WEST POINT, Ala. – The West Point Warriors hosted the Hayden Wildcats in their final regular season home game. In what was a tale of two halves, West Point outlasted Hayden in an overtime thriller, 21-20.
The opening possession for Hayden saw the Wildcats run the ball the entire series and it ended with a 3-yard touchdown run that put them on the scoreboard first with 6:08 remaining in the opening period. West Point’s opening possession gained just one first down, but that was it as they were forced to punt.
The Wildcats continued to dominate the Warriors’ defense on the ground as West Point didn’t have an answer for the running game and the series ended with a 1-yard score to make it a 14-0 Hayden lead with 9:39 remaining in the first half. Will Cochran got a first down on the first play of the next series, but that was it as the Warriors wound up turning the ball over on downs. After forcing the Wildcats to punt, Cochran threw an interception on the next play.
Hayden drove the ball down the field once again and looked for another score, but West Point’s defense stood tall, stuffing a run on fourth down. After another West Point punt, the Warriors managed to get the ball back when Cooper Couch recovered a fumble at midfield. Back-to-back runs by Kelton Washington and Kobe Bowers yielded back-to-back personal foul penalties against Hayden, which put the Warriors at the 6-yard line. An offsides penalty moved the ball to the 3 as the Warriors looked to punch the ball into the end zone, but they couldn’t make it happen and went into the locker room trailing 14-0.
The second half saw West Point punt the ball on its opening possession, but the Warriors forced Hayden to punt it right back on its opening series. The Warriors finally got something going on the ground on its next series behind big runs from Cochran and Washington. After an 8-yard run by Cochran gave the Warriors a first down, he went to the air and found Jacob Dye for a 45-yard score that made it a 14-7 game with 44 seconds remaining in the third period.
That score pumped up the Warrior defense even more as it forced yet another Wildcat punt. From the 32-yard line, Cochran found Bowers for a 35-yard pass play before a 22-yard run by Washington put West Point at the 15-yard line. Cochran converted a crucial fourth-down play and scored from a yard out on the next play to tie the game up at 14 with 5:28 remaining in the contest.
Hayden kept pounding the ball on the ground and got past midfield after a West Point pass interference penalty, but the Warriors defense stiffened after that and Hayden was forced to attempt a 37-yard field goal with one second left. The kick was wide right, sending the game into overtime.
The Wildcats found the end zone on their first possession of overtime, but their extra point fell short, giving the Warriors a chance to win the game with a score of their own. Cochran found the end zone on the first play of the ensuing series from 10 yards out and Logan Selby nailed the game-winning extra point to give West Point a thrilling 21-20 win over Hayden in overtime.
Cochran went 4-for-9 for 87 yards and a touchdown and added 47 more on the ground and a pair of touchdowns, plus the game-winning score in overtime. Washington finished with 56 yards on eight carries. West Point is now 4-5 overall and finished with a 3-4 region record. The Warriors will end their regular season on the road next Friday at Cordova.
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