95-Yard TD Caps Incredible Houston County Comeback

    
     Houston County High School coach Jarrod Wooten will always remember his first victory as a head coach. And so will all those loyal fans that remained until the end last Friday night.

     The school, located in the Houston County town of Columbia on the bank of the Chattahoochee River, trailed Cottonwood 43-8 with 3:15 left in the third quarter but rallied to win 52-50 in perhaps the greatest comeback in AHSAA prep football history. The fantastic finish captured this week’s Alabama High School Athletic Association spotlight. 

     Quarterback Desmond Warren, who had just 10 yards passing at the half, finished 13-of-21 for 372 yards and three touchdowns to spark the amazing comeback effort.

     The winning score came with just 55 seconds remaining on a 95-yard pass connection from Warren to Jazeric Peterson.

     “We were facing a third down and 48,” said Wooten, in his first year as head coach of the Lions. “I just wanted us to try and run a play that would give us a chance to make a first down on fourth down. Instead, their defensive back fell down and Jazeric took it all the way for a touchdown.”

     Wooten said his team lost three fumbles in the first half as the visiting Bears stormed out to a 37-8 halftime lead. That lead was extended to 43-8 midway through the third period and was 50-23 in the final quarter.

     “We had a lot of fans leave at halftime and even more to leave after the third quarter,” he said. “They didn’t know what a valuable ticket they really had.”

     Among those leaving during intermission were Wooten’s wife and 14-year old daughter. A member of the Lions’ marching band, she collapsed during halftime and was taken to the hospital where she was treated and released.

     “My wife told me we had to do something like this while she was gone,” said Wooten, a Beulah High School and Auburn University graduate who had assistant coaching stops at Beauregard, Valley and Fairhope. “She finally got to watch the game tape with me on Saturday afternoon.”

     The entire week had been one of frustration for the Houston County coaching staff, said Wooten. Five players missed practice on Monday and were suspended and did not play.

     “We met on Sunday and devised a game plan. Then when those kids didn’t practice, we had to throw that plan away and come up with another one in 15 minutes,” he said. “All five were at the game Friday night. When the game ended, two of them jumped the fence, ran to me and let me know they would do anything they could just to get back (in good graces).”

     Warren, who also rushed for one TD, completed passes of 42, 29, 38, 64, 69 and 95 yards in the second half alone. Edward Robinson caught had five receptions for 155 yards, including TDs of 64 and 69 yards. He also rushed for 117 yards on nine carries with a 63-yard TD sprint and returned an interception 32 yards for another score. All his rushes came in the first half and all his receptions came in the second half.

     Peterson finished with five catches for 183 yards and the winning score.

     Houston County, which finished with 521 total yards, had 380 in the second half on just 19 offensive plays. The Lions scored 44 points after intermission, including 36 in the final period. That total included four 2-point conversions.

     “All I told the kids at halftime was that we weren’t going to quit,” said Wooten. “We could have been beaten by 60 had we just given up. Because they didn’t, we have something we’ll remember the rest of our lives.”

     Other top performances reported to the AHSAA last weekend include:

·          DEVIN WOLFE, SWEET WATER: Had six tackles and a sack as the Bulldogs set two state records in their 57-0 win over Coffeeville. The Bulldogs held Coffeeville to minus-100 yards rushing, shattering the old record of minus-49 yards set by in 1969 by T.R. Miller’s defense versus Aliceville, and fewest total yards, snapping the old record of minus-67 set when Greensboro shut down Uniontown in 1977. Sweet Water had no punts or penalties and led 43-0 after one quarter.

·          JOEL INGLE, HACKLEBURG: Returned two kickoffs 77 and 85 yards for touchdowns and also intercepted a pass and returned it 47 yards for a third score as Hackleburg beat Parrish 47-20.

·          RYNE TAYLOR, STRAUGHN: Was 13-of-26 passing for 310 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-30 win over Cottage Hill Christian.

·          KEENAN PORTER, HAZLEWOOD: Rushed for 270 yards and two scores as the Bears blanked Vina 45-0.

·          BRANDON STANDERFER, CLEMENTS:  The sophomore running back rushed 23 times for 253 yards and three touchdowns – climaxing a 98-yard drive in the final 5:30 with the winning touchdown and 26 seconds remaining in the Colts’ 35-28 win over Phil Campbell.

·          CALVIN HENDERSON, McKENZIE: The junior completed 11-of-19 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns (35, 12 and 72 yards) and rushed 17 times for 84 yards and another score as the Tigers (3-0) upended Ariton 42-28.

·          BRIAN PARK, WESTMINSTER CHRISTIAN:  One week after passing for 447 yards and setting the state record for completions in one game (38), Park completed  36-of-57 passes for 304 yards and two TDs in a 49-19 loss to Cherokee. He also ran for one TD.

·          DREW PHILLIPS, BOAZ: Set a new single-game rushing record for the Pirates with 283 yards on 30 carries with both touchdowns in a 14-7 win over Marshall County rival Albertville. His final TD, a 15-yard run, came with 13 seconds left in the contest.

·          CODY ARMSTRONG, RED BAY: Had a season-high 45 carries for 275 yards and scored three touchdowns and a two-point conversion in a 26-12 win over Hatton.

·          TOMMY HALEY-RICKS, HUBBERTVILLE: Scored four touchdowns and rushed for 208 yards on 19 carries and also recovered a fumble and recorded a sack on defense as Hubbertville beat Marion County 48-12.

·          CHRIS DUKES, UMS-WRIGHT: Had 234 yards rushing and 112 in returns as the Bulldogs downed Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa 35-12. He scored on runs of 79, 49 and 13 yards.

·          CHASE HALL, BRANTLEY:  Completed 6-of-8 passes for 227 yards and four touchdowns covering 61, 48, 44 and 17 yards in Brantley's 46-10 win over Florala.

·          JAMARQUES DAVIS, CALHOUN:  Grabbed seven receptions for 207 yards and two touchdowns in Calhoun's 30-14 win over Central-Hayneville.

·          WIL RIGGS, T.R. MILLER:  Completed just nine passes but totaled 242 yards and a touchdown in T.R. Miller's 41-13 win over Bayside Academy.

·          JACK POUNDSTONE, TRINITY:  Piled up 248 total yards in Trinity's 37-0 win over LaFayette, completing 13-for-25 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 101 yards and two more scores.

·          CHARLIE LONG, A STANHOPE ELMORE:  The Mustangs defensive lineman recovered two fumbles in the end zone for a pair of touchdowns in a 42-14 win over Jeff Davis.

·          SETH MCGOWAN, HOUSTON ACADEMY: The Houston Academy running back had 25 carries for 175 yards and two touchdowns on offense and also had 10 tackles at linebacker on defense in the Raiders’ 21-7 win over New Brockton.

·          JERMAINE "JUICY" WILLIAMS, SLOCOMB: Had just 13 rush attempts but piled up 228 yards and six touchdowns (5, 24, 64, 7, 3 and 9 yards) as the Red Tops drilled Wicksburg  41-22.

·          HUNTER MULLINS, TALLASSEE: Mullins hit two clutch field goals in the final three minutes, including a 33-yard field goal as time expired to give the Tigers a 20-17 win over Class 5A's top-ranked Eufaula Tigers. He hit a 30-yard field goal with three minutes left to tie  the game.

·          CALEB HULLETT, ONEONTA: The 6-foot-2, 235-pound junior had six tackles including four for losses in a 68-24 win over Locust Fork. Anchoring the offensive line at guard, he helped pave the way for 607 total yards, including 419 rushing.

·          JHAMAL TURNER, MOODY: Turner led Moody to a 29-22 win over Chelsea with 11 tackles on defense and 154 yards rushing and a TD on 17 carries on offense.

·          JEREMY WILLIAMS, WOODLAWN: The defensive back had two interceptions in a 7-0 win over Parker.

·          LELAND BAKER, ERWIN: The senior defensive end had 14 tackles, four assists, a sack, forced a fumble and recovered another one in the Eagles’ 41-19 win over Mortimer Jordan.

·          ANTHONY BOWIE, ERWIN: The quarterback led the Eagles to the win over Mortimer Jordan with 428 yards total offense. He was 13-of-26 passing for 294 yards with two interceptions and two touchdowns and also had two touchdowns and 134 yards rushing on 13 carries.

·          DARION SUTTON, SHELBY COUNTY: The bruising runner rushed for 224 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries as the Wildcats stopped Georgiana, 41-14.

·          AMERIOL FINLEY, BEAUREGARD: Was 5-of-7 passing for 193 yards ands a TD and rushed for 149 yards and two more scores on 20 carries as Beauregard beat Rehobeth 33-14.

·          JUSTIN EVANS, MIDFIELD: In a 47-0 win over Dora, Evans was 8-of-14 passing with 227 yards and three touchdowns.

·          DUSTY CORNELIUS, CLEVELAND: The quarterback was 19-of-29 passing for 242 yards with four touchdowns in a 42-25 loss to Lamar County.

·          CRAIG GRANGER, TALLADEGA: The junior quarterback threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for the winning TD in the final seconds as the Tigers defeated Sylacauga` 30-29.

·          TIM SIMON, CORDOVA: The senior running back had 204 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries in a 39-27 win over Gordo.

·          TONY ELLIS, FLOMATON: Piled up 249 yards rushing and scored four touchdowns as the Hurricanes beat Southern Choctaw 50-27.

·          SEAN DAVIS, HAYDEN: Davis had 11 tackles, two fumble recoveries and was credited with 1.5 sacks in a 24-0 win over Brewer.

·          KEVIN CALLENDER, MONTEVALLO: The quarterback rushed for 192 yards on 10 carries with two touchdowns in a 48-20 win over Montevallo while throwing for 119 on 8-of-11 passing.

·          BRYANT LAW, SPRING GARDEN: Recorded 13 tackles, had four for a loss and one sack as the Panthers edged Valley Head 24-21.