By Marla Jones, Sports Editor • marla@southerntorch.com

CEDAR BLUFF, Ala. — On a rainy night and sloppy field, the Collinsville Panthers defeated the Cedar Bluff Tigers, 38-0 Friday night.  

After a fifteen minute delay due to a light outage, the Panthers scored, with a 3:44 remaining in the first, on a 10-yard gallop into the endzone by Kaleb Jones.  The kick by Jason Perez was good to give the Panthers the 7-0 lead.  

Collinsville broke open the game at the end of the second quarter. Jason Perez made a 31-yard field goal, giving the Panthers the 10-0 lead.  The Panthers scored two touchdowns within a minute after two Cedar Bluff mistakes on a botched punt attempt and an uncovered kickoff.  Michael Tucker bulldozed his way into the endzone, from 10-yards out, with 1:08 remaining in the second.  The kick by Perez was good.  WIth :45 remaining in the first half, Tucker scored again on a 5-yard run.  The kick by Perez gave the Panthers the 24-0 advantage going into the half. 

Tucker scored his third touchdown of the night on a 2-yard stampede into the endzone, with 9:00 remaining in the third quarter.  The extra point attempt failed, making the score 30-0.  With :11 remaining in the third, Collinsville scored their last touchdown of the night when T.J. Osborn returned a fumble 29 yards for the touchdown.  This fumble recovery was noted as an outstanding effort in the ballgame by the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA).

Michael Tucker led the Panthers with 20 rushes for 115 yards and three touchdowns.  He had one reception for 8 yards.  Kaleb Jones ran for 86 yards and a touchdown. Jason Perez averaged 54 yards on seven kickoffs and 40 yards on three punts.  He also made a 37-yard field goal.

“It’s good to get a win in the rain.  I always like playing in the rain. Our players even enjoy practicing in the rain. Cedar Bluff couldn’t keep the ball away from us” said Collinsville Head Coach Ernie Willingham.  “ We needed this win.  Now we know we have second in the region.  We will host a playoff game, that is really big for us.”

Collinsville will travel to Valley Head for their final regular season on Friday night.