Pinson Valley ends Patriots season in quarterfinals
HOMEWOOD -- Bo knows football. And so do his teammates at Pinson Valley High School.
Bo Nix, the quarterback for the defending Class 6A state champions, threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score as his Indians defeated Homewood 48-7 Friday night in the Class 6A quarterfinals at Waldrop Stadium.
After the game got off to a sluggish start for both teams, Pinson took control quickly late in the first quarter. The Indians scored three times in just over three minutes, with the first two touchdowns coming in the span of 14 seconds — a 6-yard scoring run by Kenji Christian, followed by an interception of a Patriots pass on the first play of their subsequent possession, which was then followed immediately by a 43-yard Nix pass to Demarion Holloman.
Later with seven seconds remaining in the period, Nix connected with Tye Pouncey for an 8-yard scoring toss, and the rout was on.
Homewood had its chances in the second quarter to get back in the game. Down 28-0 after a 43-yard Nix touchdown run early in the second period, quarterback Larkin Williams piloted the Pats on a 12-play drive that ended with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Marcus McGhee. Homewood then executed a perfect onside kick and took the ball back on the Tribe 38-yard line.
But after marching all the way down to the Pinson 10-yard line, Williams was sacked on fourth down and driven back 12 yards. The Indians made them pay for that mistake, as Christian ran 69 yards for a score three plays later, silencing the hopeful Patriots fans just before halftime.
Nix added a 3-yard TD throw to Pouncey with 14.8 seconds left in the third quarter, and then after Homewood fumbled the ball away on the following kickoff return, Nix found Holloman again for a score from three yards out on the first play of the final stanza. That was his last play of the game, except for a punt.
In total, Nix threw 22 completions in 33 pass attempts for 298 yards and four TDs, and ran twice for 42 yards for a total of 340 yards. He will need 39 more yards in next week’s semifinal game against arch-rival Clay-Chalkville to break JaMarcus Russell’s record for all-time passing yards in a career in the state of Alabama. Holloman finished with nine grabs for 121 yards.
Christian finished with 85 yards on seven carries with the two scores.
The loss for Homewood was a tough end to a season that went well as a whole, coach Ben Berguson said.
“We just ran into a team that had more horses than us tonight. … We turned the ball over on the first two possessions, resulting in points for them, and you can’t start a game like that. We had our opportunities,” Berguson said.
Williams was 23-of-39 passing for Homewood with one touchdown and two interceptions. McGhee had nine receptions for 63 yards.
On defense, Jamari Dailey led the Tribe with nine solo tackles and two assists. Dewayne Smith had seven solos for Homewood.
The Patriots finish with a 10-3 record. Pinson Valley, which has lost just one game (to Hoover) in the two seasons since the Nix family relocated from Scottsboro, will host Clay-Chalkville in the 6A semifinals next week.