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In a game worthy of a state championship final, two Class 6A powerhouses went toe-to-toe and matched each other punch for punch. In the end, there was no knockout.
Unbeaten Clay-Chalkville, the defending state champion and unbeaten over two seasons, earned a 40-39 decision Friday night at Cougar Stadium over the gritty and game Homewood Patriots.
“I felt like we played as well as we could have played,” said Homewood coach Ben Berguson.
The Patriots led 7-0 and 14-7 in the first half, and were tied at 20 at halftime. It was tied at 26 and at 33 in the second half. They could never grab the lead, but Clay-Chalkville – which was averaging over 50 points a game – never led by more than seven at any point of the game.
After a bizarre play when Amari Holloway intercepted a pass in the end zone, tried to run it out and was stripped and the ball recovered by Derrick Underwood for a touchdown, the game was tied at 33 with 11:11 to play.
But on the next series, Clay-Chalkville’s superhuman quarterback, Ty Pigrome carried the Cougars back to the lead. He led an 81-yard drive, running for gains of 21 and 29, and finishing it with an 7-yard scoring pass to Dez Willams. Clay led 40-33 with 7:14 to play.
Pigrome accounted for six touchdowns for the Cougars, ranked ninth in the country by USA Today.
But as they had all night, the Patriots responded. Quarterback Carson Griffis converted a third down with a 14-yard sprint, connected with Ronald Claiborne on a fourth-and-4 for 5 yards, and then, on another third down, he burst through the Cougars for a 45-yard run to pull the Patriots within 40-39 with 3:12 to play.
Berguson had a tough decision to make. He decided to go for the lead, and Griffis pass toward the corner was picked off by Clay’s JaMarlin Sewell to preserve the lead.
“I felt like we had to go for two right there,” Berguson said. “I didn’t think we could play with them ion overtime, their quarterback’s too good.”
Even then, it wasn’t over. Berguson dialed up the onside kick, and Roger Castro executed it perfectly, bouncing it off the chest of a Clay player and recovered by C.D. Daniels. Three running plays netted 9and a half yards, and on fourth down at the Cougars 32, Underwood was stuffed for one of the few times all night.
Still, it came down to a third-and-2 for Clay, but AJ Walker blasted through for a first down, allowing the home team to run out the clock.
The Patriots stunned the home crowd early, jumping out front when Underwood ripped through the defense for a 62-yard TD run.
Clay-Chalkville answered, set up by a long kickoff return by Williams to the Pats’ 43. On fourth-and-9 from the 29, Pigrome hit Simmons on a curl, broke a tackle and zipped into the end zone for the tying score.
But the Patriots went 65 yards in five plays as Griffis hit Claiborne for a 42-yard pickup and then Freddie Williams for a 16-yard gainer. That set up Underwood’s second touchdown of the night, a 5-yard run. The Castro PAT made it 14-7 with 24 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Cougars responded with a 70-yard drive in nine plays, Pigrome finishing it with a 5-yard run after he’d converted a fourth-and-3 with a 16-yard hookup with Nico Collins. The Andrew Van Winkle PAT was blocked, leaving Clay behind 14-13 with 8:35 left in the half.
Homewood went three-and-out on the next possession and a short punt set the home team up at the Pats 44. Clay converted another fourth down when Pigrome sprinted 24 yards to the 13, and then he hit TJ Simmons in stride in the end zone for a 16-yard score. The PAT gave Clay a 20-14 lead with 2:48 to play in the opening half.
But Homewood wasn’t through scoring. Griffis riddled the Clay defense with seven completions on an 81-yard drive, culminating with his 6-yarder to Alec Marsch. Castro’s PAT hit the upright, however, and the teams went to intermission tied at 20.
The Cougars got the ball first in the second half, and it was more Pigrome. One snap and he was gone, 65 yards for a touchdown. A bad snap on the PAT forced holder Dariyen Wilson to run for a two-point conversion, but the Pats smothered him, and Clay led 26-20 just 22 seconds into the second half.
But Griffis and the Pats had found chinks in the Clay secondary, and he connected with TyShawn Buckner for a 42-yard gain, hit Griffin Walker for pickup of 10, and then called his own number from the 1 for the score. Castro’s PAT was wide, and the teams were tied at 26 with 8:09 left in the third quarter.
Clay pieced together a 60-yard drive, aided by an illegal substitution penalty on fourth down, and a fake punt for another conversion. Pigrome went back to the air, finding Collins for his second touchdown of the game on a 32-yard pass play. Van Winkle’s PAT made it 33-26 Clay with 4:33 left in the third period.
The Patriots were forced to punt on the next series, and it looked like the Cougars might be ready to put it out of reach. But a Pigrome pass bounced out of his receiver’s hands and into the hands of Antarius Mitchell. Homewood drove down the field, reaching the Clay 6. On third down, Griffis’ pass was picked off in the end zone, but Amari Holloway attempted to run it out, got out of the end zone, and fumbled. It was recovered by Underwood for the game-tying touchdown.
That set the stage for the final 11 minutes of championship-caliber football, and the Cougars escaped, running their state-longest winning streak to 27 games. They moved to 12-0 and will travel to Minor, an upset winner over previously unbeaten Muscle Shoals, in the quarterfinals. The Cougars beat Minor 49-15 in the second week of the season.
The Patriots’ terrific season ended at 9-3. Griffis was 18-of 23 for 222 yards passing and added 80 yards on the ground. Underwood rushed for 118 yards.
Pigrome finished with 341 yards of total offense. He rushed for 206 yards and was 10-of-14 for 135 yards passing.
“I thought we played a great game – we were oh, so close,” Berguson said. “So proud of the kids, they played hard all night. Carson played great. Just came up short. I wish we had that one back.”