FIELD OF CHAMPIONS — Early in the fourth quarter of last week's Class 3A
showdown between Piedmont and Glencoe, a Bulldog fan in the press box was
overheard saying, “We've let them stay in it this long, now they think they
can win it.”
At
that point in the game, the visitors were winning it. And any Yellow Jacket
fan who was there last Friday probably thinks their team should have won.
The ball certainly bounced their way for most of the night.
In the end, though, third-ranked
Piedmont displayed a resolve that reminded everyone in attendance why they
are the defending Class 3A state champions with a thrilling, 13-12 overtime
win.
Glencoe's swarming
defense parked the high-powered Piedmont offense for most of the night.
Accustomed to scoring over 30 points a game through the first four weeks of
the season, the Bulldogs only managed 36 yards rushing in the entire game.
The Jackets scored the only
points of the first half on their opening possession. Beginning at their own
20-yard line, Glencoe running backs shoved the ball through the middle of
the Bulldog defense as far as the Piedmont 40. From there, quarterback Rhett
Norman fired a touchdown pass to Chris Tinker with 9:21 remaining in the
first. The point-after kick was no good.
Piedmont's luck went bad on its first possession and
stayed that way until the final minutes. After the fourth-down snap from
midfield sailed over punter Cade Bradley's head, he covered the ball at his
own 28-yard line, giving the Yellow Jackets another scoring opportunity. But
Glencoe's pass into the end zone fell incomplete on fourth-and-twelve,
giving the ball back to the Bulldogs.
The teams swapped possessions throughout the remainder
of the first half. Piedmont had one drive end on the Glencoe 35 after an
interception, and the Jackets had a second 40-yard touchdown pass called
back for holding.
In the
second half, Piedmont continued making mistakes on offense. A pair of
fumbled snaps and another interception ended potential scoring drives, but
the Bulldog defense kept the game close.
Aided by a 15-yard facemask call on the Yellow Jackets
late in the fourth quarter, Piedmont finally made it into the end zone with
2:21 remaining when quarterback Chris Strott dove into the corner of the end
zone on a keeper. Strott's extra-point kick sailed wide right.
With the crowd anticipating
overtime, Glencoe fielded the ensuing kickoff and advanced to their 22-yard
line, appearing content to run out the clock. But a toss in the backfield
got away from a Yellow Jacket running back with a minute to play, and both
teams swarmed for the ball near the goal line. A Piedmont defender covered
the ball inside the 1, and the Bulldogs appeared poised to end the game in
regulation.
But Glencoe
stuffed the struggling Bulldog offense on three plays before Stott's 18-yard
field goal missed the mark as time expired.
Glencoe (4-1, 3-1), which entered the game ranked No.
8 in the state in Class 3A, took the ball first in the extra period, and
quickly found the end zone when Norman hit Tinker on a fade route on first
down. After Glencoe's second missed extra point of the night, the score
stood at 12-6.
Piedmont's first-down pass attempt in overtime resulted in a defensive pass
interference call. On second-and-goal from the 5, Strott hit a well-covered
Jamaal Johnson in the right corner of the end zone to tie the score.
It looked like the teams
were headed for a second overtime after Strott's third kick of the night
failed to find the mark. But a Piedmont lineman moved before the snap,
giving the junior another chance, which sailed between the uprights.
“Our defense kept us in the
game all night long,” Piedmont head coach Steve Smith said. “It may not have
been pretty, but like I just told the kids in the locker room, we won the
game and that's what counts.”
Piedmont (5-0, 4-0) travels to Weaver this Friday. The
following week, they play on Thursday, Oct. 7, at Gulf Shores High School.
