HANCEVILLE, Ala. – After having a bye last week, Hanceville took on Fultondale in its region opener at home. In what was a wild back-and-forth affair for most of the game, the Bulldogs got some great performances from Bo Joles and Barrett Hardin to pick up a huge 43-34 win over the Wildcats.
Fultondale found the end zone in just seven plays to take an early 7-0 lead, but Hanceville countered on its opening possession. The Bulldogs pounded the ball on the ground on all 10 plays of their ensuing drive as Joles, Hardin, Logan Guthery and Zach Campbell got the running attack going quickly before Joles found the end zone on a 4-yard run to tie the game up at 7.
The Wildcats found the end zone again on a 20-yard touchdown pass to take a 14-7 lead with 4:29 remaining in the opening quarter, but 16 seconds later, Campbell tied the game up once again when he returned the kickoff 76 yards for the score. The Bulldogs recovered the ensuing kickoff and quickly found the end zone again when Joles hit Campbell for a 33-yard score on fourth down to give Hanceville a 21-14 lead early in the second quarter. After recovering yet another kickoff, Hanceville continued to pound the ball on the ground and stretched its lead to 28-14 with a Joles 4-yard touchdown scamper. Fultondale, though, made it 28-21 on a 2-yard touchdown run, but Hanceville’s Brosnan Ward picked off a huge pass on the next possession to keep the score the same at the half.
Both defenses forced a punt and a turnover on downs on the opening possessions of the third quarter. The Bulldogs stuck to their game plan on their next series as all eight plays were on the ground and they continued to wear down the Wildcats’ defense. Joles finished the drive off with a 27-yard score to make it 35-21 with 4:45 remaining in the third period. A 6-yard run by Fultondale made it 35-28, and after Hanceville was forced to punt, Fultondale scored on a 52-yard run, but the Bulldogs didn’t let them convert the two points and it was now a 35-34 with 9:21 remaining in the contest.
Hardin and Joles carried the load for Hanceville on its next possession and the Wildcats helped them out with a couple of key penalties. The latter found the end zone for the fourth time in the game as his 2-yard scamper made it 41-34 after the blocked PAT. The Bulldogs got a key fourth-down stop when Kendrick Johnson stuffed Fultondale’s runner for a loss. Hanceville looked to burn the rest of the clock, but a fumble was recovered by the Wildcats. The Bulldogs’ Preston McDonald sealed the win for his team by sacking the quarterback in the end zone for a safety to bring the final score to 43-34 and wrap up a win to start region play.
Joles had a monster night finishing with 153 yards on 25 carries and four scores, plus 33 yards through the air and a touchdown. Campbell had a pair of touchdowns on the night, and Hardin added 117 yards on the ground. Ward had an interception on the night and Guthery and McDonald each recovered an onside kick. Hanceville picked up its first win over Fultondale in five years.
Head Coach Cody McCain was proud of his team after the big win Friday.
“They played their hearts out. I couldn’t be more proud of the guys,” McCain said. “Guys like Joles, Kendrick and Brett stepped up. Offensive line played a great game. That’s definitely the best win that I’ve had since I’ve been here. I’m so proud of the way that they responded. You know, a lot of people doubted us, moving up to 4A, but we just asked the guys to keep believing in what we were doing. They were able to come out and get the win.”
McCain talked about how big Joles was in the game and since he’s been at Hanceville.
“Bo’s been a great player the last couple of years,” McCain said. “One of his challenges has been being the guy that does whatever the team needs for him to do and tonight, a lot of it was running the ball. He ran his heart out. He’s tough, running between the tackles running it. He had a great pass earlier on, and he did the things that we needed him to do to be a winner.”
This win will give his team much-needed momentum going into its region game at Dora next week, and McCain hopes to see his team continue its momentum.
“It gives us some momentum,” McCain said. “The kids have been working really hard, and you don’t want them to be working at the level that they’re working and not see results. They had a tough game against Vinemont to lose by one and then to come back and get the win under these circumstances is huge for their momentum and now they’ll be going forward. Practice will be a lot better Monday after a win than it would have been if we had lost.”
Hanceville improved to 1-1 on the season with the win and will be on the road to face Dora next week.
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