By Deunte Marshall/Sports Correspondent
In the first ever meeting of the two programs, Westbrook Christian posted a 28-21 win over Hokes Bluff last Friday (Nov. 2) at Hokes Bluff.
“We played a good game, and both teams fought hard,” said Westbrook head coach Tony Osborne. “The Hokes Bluff seniors and their teammates gave us a great game. A win on the last week of the regular season always gives you confidence towards the playoffs, and hopefully we can ride the momentum towards next week.”
The Warriors (7-3) struck early, needing only three plays to score on Jonathan Ford’s 49 yard-pass to Devernon Marshall at 11:07 of the first quarter.
The Eagles (1-9) returned the ensuing kickoff to the Westbrook 36-yard line, but the Warrior defense forced a fumble on fourth down, and Darrell Whatley’s recovery gave the Warriors the ball.
Westbrook took advantage when Ford threw for his second score of the night, in this case a 20-yard strike to Brien Welch, giving the Warriors a 14-0 lead with 5:05 left in the opening period.
The Eagles needed a spark, and they got one when they returned the ensuing kickoff to the Warrior 47.
Hokes Bluff drove the ball to the Warrior 6, only lose possession on a lost fumble. Westbrook’s Dylan McClain recovered.
Late in the second quarter, however, Hokes Bluff forced and recovered a fumble of its own. Joseph Hawk returned the ball to the Warrior 23, and the Eagles took advantage when Brad Robertson threw a touchdown pass to Nick Woodruff with 16 seconds left in the first half.
Jake Ingram’s interception put a halt to Westbrook’s first drive of the second half, but soon after that pick, Jake Kilgo stepped in front of a Robertson pass.
The Warriors capitalized on the turnover when Ford threw a touchdown pass to Whatley with 1:40 left in the third quarter, making it 21-4 in favor of the Rainbow City squad.
Hokes Bluff answered on the next play from scrimmage when Chase Beggs scampered 56 yards for a touchdown with 1:25 remaining in the third.
Westbrook missed on a 25-yard field goal attempt early in the fourth quarter, but Jordan McCartney’s five-yard TD run with 2:33 left provided the Warriors with a 28-14 lead.
Brad Robertson’s 37-yard touchdown pass to Jake Ponder closed out the scoring with 56 seconds remaining in the game.
“I knew it would be tough tonight, and it was,” said Hokes Bluff head coach Michael Robertson. “[Westbrook] made a couple of good plays. We ran our normal offense but we couldn’t cash in a couple of times. We played hard throughout this game. “We knew our schedule would be hard for the entire season, but that’s how the game is sometimes.”
Ford was 15-of-31 in passing for 153 yards and three scores.
Kilgo and McCartney combined to go over 100 rushing yards.
Brad Robertson was 10-of-14 in passing for 121 yards and two touchdowns.
Chase Beggs led the rushing attack for the Eagles with 14 attempts for 128 yards.
Westbrook travels to Red Bay on Friday in the first round of the Class 2A state playoffs.