By Alex Headley
A second half push couldn’t put the Indians over the top Friday night in their regional match against Walker High School.
Head Coach Matt Glover was disappointed with the team’s performance. “We didn’t play very well,” he said
. “We have a long way to go.”
The Class 5A No. 6 ranked-Pinson Valley Indians suffered 12 penalties and 8 turnovers and failed to score in the first half. The Indians had five turnovers in the first half: Freshman quarterback Ko Powell threw two interceptions, senior running back Nick Gibson fumbled twice and a bad snap to kicker Aaron Efram led to a Viking touchdown in the second quarter.
The turnovers held the Indians back, never finding the end zone in the first half, but Walker High School rack up 31 points. “They came out ready to play,” Glover said. “We didn’t. If you have that many turnovers, you just can’t win.”
The Vikings scored first with 2:51 on the clock in the first half, rushing one yard after a long drive in their second possession of the night.
The next touchdown came after a bad snap to kicker Efram. Walker grabbed the fumbled ball and ran it 20 yards for a touchdown. Not letting up, the Vikings intercepted a pass intended for Earnest Robinson, scoring on the next drive to put the score 28 to 0.
A Pinson Valley fumble put the Viking offense in the game after just one Pinson play. Walker turned that extra possession into a field goal with 6:50 left in the half. Another fumble stripped away Pinson’s best chance at scoring drive in the final moments of the second quarter.
The Indian defense rallied in the second half, holding the Vikings scoreless. But it wasn’t enough to overcome the Vikings early lead.
“They came out and fought really hard,” Glover said. “The defense played well in the second half.”
Not to be overlooked, the Indian offense came out swinging early in the second half as well, scoring off a 25 yard pass to Harry Mason on their first possession. Mason caught 7 passes for 114 yards over the course of the night.
Powell found Earnest Robinson on a 40 yard touchdown pass in the fourth to bring the game to its final score of 31 to 13.
Robinson caught 6 passes for 101 yards and one touchdown. Powell completed 19 of 31 passes, threw two interceptions, two touchdowns and was sacked once.
Nick Gibson rushed 61 yards and had three fumbles.
Pinson Valley will play another regional match against Hayden High School next week at Hayden.