By Amy Thrash, Sports Reporter • amy@southerntorch.com (Photo by Amy Thrash)
FORT PAYNE, Ala. — The Fort Payne Wildcats came up short in a 21-14 loss to the Etowah Blue Devils.
The Wildcats started out strong by forcing a three-and-out on the Blue Devils opening possession. With 8:28 remaining in the first quarter, Jordan Bain fired a shot to Carter Pinholster for a 60-yard touchdown run. Alex McPherson’s PAT was good, giving the Wildcats an early 7-0 lead. The Blue Devils answered back with a 8-yard touchdown with 6:29 left in the first quarter. The PAT was blocked by Levee Hall. Moments later, Etowah was moving the ball to mild field when Nalen Dubose shook the ball lose, causing the ball to fall perfectly into Hall’s hands for an interception.
In the second quarter, Etowah scored with a 39-yard run, went for two, and took the 14-7 lead with 7:20 remaining in the half.
To start the third quarter, the Blue Devils forced the Wildcats to a three-and-out. After a long drive by Etowah, they scored their last touchdown of the night to put the Blue Devils up 21-7 with 5:32 left in the third. With 48 seconds to go in the third, Bain found Matthew Shaddix for a 44-yard touchdown run. McPherson’s PAT was good making the score 21-14.
In the fourth quarter, the Fort Payne Wildcats’ defense forced a three-and-out. Etowah’s punt was low and Pinholster went speeding down the field with what could have been a touchdown, but was called back for a holding penalty against the Wildcats. No points were scored in the final quarter.
“I thought our defense played hard all night and kept us in the ball game,” said Head Coach Chris Elmore. “Etowah has a really good defense and we just could not sustain any kind of offensive consistency. We missed a couple of opportunities and made too many mistakes on offense to win the game. Playing a quality team like Etowah will only make us improve though.”
Jordan Bain was 8 for 18 for 128 yards and 2 touchdowns. Coach Elmore’s Players of the Week are Offense center Mark Herzberg and Defense nose tackle Will Wright.
This friday will be Fort Payne’s homecoming and they will host Lee High School.
