HOLLY POND, Ala. – Holly Pond’s regional battle with Southeastern Friday night was more than worth the price of admission. In addition to this week’s homecoming festivities, the action on the field had heads spinning in both crowds. Both teams combined to score 110 points in one of the best shootout games of the season so far but unfortunately for the Holly Pond faithful in attendance, the Mustangs were able to edge out the Broncos in a 57-53 thriller.
Southeastern jumped out to a big lead in the opening period, building a 20-0 advantage over the Broncos. However, Holly Pond began to chip away late in the first quarter, starting with a 2-yard touchdown run by Sawyer Olinger that made it a 20-6 game and got the Broncos on the board. A short touchdown pass from Olinger to Jayden Holloway cut the lead to 27-13 and Damian Raymond found the end zone from 6 yards out later in the second to make it 27-21.
The Mustangs tacked six more points on the board following the Raymond score, but Olinger and the Broncos were able to drive back down the field and score one more time just before the end of the second to trim the Southeastern lead to 33-27 going into the halftime break.
The Mustangs extended their lead early in the third quarter, but a 31-yard touchdown pass from Olinger to Garcia stopped the bleeding and trimmed the lead to 47-33 midway through the period. The Broncos still trailed by 14 at the end of the third and Southeastern kicked a field goal to add to its lead but a 15-yard touchdown pass from Olinger to Nik Goodwin later in the fourth made it a 50-39 game with just over seven minutes to play.
Things started to get really interesting in the final minutes when Kollin Brown intercepted a Mustangs pass and ran it back for a touchdown to cut the lead to 50-45 with about four minutes to play in the fourth. Southeastern scored to build the lead back up to 57-45 but Brown returned the ensuing kickoff back for a touchdown to bring the Broncos back within 3. Unfortunately, Holly Pond ran out of time and the Mustangs were able to escape with a 57-53 win over the Broncos.
Holly Pond will look to bounce back on the road next week when it travels to take on Glencoe.
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