HOLLY POND, Ala. – Hanceville and Holly Pond faced off in a huge region game on Friday night and The Broncos’ running game was the difference in the game. Levi Boatright and Kyler Chaney had big games as they defeated the Bulldogs, 36-20, for their first win of the season and in the region.
The opening possession for Holly Pond yielded a punt, but the ball sailed over Levi Boatright’s head, putting Hanceville in excellent field position at the 27-yard line. On just the third play of the series, Zachary Campbell found Brodie Malcom for a 21-yard touchdown pass to put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard first, 6-0, after the failed two-point conversion. Both teams punted on their next possessions but after Hanceville stopped the Broncos on fourth down, they coughed up the ball as a bad pitch led to Holly Pond recovering the ball at the 32-yard line.
Levi Boatright and Kyler Chaney picked up all 32 yards on its next drive, and Boatright finished off the drive with a seven-yard run to give the Broncos an 8-6 lead after they converted the two-point conversion. Hanceville looked to take the lead right back, as a Logan Guthery 43-yard run put them at the 48, but they stalled after that as Bo Joles got stopped short on fourth down.
Boatright found the end zone for the second time in the game as his 43-yard run down the left sideline increased Holly Pond’s lead to 16-6 with 6:23 remaining in the first half. Hanceville later recovered a fumble on its next defensive series as Allen Huckaby came up with the ball, and they would cash in on that fumble as Malcom scored on a 17-yard run to cut the deficit to 16-12, which ended up being the score at the half.
Holly Pond’s running game continued to give Hanceville problems on defense on its opening series of the second half as Boatright and Chaney picked up numerous first downs on the ground, plus Boatright added a 34-yard pass to Micah Faulkner and Chaney finished it off with a five-yard scamper. They burned over seven minutes on their drive as the lead increased to 22-12 with 3:29 remaining in the third quarter. On Hanceville’s next series, Campbell’s pass got picked off by Kadin Suryono and Holly Pond found the end zone once more as Boatright lost the ball while stretching for the end zone, but Faulkner recovered the ball in the end zone as the lead swelled to 30-12.
Hanceville turned the ball over on downs on its next series, and the Broncos put together another amazing drive that lasted well over eight minutes, and Boatright found the end zone once more on a four-yard run, making the score, 36-12. The Bulldogs added a late score when Joles found the end zone from four yards out, but it was too little, too late, as Holly Pond picked up their first win of the season and in the region, 36-20.
Boatright had himself an amazing night, carrying the ball 34 yards for 215 yards and three scores, while Chaney added 99 more on the ground on 20 carries, and a touchdown. The Broncos rushed for 325 yards on the night.
For Hanceville, Campbell finished 9/23 for 98 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Malcom hauled in five receptions for 65 yards and added a score on the ground.
Holly Pond (1-3, 1-1) will stay at home next week as they’ll take on Fultondale in another huge region game, while Hanceville (2-2, 1-1) will look to recover next week in another huge region game as they’ll host Vinemont.
Copyright 2019 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
