Last-minute TD lifts Patriots over Huffman
BIRMINGHAM – Homewood High School football coach Ben Berguson said his Patriots were listless as their game at Huffman got underway.
“I just thought the whole atmosphere was flat and nobody could make a play in that first half just to give us a spark,” he said. “We didn’t win first downs in the first half. We were third-and-long a lot. I didn’t think our defense played as physical as it has in the past. A lot of it’s because we haven’t played in two weeks. We needed a spark.”
On a chilly night, the Patriots found their spark after the intermission on their way to a 15-8 Class 6A, Region 5 victory over the Vikings. Senior Len Irvine notched the game-winner with 27 seconds left as he plowed into the end zone on a 4-yard run.
“Three’s [Irvine has] been our guy all year,” Berguson said. “He’s done an awesome job for us. [Sophomore quarterback Woods Ray] had a good game tonight. We were going to run the quarterback a lot tonight.”
Huffman took the early lead, taking advantage of a short punt to start its second drive at the Patriots 38-yard line. On the second play, Makhi Hughes took the ball 36 yards for a Vikings touchdown. Jonathan Murray caught a pass from Justice Christian for the 2-point conversion and an 8-0 lead that stood until halftime.
The lead could have been greater, as the home team twice drove into the red zone – once to the 19 and then the 15. Each time penalties stymied the drives.
Homewood got the spark that Berguson was looking for as its initial drive of the third quarter appeared to stall after three plays. A roughing the punter penalty kept the drive going, and got the Patriots on track.
“Once that happened,” Ray said, “I knew the game was about to change.”
Eleven plays later, the visitors got on the board with Irvine scoring from 1 yard out. Ray hit tight end Harvey Ray for the game-tying 2-point conversion.
Huffman coach Bill Smith said the penalty for roughing the punter changed the flow of the game.
“We did not have the punt block called,” he said. “Maybe a couple of our kids missed the call but we were set up for the return and were not supposed to really rush the punter on that.”
The Patriots running attack got going in the second half.
“Once we started pulling our guards and getting open holes, it was easier to run the ball in the second half,” Woods Ray said. “The first half was kind of shaky. The second half we picked up the pace and got the win.”
Berguson called the contest “our money game. That got us into the playoffs. That puts us in. After this, we’re just jockeying for position. This get us in at fourth. We’ve got three more region games. Hopefully we climb the ladder.”
Smith said his Vikings did not play with the passion and intensity with which they played in last week’s 3-0 loss to Hewitt-Trussville.
“We had chances to take a sizeable lead into halftime but two times in the red zone, we shot ourselves in the foot with penalties,” he said. “We’ve got to clean it up. Defensively, we’ve played good enough to win at least three of the last four games, possibly four. Offensively, we’re going to get it fixed.”
Both teams remain in region next week, with Homewood hosting Shades Valley and Huffman traveling to Chelsea.
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