By Greg Bell/For The Daily Sentinel
After earlier wins this season over Arab and Boaz, Scottsboro was a team in prime position to grab a playoff spot
But after their last region victory, the Wildcats made the jump form playoff hopeful to region championship contender.
Heath Seymour scored the go-ahead touchdown with 4:39 remaining and the defense made two final stands as Scottsboro posted a 24-20 Class 5A Region 7 victory over previously undefeated Etowah Friday (Oct. 4) at Trammell Stadium.
Scottsboro (4-2, 3-1), which has won three straight games, moved into a second-place tie with Etowah (5-1, 3-1) in the region standings behind league leader Southside (6-0, 4-0), which defeated Arab 45-25. Southside and Etowah play on Oct. 18.
The victory also gave Scottsboro head coach Patrick Nix a win over his alma mater. Nix is a 1990 EHS graduate.
“This is high school football, what it’s supposed to be like,” Nix said. “That’s a great football team we played tonight. It was a real physical game. Can’t say enough for our kids and how they’ve worked. They deserve what they’re getting. I’m very proud of them.”
Scottsboro struck first, taking a 7-0 lead with 8:38 left in the first quarter on Trey Lewis’ 69-yard touchdown run and the first of Flavio Grillo’s three PATs.
Etowah tied it at 7-all on Kordell Rudolph’s 45-yard touchdown pass to Lamar Thomas and the first of Jose Mandragon’s two PATs with 5:32 left in the first quarter.
The Blue Devils then took a 13-7 lead (the PAT was blocked by Junior Lyons) with 11:27 left in the second quarter on Paul Ruiz’s 2-yard touchdown run.
Scottsboro cut the deficit to 13-10 when Yannick Trautwein kicked a 37-yard field goal with 6:57 left in the first half.
It stayed 13-10 until the fourth quarter. The Wildcats grabbed a 17-13 lead when Stephen Jackson returned an Etowah fumble 23 yards for a touchdown with 10:40 left to play.
Rudolph’s 28-yard touchdown pass to Marq Britton put Etowah in front 20-17 with 7:39 remaining, but Scottsboro regained the lead for good when Seymour ran a sweep to his right and scored from four yards out.
Scottsboro’s defense then forced a fumble that Jordan Whitehead recovered on Etowah’s next possession. After Scottsboro ran three running plays to milk the clock, Whitehead pinned the Blue Devils back with a punt that was downed inside their on 5-yard line with 18 seconds left. Lyons sacked Rudolph on the game’s final play.
Rudolph was 14-of-21 passing for 271 yards and two touchdowns for Etowah, which hosts Arab next week in region action.
Thomas caught four passes for 121 yards while Kenzal Moore had four catches for 52 yards and Jordan Powell four for 43 yards. Ruiz led Etowah with 67 rushing yards on 13 carries, while Stacy Williams added 48 yards on 13 carries.