ADDISON, Ala. – Addison hosted the Hackleburg Panthers on a muggy night in lovely A.G. Hicks Stadium in a game with real region championship implications. It was a tale of two halves as Addison was thoroughly dominated in the first half but dominated the second half in turn. Hackleburg built a big lead in the first and was able to hold on and win the game 30-14.
It was a rough first half if you were an Addison fan. The Bulldogs could not tackle air and Hackleburg looked like they were playing a junior varsity team. The very big Panther offensive line, especially for 1A football, dominated the Bulldog front. Holes were gashed open and Hackleburg runners ran for at least 7 yards on each carry. The Panthers went 7 plays for 69 yards and a touchdown. Panthers QB Blaise Vickery hit Senior WR Jaquan Reeder for a 26-yard touchdown catch and he was never touched. Vickery ran in the two-point conversion and with 9:04 left in the first quarter, Hackleburg led 8-0.
Addison’s first possession started at the 49-yard line of Hackleburg after a 36-yard kickoff return by Owen Pratt. The Addison offense then ran three plays for -9 yards and punted the ball. Addison punter Bradley Willette did punt the ball 55 yards, all of it in the air.
This was a moment for the Addison defense to stand tall as the Panthers were starting out at their own 3-yard line. Well, that didn’t happen as Hackleburg ran 8 plays for 97 yards for the touchdown. Edge Weeks capped the drive off with a 39-yard touchdown run for the Panthers second td of the game. Vickery again ran the two-point conversion in and with 3:01 to go in the first quarter, Hackleburg led 16-0.
After the Panthers forced another Addison punt, they used 10 plays to go 75 yards and get down to the Addison 16-yard line. It looked like the Panthers were going to put this game away but as a Panther runner was bulling his way to the endzone, Bulldog Kayden Dyson hit the back forcing a fumble in which Judah Wilkins recovered the fumble at the Addison 5.
Addison had their best drive of the half as they picked up two first downs but were forced to punt. The Dawgs got to their own 42-yard line when Willette punted the ball all the way down to the Panther 19. Reeder caught the punt and streaked 81-yards for the punt return for a touchdown. This was backbreaking as it occurred with 1:51 to go in the second quarter. Vickery ran in the two-point conversion and the first half ended with Hackleburg up 24-0. Hackleburg outgained Addison 241 yards to 40 yards. This is not even counting the special teams yards.
Addison received the second half kickoff and looked like a totally different team. Addison ran 6 plays for 73 yards for their first touchdown. The offensive line dominated in the second half and played much better than the first. Dyson on a quarterback keeper ran 38 yards for the first Bulldog score of the night. Dyson then found Mike Lee for the two-point conversion pass and with 8:29 to go in the third Addison cut the lead to 24-8.
Addison forced a Panther three and out and then ran 9 plays for 47 yards getting down to the Panther 18-yard line. It looked like a score here and the Bulldogs would be right back in the ballgame. On fourth down and 6 from the 18-yard line a Dyson pass slipped out of his hand as he threw it to a wide-open receiver who would have had the first down. The pass was a little short and no one felt worse than Dyson who played his tail off this night.
Hackleburg seemed to recapture the momentum and drove 82 yards for the game sealing touchdown as Vickery ran it in from the 1-yard line. The two-point play was no good and Hackleburg led 30-8 with 8 minutes to go in the game. This was the Panthers’ only drive of the second half.
Addison took over and used 13 plays to go 70 yards for the final score of the night. Shifty Seth Hammack ran it in for the touchdown from 3 yards out on the game’s final play as Addison would lose 30-14 to Hackleburg. It truly was a tale of two halves. Addison outgained Hackleburg by 150 yards in the second half and this just goes to show a few plays here or there can have a tremendous impact on the game’s final outcome.
Unofficial stats
Addison ran 36 rush plays for 227 yards. Addison ran 12 passing plays for 38 yards. Addison ran 48 total plays for 265 total yards. Hackleburg ran 30 rushing plays for 271 yards. Hackleburg ran 12 passing plays for 94 total yards. Hackleburg ran 42 total plays for 365 total yards.
Dyson went 6 completions out of 12 attempts for 38 yards.
Dyson had 11 carries for 76 yards and a touchdown. Hammack had 9 carries for 70 yards and a touchdown. Jaxson Williams had 6 carries for 41 yards. Zane Smith had 5 carries for 34 yards.
Elijah Roberts had 4 catches for 36 yards. Smith had 1 grab for 4 yards.
On defense, Hammack had 6 tackles and Dyson had 5. Bobby Williams, Brye Dollar, Brodie Willingham and Roberts had 3 tackles each. Kasen Hill, Jaxson Williams, Willette and Smith had 2 each. Wilkins had a fumble recovery and Williette/Williams split a sack.
Addison falls to 3-2 (2-1 region) play and will travel next Friday night to Good Hope to take on the undefeated Red Raiders in a non-region match up.
Copyright 2024 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
