SUMITON — With a valiant effort, Sumiton Christian fought its way back from a 26-6 halftime deficit, but was unable to keep Hanceville out of the endzone to win 32-26 in overtime.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Tigers took the lead with a 52-yard bomb from junior quarterback Bo Joles to receiver Brodie Malcom for the game’s first score. A few plays later, the Eagles answered with a touchdown pass of their own from sophomore quarterback Jordon Robertson to fellow-sophomore Cade Naramore to tie the game at 6-6.
The Tigers defense dominated the remainder of the half, with defensive back Zachary Campbell leading the way with back-to-back interceptions.
It looked as though Campbell would snag another on the third consecutive pass from Robertson, but the play was called back due to an offsides call. By halftime, new coach David Powell and his Eagles were down 26-6.
Sumiton Christian refused to stay down, though. The Eagles defense came up big, forcing three turnovers and not allowing another point to be scored in regulation. The turnovers came by way of an interception by linebacker Miles Myers and fumble recoveries by defensive linemen Joshua Allred and Michael Vann, who earlier wrapped up Joles for a 19-yard sack.
Meanwhile, Robertson finally found his footing. With 2:20 left in the third quarter, Robertson connected with Naramore again, this time for an electric 85-yard touchdown. Early in the fourth, the Eagles shocked the Tigers defense with an unexpected double pass from Robertson to Naramore, who then threw a beautiful spiral to Corbin Hicks in the endzone to bring the score to 26-18.
As time ticked away, Sumiton Christian still needed another score and a two-point conversion to tie things up. Senior running back Jeremy Brown came through for the Eagles, crashing through defenders for an 11-yard score before doing it all again for the two-point conversion.
By the end of regulation, Sumiton Christian had tied the game at 26-26. Unfortunately for the Eagles, their luck stopped here. On the first play of overtime, the Eagles offense fumbled and lost possession. Hanceville took advantage of the blunder and found the endzone to put the game away, winning 32-26.
Despite the disappointing outcome, coach Powell was proud of the toughness his team displayed.
“I knew this team had heart and they showed it,” Powell said. “We didn’t play clean, but we had a lot of fight in us. We just made too many mistakes and it caught up with us, but we can build on tonight’s game.”
The Eagles will have plenty of chances to further prove themselves in the 2019 season, starting with a road-trip to Decatur Heritage next Friday.
This article was originally printed in the Daily Mountain Eagle.
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