to give the big receiver a chance to make a break on the ball, and Thomas — nominally a wide receiver — made a diving catch at the three-yard line on fourth down to end the Yellow Jacket threat.
“We have to remember to tell him that it’s fourth down, you don’t have to intercept it,” Guess said. “But it’s hard to tell a receiver not to go get that ball, so I’m not going to fault him for that.”