Eagles Head Coach Rod Elliott talks to his team during a timeout in Friday night’s matchup with Tarrant. (Destiny Campbell for The Cullman Tribune)
FULTONDALE – The Cold Springs Eagles (Class 2A, Region 5) hit the road to face off against the Tarrant Wildcats (Class 2A, Region 5) in a regional matchup Friday night. Both teams were consistently neck-and-neck, but despite the Eagles’ best efforts, the Wildcats put a win under their belt, downing the Eagles 34-27.
The Wildcats quickly put points on the board, taking the lead 7-0 with 7:18 left in the first quarter. The Eagles took over possession and made their way down field, finishing the drive with a touchdown from senior running back Calvin McNabb, tying the score at 7 With 19 seconds left in the first quarter.
Tarrant took possession of the ball to start the second quarter, putting up another seven points, pulling away from the Eagles 14 -7 with 10:52 left in the quarter. Cold Springs took control of the ball and drove down the field for a 35-yard touchdown by Ayden Alexander. However, the Wildcats blocked the Eagles’ extra point attempt to hold their lead 14-13 at the end of the first half.
The Wildcats received the ball to start the second half on fire and scored two consecutive touchdowns to stretch their lead to 28 -13. Despite their best efforts, the Eagles were held scoreless during the third.
The Wildcats came out on fire once again scoring with 9:08 left in the fourth putting the score at 34-13 over the Eagles. Cold Springs was not done fighting yet. The Eagles scored with 4:10 remaining to make the score 34-19. The Wildcats turned the ball over on downs and Cold Springs took possession. Sophomore Quarterback Brodi Williams completed a 15-yard pass to senior tight end Francisco Ayala who ran in for a 55-yard touchdown followed by a 2-point conversion from McNabb, cutting the score to 34-27 with 1:20 seconds to go. The Eagles recovered their on-side kick in hopes of finding a route to another touchdown but fell short and reluctantly turned the ball over ending a very hard-fought battle, 34-27 with a Wildcat victory.
The Eagles (4-4, 2-3) will host region foe Sulligent (2-6, 1-4) next Friday night in the Eagles’ last home matchup of the season.
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