By Daniel Boyette/al.com
A two-yard play doesn’t sound exciting on the surface, but that distance proved to be the difference in a game of big-gainers on Friday in Madison.
Bob Jones was clinging to a 37-34 lead against Class 7A, Region 4 rival Gadsden City and facing fourth-and-1 from its own 27-yard line with 3:08 left in the game. Quarterback Brady Polson had ran for five yards on a bootleg the previous play, and Patriot players wanted to go for it.
Coach Kevin Rose called a timeout, and he and two assistant coaches met separately from the huddle of players along the sideline. The conversation was brief. The Patriots would attempt a fake punt.
Brad Anderson, a running back/reliever who already had two touchdown runs on the night, took the snap, ran up the gut and drove forward for two yards. Three minutes later, the No. 4-ranked Patriots had a three-point win over the sixth-ranked Titans.
Bob Jones (4-0, 3-0) then milked the clock, eventually punting and leaving just 2.5 seconds left for Gadsden City (3-2, 2-1) to run a final play from its own 23.
Bob Jones finished with just over 500 yards of offense and 27 first downs.
The totals could have been bigger. The Patriots had a controversial fumble near the goal line late in the third quarter that resulted in a touchback and Gadsden City possession, and they turned the ball over on downs after driving to the Titan 18 early in the fourth.
For the Titans, Ahmad DeRamus completed 15 of 25 passes for 216 yards and a 10-yard touchdown pass to Darnell Mooney. DeRamus also ran for a two-yard score. Rodney Bozeman ran for 81 yards and touchdowns of 13 and 11 yards on 16 carries, while Damon Williams ran for 76 yards and a touchdown on 14 attempts.
Gadsden City takes a break from region play this Friday with a trip to Goose Creek, S.C.