From the HD HHS upends Midland Nov. 23, 2014 @ 12:00 AM TIM STEPHENS Related Content Gallery: Huntington knocks off Midland, 28-21 (Story) ONA -- Many teams have used the motto, You gotta believe as motivation, but Huntington High Schools football team instead follows the mantra, Dont believe. The No. 7 Highlanders didnt believe anyone who said they couldnt win at No. 2 Cabell Midland and proved them wrong Saturday by upsetting the Knights 28-21 in the quarterfinals of the Class AAA playoffs. The victory sends HHS into the semifinals at No. 6 South Charleston (10-2) either Friday or Saturday. A lot of people didnt give us a chance, said Huntington High coach Billy Seals, whose team lost 31-26 at Cabell Midland on Sept. 19. Our kids didnt believe those people. The Highlanders (9-3) forced crucial turnovers on Cabell Midlands first and last offensive plays, negating the Knights 435 to 233 yardage advantage. Defensive back Dionne Jackson intercepted Coy Petitts pass intended for Seth Vickers in the end zone with 20 seconds left to secure the victory. They hadnt thrown to my side of the field all day, Jackson said. This time they did and I read the quarterbacks eyes and stepped in front of the receiver to take the ball. It felt good to know then that the game was over. The Knights (10-2) started their potentially game-winning drive at their own 20-yard line with 1:52 to play and moved to the Highlanders 5, where they faced third-and-goal with 29 seconds left. Petitt, who completed three huge passes during the drive including an 11-yarder to Jacob Hendricks on fourth-and-8 from the 29, didnt see Jackson in time. The 5-foot-10, 165-pound junior picked off the pass and returned it 29 yards before the Highlanders kneeled on the final play to touch off a green-and-gold-clad celebration. Good players make coaches look good, Seals said. Dionne is a good player. Huntington High, winner of six in a row, won the game when senior running back Brandon Morrison scored on a 2-yard plunge with 1:52 left to cap a nine-play, 71-yard drive, easily the Highlanders longest of the day. Jackson kept the trek alive when on third-and-10 from the HHS 29, he hit Stefan Gibbs with a 20-yard pass for a first down. Gibbs came back to the ball to make the play in front of the Cabell Midland sideline. Gibbs made a great catch on third down, Seals said. Cabell Midland nearly pulled off the comeback as Petitt began the final drive by hitting Hendricks with a perfectly thrown 49 yard pass to the HHS 31, giving the Knights hope that Jackson later dashed. Huntington High started quickly when defensive end Charles Mann recovered an Alex Childers fumble at the Cabell Midland 19 on the first play of the game, setting up Morrisons 1-yard TD run at 9:36 of the first quarter. Childers, who ran for a game-high 167 yards on 28 carries, made up for the miscue on the opening play of the second quarter when he scored on a 9-yard touchdown run as the Knights tied it 7-7 after going 56 yards in 12 plays, all on the ground. After the HHS defense stopped Cabell Midland on fourth-and-4 at the 50 with 7:46 left until halftime, Morrison ripped off runs of 13 and 32 yards to set up Jacksons 5-yard keeper for a touchdown to make it 14-7 at intermission. The Knights stuffed HHS for no gain on three plays to open the third quarter, then drove 49 yards in seven plays, with the final two yards coming on a Childers touchdown run at 8:59 of the third quarter. Petitt completed a 34-yard pass to Childers on fourth-and-9 from the 36 to keep the drive alive. Morrison, who carried 22 times for 141 yards and three touchdowns, struck again with 5:32 left in the third quarter as he burst through the middle and outran the Cabell Midland secondary for a 57-yard touchdown run that gave Huntington High a 21-14 lead Cabell Midland showed grit in tying it with 9:59 left in the game when on fourth-and-3 from the Highlanders 12, Petitt threw a touchdown pass to Hendricks. We ran out of time, Knight coach Luke Salmons said. They made big plays and we didnt. We moved the ball, but we didnt make plays. We didnt have great field position and thats something you need in the playoffs. Theyre a great team, Jackson said of Cabell Midland. Theyre very physical. People said we couldnt beat them, but we didnt believe that. HUNTINGTON HIgh 7 7 7 7 -- 28 CABELL MIDLAND 0 7 7 7 -- 21 HH -- Morrison 1 run (Kessinger kick) CM -- Childers 9 run (Heiner kick) HH -- Jackson 5 run (Kessinger kick) CM -- Childers 2 run (Heiner kick) HH -- Morrison 57 run (Kessinger kick) CM -- Hendricks 12 pass from Petitt (Heiner kick) HH -- Morrison 2 run (Kessinger kick) HH CM First downs 8 18 Rushes-yards 33-157 58-306 Passes 6-14-0 8-20-1 Passing yards 76 129 Total yards 233 435 Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-1 Penalties-yards 7-35 10-95 Punts 5-42.6 4-39.5 INDIVIDUAL STATISTCS RUSHING -- HH: Morrison 22-141, Jackson 11-16. CM: Childers 28-167, Humphrey 16-79, Hendricks 6-31, Petitt 6-22, Elkins 1-6, Stapleton 1-1. PASSING -- HH Jackson 6-14-0, 76 yards. CM: Petitt 8-20-1, 129 yards. RECEIVING -- HH: Gibbs 5-71, Ashworth 1-5. CM: Childers 3-47, Humphrey 1-4, Mullins 1-6, Hendricks 3-72
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 14:49:23 +0000
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