ADDISON, Ala. – Addison hosted region foe Hackleburg Panthers on an absolutely gorgeous night for football at A.G. Hicks Stadium and came away with a hard fought 26-14 win. Addison moves to 3-1 (3-0 region) while Hackleburg drops to 0-3 (0-2 in region).
Addison kicked off to Hackleburg and after a quick first down Addison forced a turnover on downs as the Panthers went for it on fourth and 5 from the Bulldog 44-yard line. Addison’s Jacob “Flash” Hardin made an excellent play on the receiver to cause a loss 5 yards on the play.
The Bulldogs took over at their own 49-yard line and discovered one thing very quickly. The Hackleburg defenders will knock the slobber out of your mouth if you go against them. Hackleburg was probably the hardest hitting team that Addison has played in at least two years. Addison was driving down to the Panther 29-yard line when a Panther defender de-cleated a Dawg running back, forcing a fumble in which the defense recovered.
Addison held the Panthers and got the ball back at the Panther 39-yard line after a Panther fake punt was sniffed out by Josh “West Coast” Netherton. Five plays later, Brian “Boo-Boo” Berry ran it in from seven yards out for the Dawg touchdown. The two-point attempt was no good and at the 11:04 mark of the second quarter, Addison led 6-0.
Neither team could score for the remainder of the half, although Addison did threaten driving to the Panther 10-yard line but another Addison running back was assaulted by a Panther defender causing another fumble, which the Panthers recovered.
Hackleburg’s Head Coach must have given a wonderful half-time speech because they came out fired up and clicking while Addison looked a little lethargic in their execution on both offense and defense. Hackleburg, after forcing a three and out from the Bulldogs, scored on a seven play 66-yard drive which was capped off by Panther QB Blaise Vickery throwing 35-yards to Jaquan Reeder for the touchdown. There wasn’t a Bulldog defender within 20-yards of Reeder when it caught the ball. The two-point conversion was good and at the 6:49 mark of the third quarter, Hackleburg had taken a surprising 8-6 lead.
Addison responded to the Panther challenge, driving six plays for 57-yards for the go-ahead score. The drive had Addison QB Briley “Snake” Hayes rushing three times for 38-yards and Jed “Wizard” Wilkins catching a pass from Hayes for 14. Berry cashed it in from 5-yards out to give the hometown Dawgs the lead again 12-8. The two-point attempt was no good.
Hackleburg said what you can do we can do better and scored another touchdown. The Panthers went, after a 40-yard kickoff return, five plays for 40-yards to retake the lead. The two-point attempt was no good and at the 1:17 mark of the third period, the Panthers led 14-12.
Addison then showed their grit and determination as they just refused to lose. Addison’s next drive started at their own 34-yard line and the Dawgs used a mixture of run and pass to go 66-yards for the score. Hayes hit Wilkins for a big 14-yard completion for a first down. Berry then carried the rock five times for 28 yards to include the final 7 yards on the touchdown run. Berry then ran in the two-point conversion to give Addison the 20-14 lead with 10:00 minutes to go in the game.
Hackleburg never quit and drove down to the Bulldog 33-yard line when Big Ole Lucas Crow ripped out the ball from the Hackleburg QB forcing a fumble. The Dawgs recovered and with 7:27 to go in the game were looking to ice it.
Addison turned to who they had turned too all night, Berry and he responded. Berry carried the ball seven times for 40-yards while Wilkins had one carry for 16-yards. Berry’s last 2 yards were for his fourth touchdown on the night to put the game away, Addison 26-14.
Hackleburg’s last hope ended on a fourth down and 12 play as Malaki Blakely and Hardin recorded a sack to end the Panther’s hopes.
Addison’s Hayes ran out the clock gaining 25 yards on the final three carries of the game.
Addison moves to 3-1 (3-0 in region play) on the season and will host Waterloo for Homecoming next Friday Night. Hackleburg drops to 0-3 (0-2 in region play) and will travel to play Red Bay.
Unofficial stats:
Addison had 43 rushes for 261 yards. Addison had 7 pass plays for 35 yards. Addison had 50 total plays for 296 total yards
Hackleburg had 27 rushes for 58 yards. Hackleburg had 22 pass plays for 142 yards. Hackleburg had 49 total plays for 200 total yards.
Hayes went five completions out of seven attempts for 35 yards.
Berry had 28 carries for 160 yards and four touchdowns. Hayes had 8 carries for 75 yards. Hardin had seven carries for 17 yards. Wilkins had one for 16 and Jacob Mauldin had one carry for 4 yards.
Wilkins had four catches for 33 yards and Netherton had one catch for 2 yards.
Briley Holt led the Dawg Pound Defense with 10 tackles. Jordan Hubbert had five tackles. Hardin, Wilkins and Berry had four tackles. Hayden Holland, Caleb Vintson, Netherton and Crow had three tackles each.
Vintson had a sack and Blakely, and Hardin had half a sack apiece.
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