Fayette County overcame a halftime deficit with a dramatic 14 play scoring drive to eat up the third quarter and went on to beat Hokes Bluff 34-27 in the ALFCA Game of the Week. The win puts the Tigers of Coach Lance Tucker into the semifinals next week against Saks.
Mike Robertson’s Hokes Bluff squad led at halftime 21-14 by using a strong running game led by Darrian Meads who ran for two first half touchdowns. With the scored tied 14-14, the Eagles (10-3) put together a 5 play, 61 yard drive just before halftime. Landon Johnson hit Carson Eubanks with a 26 yard touchdown pass with 5 seconds left to send the home standing Eagles in the locker room with the lead. Meads would end the night with 251 yards on 29 carries.
Fayette County (11-2) ate up most of the third period with a 14-play, 80-yard drive capped by Chance Stevenson’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Tre’Darion Walker, gaining a 21-21 tie heading into the final period.
The Tigers then capitalized on two critical Hokes Bluff turnovers. Meads fumbled and T’Marvic Smith returned the fumble 36 yards to the Hokes Bluff 12 yard line. Fayette scored four plays later when quarterback Chance Stevenson hit Jamarius Jackson with a 2 yard TD pass and the Tigers led 28-21.
Fayette’s Justin Humphrey picked off a Hokes Bluff pass on the first play of the next series. Stevenson capped off a 7 play drive with a 1 yard run to run the score to 34-21 with just over 5 minutes remaining.
But Hokes Bluff wasn’t through. Meads broke a 53 yard run to put the Eagles back in it with 3:50 left and make the score 34-27. The Eagles got the ball back once more but were stopped on downs at the Fayette County 48.
“We spit and sputtered on offense, and they kept the ball and caught the momentum,” said Hokes Bluff coach Mike Robertson of his team’s second-half woes. “Our defense stayed on the field too long and they kind of wore us down.”
Stevenson threw a 72 yard TD pass to Darius Nalls and also scored on a 1 yard run in the first half before leading the Tigers on the time consuming third quarter march. Hokes Bluff ran only 8 plays in the third period.
Hokes Bluff had 270 yards rushing and 58 yards passing. Fayette had 140 yards rushing and 206 yards passing on the night.