Homewood hammers Lee 49-14
Griffin Walker wasn’t running for his life, but he was running as fast as he could.
Walker caught a pass from quarterback Carson Griffis and raced 87 yards down the left sideline for Homewood’s first touchdown, sparking the Patriots’ 49-14 rout of Lee-Huntsville on Friday night in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs at Waldrop Stadium.
Homewood (9-2) will visit No. 1 Clay-Chalkville (11-0) next Friday in the second round. The defending champion Cougars advanced with a 48-14 victory over Cullman on Thursday.
Lee, which was making its first playoff appearance since 2005, finishes its season 6-5. The Generals are now 0-4 all-time against Homewood in the state playoffs.
The Patriots had gone three-and-out on its first possession Friday and were facing a third-and-10 on their 13-yard line on their next possession when Griffis and Walker hooked up on their long touchdown pass.
“The way we had the play drawn up, they had a linebacker playing over and he bumped me and let me go,” said Walker, a senior receiver. “I ran a corner route and Carson hit me in stride.
“I saw the shadow of the guy chasing me and then he tripped and I told myself that I’ve got this. I have never run that fast in my life.”
By his recollection, Walker said that’s the longest touchdown reception he’s had since peewee football.
“I had a lot of them back then, but that was just peewee,” he said, flashing a broad smile.
Walker’s catch-and-run gave Homewood an early 7-0 lead and the Patriots added two more touchdowns in the first half to take a 21-0 lead at the break.
Senior running back Derrick Underwood scored the first of his two touchdowns on a 1-yard plunge with nine seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The Patriots scored again on Griffis’ 15-yard pass to TyShawn Buckner with 3:33 remaining in the second quarter. The touchdown capped a 60-yard drive that started following Jake Burdeshaw’s interception of a pass by Lee quarterback Cameron Thomas.
Griffis finished 8-of-10 passing for 151 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
In the second half, the defense and special teams got in on the scoring flurry.
Homewood defensive lineman Bailey Thomas deflected a pass at the line of scrimmage and middle linebacker Carlos Figueroa plucked it out of the air, returning it 25 yards for a score at the start of the third quarter.
Lee took advantage of two Homewood fumbles to score two touchdowns in a 90-second span in the third.
Quarterback Cameron Thomas ran 10 yards around right end for a touchdown on the first play after the Patriots’ first fumble. Then, Thomas connected with Jonathan Woods on a 42-yard scoring strike, following the second turnover, pulling the Generals within 28-14 with 7:24 left in the third.
Homewood answered with a long scoring drive, capped by Underwood’s second touchdown on an 8-yard run, to re-establish control. Underwood finished with 17 carries for 126 yards.
Shortly thereafter, Nick Dutton blocked a punt and returned it 2 yards for a touchdown.
The Patriots closed the scoring on Chestin Jones’ 7-yard run early in the fourth quarter.
Homewood held Lee to only 74 total yards and forced three turnovers.
“I thought our defense played great,” Homewood coach Ben Berguson said. “Those points they gave up were the offensive’s fault, leaving them with a short field.”
Berguson knows the Patriots will be up against it in the second round against high-octane Clay-Chalkville.
“They’re so athletic,” he said of the Cougars. “They’ve got to be the most athletic team in the state.
“We’ll have to have the best week of practice we’ve ever had and play the best game we’ve ever played to have a chance. But as they say, if you want to be the best you’ve got to beat the best.”