MERIDIAN — Brandon Bell”s fade pass to Cade Lott in the end zone with eight seconds remaining was the first part.
The second part was Bell”s conversion run behind Tyler Knight out of a jumbo set that allowed the Heritage Academy to complete an improbable comeback in a 37-36 victory
“I saw something tonight that we have been looking for and looking for and looking for,” Heritage Academy coach Brad Butler said. “You try to preach to them to never give up, to never give up. Tonight it definitely showed. They showed more heart than other folks. I don”t want to step on anybody”s toes, but they showed more heart than I have seen.”
Heritage Academy trailed 21-0 at halftime. Butler said he didn”t say anything special to inspire his players at the break. He told his players the first half belonged to Lamar County and the second half was going to be theirs. He credited his players for backing up his words.
“We are sitting here (on the bus ride home) talking as coaches about all of the players who stepped up in the second half,” Butler said. “It wasn”t just one or two. It was several guys you could really brag on. It is hard to single anybody out. It was just a total team effort.
“We got down and we just outlasted them. I feel our depth and our conditioning took over in the second half. We played a lot of guys.”
Butler didn”t have complete statistics after the game, but he said the final touchdown was 35 to 40 yards.
Lamar County took a squib kick back to its 40 on the final sequence before time expired.
“They showed a lot of heart and guts,” Butler said. “They wouldn”t be denied.”
Heritage Academy took a 29-28 lead with about five minutes remaining in the game before Lamar answered with about a minute left. Heritage Academy took the ensuing possession at its 35 yard-line
and ran a hook and ladder for about 25 yards to get the drive started.
n Victory Christian 42, Clinton Christian 6: At Columbus, The Eagles scored 42 unanswered points en route to their season-opening victory.
Quarterback Bryer Bolton was 5 of 9 for 152 yards to lead Victory Christian, which led 21-6 at halftime.
Kaleb Holliness had three catches for 129 yards, including catches of 64 and 46 yards for touchdowns.
Taylor Frye led the Eagles with 66 rushing yards, including a 57-yard touchdown run. Paul Blair added 40 yards on seven carries. Blair is usually a lineman.
Nick Hairston led Victory Christian with 13 tackles and two sacks. Jay Pace added 10 tackles.
n West Lowndes 40, Montgomery County 28: At Kilmichael, Antonio Wilson had two rushing touchdowns and another on a kickoff return to help Anthony King get a victory in his first game as head coach at his alma mater.
“Offensively we did a real good job,” said King, a graduate of Motley High School. “We pretty much rode Antonio Wilson, and Gerald Sanders did a good job, as did our offensive line.”
King praised the play of the offensive line Shaun Jackson, Marcus Hill, Breshon Brooks, Darius Farmer, and Korey Wilson.
Jamal Laskins, a transfer from Florida, also scored on a kickoff return.
“Defensively we have a long way to go,” King said. “We have to get the guys coached up. We made too many mistakes. We gave up plays we predicted they would run and we just gave them up.”
n Central Academy 22, Calvary Christian 14: At Meridian, trailed 14-6 in the third quarter scored 16 points in the fourth quarter to rally for the victory.
Quarterback Cole Newman led the Vikings with 115 rushing yards. He also was 4 of 8 passing for 97 yards.
P.J. Coleman scored Central Academy”s first touchdown, a 3-yard run. Steven Lane caught a 9-yard pass from Newman for a touchdown, and Drew Pearson caught a 17-yard pass from Newman to account for the Vikings” scoring.
Pearson had a team-high 10 tackles, while Cody Brown sacked the quarterback on the final play to seal the victory.
Central Academy will play host to Calhoun Academy at 7 p.m. Friday in the district opener.
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