Published: August 29, 2008 01:28 am            

Down to the wire

Late theatrics lift West Point to win over county rival

WEST POINT — Late theatrics were on display Thursday night.

With just over a minute remaining in the game, Cody Thompson caught a 23-yard touchdown pass to give West Point High a seven-point lead over Cullman County rival Good Hope.

But the Warriors couldn’t celebrate just yet.

That changed a few seconds later.

Patrick Clowers intercepted a pass on the Good Hope 1-yard line with nine seconds remaining in the game, securing a 21-14 at the same time.

“We got ourselves behind early, and we challenged the kids at halfitme,” West Point coach Michael Simmons said. “We’ve worked too hard to come out and lay an egg. We came out there on fourth down and executed the play just like we drew it up on the sideline, and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

The score was tied 14-14 with less than six minutes to play when West Point took possession at its own 27-yard line.

Junior quarterback Luke Persall engineered 12-play, 73-yard drive, completing four of six passes for 57 yards. Facing fourth-and-seven from the Good Hope 23-yard line, the Warriors called timeout to set up the game-winning play.

Thompson lined up in the slot to the left side and ran straight to the end zone, leaping over one defender to make the catch and holding on as he was hit hard from behind before crashing to the ground.

Simmons said he was proud of the way his players executed under pressure.

Good Hope’s Micah Posey set up an exciting finish with a 52-yard kickoff return.

Two plays later, quarterback Scott Motes completed a desperation 35-yard pass to Matt Blackmon with 22 seconds left, followed by quick seven-yard pass to Tyler Rutledge — who ran out of bounds at the six-yard line.

On the next play, Motes was looking for Blackmon on a quick slant to the left side that would have been good for a touchdown, but Clowers jumped in front of Blackmon for the interception at the 1-yard line.

“The kids didn’t give up,” said Good Hope coach Chris Moss. “They got fatigued there in the second half.

“West Point goes two-deep and we had guys cramping up, and that’s my fault. We need to get in better shape. The kids played hard and we had a chance to win, but just came up short there at the end.”

Good Hope took a 7-0 lead with 5:43 remaining in the first quarter when Motes rolled to his right and found Joey Roberts running back across the middle for a 10-yard touchdown.

West Point scored with less than a minute left in the first quarter on a 12-yard pass from Persall to Clowers, but the extra-point kick was blocked.

Persall and Caiden Bagwell alternated each series under center early in the game, but Persall took command of the offense as the game progressed.

He completed five consecutive passes on West Point’s first scoring drive, and finished the game completing 10 of 15 passes for 153 with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also led the Warriors on the ground with 90 yards on 18 carries.

“We play a two-quarterback system, and some games Caiden is going to be the guy and some games Luke is going to be the guy,” said Simmons. “We found a little wrinkle there of things we could do with Luke at quarterback, and we just tried to take advantage of it.”

Persall used his legs midway through the third quarter to give the Warriors their first lead of the night. He carried the ball on six out of seven plays, gaining 50 yards.

After Blake Cobb picked up 18 yards down to the Good Hope 20, Persall did the rest, highlighted by a 15-yard run to the goal line, setting up a QB sneak for the touchdown on the following play. His two-point pass to Ethan Tilley gave West Point a 14-7 lead.

Good Hope senior Jake King was the leading rusher in the game, carrying the ball 19 times for 118 yards. His one-yard blast into the end zone through the right side of the line with 1:15 in the third quarter, combined with Caleb Neighbors’ PAT kick, knotted the score at 14-14.

Motes struggled in the passing game early, but found his rhythm in the second half, completing eight of 10 passes.

He finished 10-of-17 for 139 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Blackmon was his favorite target, catching five passes for 70 yards. He also had both of Good Hope’s interceptions.

Persall spread the ball around for West Point, completing passes to Jordan Wasilewski (three catches for 58 yards), Thompson (three for 54 yards), Cobb (two for 24 yards) and Clowers (two for 19 yards).

        

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