By: Nick Hall
It was shades of Doug Flutie at Milton Frank Stadium in Huntsville Friday night when Fort Payne’s Jordan Bain launched a Hail Mary from the 49-yard line as time expired. Baine found Donald Winchester in a crowded end zone to tie the Wildcats with the Mae Jemison Jaguars. A game that quickly turned into a shootout with both offenses combining for 95 points, ultimately came down to the toe of Alex McPherson who drilled the PAT for the 48-47 win. Fort Payne took an early lead when Bain hit Levee Hall for 17 yards in the back of the end zone to put the Wildcats up 7-0 with 4:43 left in the first. The Jaguars fired up their option offense however, and a 71-yard run on their next drive set up a game tying score. Fort Payne came right back three plays later when Bain connected with Carter Pinholster on a 60-yard touchdown strike to go up 14-7 with 1:22 left in the first quarter.
On their next drive, the Wildcats stretched the lead to 14 on a fourth down touchdown strike to Winchester from the 33-yard line with 9:43 in the half. The Jaguars then put together a 79-yard touchdown drive of their own, narrowing the gap to 21-14 with 5:24 until the half. The Wildcats answered immediately when Pinholster returned the ensuing kickoff to the Jaguar 35-yard line. Just a few plays later, Winchester punched into the end zone from 3-yards out. The Wildcats then elected to go for two points but failed to convert. Mae Jemison put up one more touchdown in the first half, but the PAT was blocked by Levee Hall leaving the score 27-20 at halftime.
The Jaguars tied the game just four plays into the third quarter. Fort Payne answered with an 80-yard drive that ended with a 20-yard touchdown strike from Bain to Pinholster to put the Wildcats back on top. Mae Jemison came right back with another touchdown run but had their second extra point of the night blocked to keep the Wildcats in the lead at 34-33. The back and forth continued as Pinholster went 98 yards for a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff, increasing Fort Payne’s lead to 41-33.
Mae Jemison found the end zone again on a 15-yard TD run midway through the fourth quarter. The Jaguars went for two to try and even the score but were denied, leaving the Wildcats on top 41-39. Fort Payne went three-and-out on their next possession, and the Jaguars finally grabbed their first lead of the night, capping a six-play drive with a touchdown and a 2-point conversion to go up 47-41 with 1:40 left to play. Fort Payne (2-2, 2-0) then took their last possession 70 yards for the historic finish, and in the process, secured their second region win heading into a bye week.
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