HANCEVILLE – A 70-yard punt return for a touchdown by James Malone right before halftime turned out to be the game winner for the Clements Colts in a 10-7 upset of the Hanceville Bulldogs Friday night at Ray Talley Stadium.
Malone's play was the second time the Colts' special teams scored on the Bulldogs and took away Hanceville's momentum for the rest of the night, spoiling the Bulldogs' homecoming festivities.
Hanceville could not recover from the score. The Bulldogs managed 89 yards of offense in the second half and experienced a night of frustration with 13 penalties for 79 yards, with four major distance penalties in the third quarter for 50 yards.
Clements, coached by former West Point athlete Cody McCain, came to Hanceville with a seven-game losing streak and fresh off getting blanked by Lauderdale County 48-0 seven days earlier.
The visitors from Limestone County made an impression, showing the Hanceville crowd they came to play and doing so on the first series of the game. Behind two passes from Ryland Kirk to Dorian McCullough that accounted for 49 yards, the Colts drove from their 37 and were able to get the ball inside the Hanceville 30.
But the drive stalled and Omar Chivarra booted a 36-yard field goal that gave the Colts a 3-0 lead with 7:29 to go in the first quarter.
Hanceville had a chance to cash in on a Clements fumble when Tre Martin recovered it at the Colts' 34. The drive didn't go far and the Bulldogs gave it up on downs at the Clements 20 with 1:55 left in the period.
The second quarter began with the Colts making a not so good decision on fourth down inside their 30. Kirk was tackled short of the first down and the Bulldogs gained possession at the Clements 27.
This was the only time all evening the Bulldogs capitalized on a Clements mistake to score.
A couple of runs from B.J. Smalls and R.J. Evans took the ball toward the end zone. Kaine Yates finished it going in from the 2 over right guard. Caleb Long drilled the conversion and Hanceville was on top 7-3 with 9:12 remaining in the half.
For the rest of the quarter, the Bulldogs had five more possessions and gained 33 yards, ending the period with 60 total.
They forced the Colts to surrender the ball again on downs, taking over at the 30 with 1:24 left until the break. Brenan Hurst punted away with the final seconds of the half ticking.
Malone took the punt at his 30, found a seam and showed his speed, getting it to the end zone in 70 yards, and the Colts regained the advantage. The extra point from Chivarra made the halftime score 10-7.
In the third period, the Bulldogs had three drives that ended with an interception, two punts and only 47 yards.
At the start of the fourth quarter, a bad snap to Kirk resulted in an 8-yard loss and possession given to Hanceville with the Bulldogs getting the ball at their 46.
But they lost the ball a minute later on a fumble as Clements took over at its 31. Field position became an advantage for the Colts in the fourth as two punts pinned the Bulldogs near their end zone.
The second appeared to be costly when Romael Simmons fumbled a punt by Chivarra and Clements maintained possession at Hanceville's 10-yard line with 3:22 to play in the game.
Clements scored a touchdown, but it was disallowed when the Colts being penalized for illegal motion. That put the ball back to the Hanceville 6, where on the next play, Isaiah Fraze carried it to the 1 and fumbled.
Hanceville came out of the scrum with the football and a chance to win. But the Bulldogs were 99 yards away and down to 1:40 on time.
They were able to get a couple of first downs on a Hurst pass to Yates and one to Evans that put the ball near the Hanceville 30.
Then a delay of game backed them up 5 yards, followed by Hurst getting sacked for a 10-yard loss.
The final play of the game was an incomplete pass over midfield as time expired and the Colts had the upset after playing the Bulldogs for the very first time.
Clements accounted for 178 yards of offense while Hanceville had 187. But the longest run of the night for the Bulldogs was a 21-yarder by Evans.
Smalls had problems against the Colts' defense, getting only 28 yards on 15 carries. Evans ran for 39 yards on six rushes. Hurst only completed 10 of 21 passes for 121 yards, throwing two interceptions.
The Bulldogs were flagged 13 times for 79 yards with eight of them either illegal procedure or offsides.
Now 2-4 on the season, Craig Flanigan’s Bulldogs will have to regroup in a hurry. They resume 3A, Region 6 play next week at Susan Moore. Hanceville is 1-2 in the region standings.
The next three games will determine the fate of the Bulldogs with road games at Susan Moore and Holly Pond and a home game vs. Locust Fork.
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