Piedmont rallies past Weaver

Bulldogs rally from early 14-0 deficit to reach state semifinals; tensions erupt following the game over recruiting allegation leveled against Piedmont

By Brant Locklier
For East Alabama Sports Today

PIEDMONT (Nov. 18) — The defending state champion Piedmont Bulldogs showed why they have won 23 consecutive games Friday night with a contentious 52-28 win over the Weaver Bearcats at The Field of Champions.

The Bulldogs (13-0) rallied from an early 14-0 deficit and continued to pour it on.

“I’m glad we came back from some adversity early in the game,” Piedmont coach Steve Smith said. “I am proud of the way they fought back to win the game.”

The game was part of the Class 3A state quarterfinals that featured all four teams from Region 5. The Bulldogs now will host region rival Ohatchee in the first-ever state semifinal between two Calhoun County teams for a trip to the state championship.

An overflow crowd was on hand and once again was treated to the brilliance of last year’s state Class 3A Player of the Year, Taylor Hayes. His passing and rushing yards along with clutch plays in big moments have led the Bulldogs all season long and Friday night was no exception.

He threw three touchdown passes to Austin Brazier and ran for two more scores. He now has been responsible for 99 touchdowns in his career (56 rushing, 43 passing) and has nearly 7,250 career yards (3762 passing, 3485 rushing).

Weaver had other plans at the start as Maurice Goodman ran back the opening kickoff 90 yards to put the Bearcats up 7-0. Two plays later the Bulldogs fumbled at their own 35 and Weaver took the ball into the end zone 6 plays later for a stunning 14-0 lead.

This was when Piedmont’s experience took over as Hayes and running back Lee Stanley began ripping chunks out of the Weaver defense. Both gained over 100 yards rushing in the first half alone. Stanley ripped off a 51-yard score and Hayes exploded for 36 yards and another score.

Piedmont went to the air for two more scores in the second quarter as Hayes hit Austin Brazier on a 13-yard scoring strike and a 43-yard bomb to Cardavion Myers with just seconds left in the first half.

“We got up 14-0 and then we felt all this pressure and our kids did not know how to handle it,” Weaver coach Daryl Hamby said. “We got tight and Piedmont has a great football team and they knew what to do. You cannot do that against a team as good as they are.”

“We just had to keep our composure early,” Smith said. “It was only three minutes into the game when we were down, so we just had to play our game and we did. We put some good drives together and just didn’t panic.”

Trailing 23-14, Weaver’s Paul Hubbard broke loose on a 48-yard dash to the Piedmont 4, but a holding penalty called it back. The Bulldogs then got the Myers score to take a 30-14 halftime lead.

The Bearcats (9-4) relaxed after the half and put up some big numbers on Piedmont in the second half, but penalties just killed them. Four straight Weaver drives resulted in a touchdown being called back, a 45- and 65-yard run to inside the 5 called back, and another a lost fumble at the 2.

The first play after Weaver had its touchdown called back, Piedmont’s Kaedon Jenkins picked off a Weaver pass and returned it 89 yards for a touchdown.

“We had a lot of opportunities tonight and just didn’t execute when we needed to,” Hamby said.

The Bearcats scored twice in the fourth quarter and never quit in the game and actually ran 55 plays to Piedmont’s 46 plays.

Tyrik Hall gained 103 yards on 26 carries to lead Weaver. Taylor ended up with 160 yards on 16 carries. Stanley gained 170 yards on 11 carries.

Piedmont has now won 10 straight games over Weaver, including a 49-15 win earlier this season. It was the second time in school history Weaver has made it to the quarterfinals (2005).

It was only the fifth time in playoff history four teams from the same region have all made the third round of the play-offs. It guarantees one region team will be in the state championship game.

“This is exactly where everyone wants to be this time of year and we are excited to get to play Ohatchee at home next week,” Smith said. “I have much respect for them and I’ve been saying all along how great of a job they have done this year.

“It speaks volumes to the strength of our region with four teams in the quarterfinals and then a region matchup in the semifinals with one team from Calhoun County going to the finals. I think that having a team from Calhoun County playing for a state title is very special.”

Tensions reached a breaking point late in the game and carried over to well after the final whistle. It all related to an accusation leveled against the Bulldogs early in the week regarding the possible improper transfer of a current Piedmont player.

Piedmont 52, Weaver 28

Weaver 14 0 0 14 — 28
Piedmont 15 15 16 6 — 52

W – Maurice Goodman 90 kick-off return (Riley Benavides kick), 11:46 1Q
W – Tyrik Hall 4 run (Riley Benavides kick) 8:19 1Q
P – Lee Stanley 51 run (Taylor Hayes run) 6:37 1Q
P – Taylor Hayes 36 run (Easton Kirk kick), 0:38 1Q
P – Austin Brazier 13 pass from Taylor Hayes (Taylor Hayes run), 8:53 2Q
P – Austin Brazier 43 pass from Taylor Hayes (Easton Kirk kick), 0:24 2Q
P – Kaedon Jenkins 89 interception return (Austin Brazier pass from Taylor Hayes), 7:08 3Q
P – Austin Brazier 23 pass from Taylor Hayes (Darren Bossie pass from Taylor Hayes), 3:43 2Q
W – Maurice Goodman 23 pass from Dalton Hamby (Riley Benavides kick), 7:52 4Q
P – Taylor Hayes 23 run (pass failed), 7:33 4Q
W – Dalton Hamby 25 run (Riley Benavides kick), 1:46 4Q

Team stats Weav Pied
First downs 11 17
Rushing yds 221 277
Passes 5-16-1 4-9-0
Passing yds 32 95
Fumbles lost 0 1
Penalty yds 90 76

Cover photo: Piedmont broke out the special-occasion gold uniforms for Friday’s quarterfinal playoff game with region rival Weaver. To see more of B.J. Franklin’s photos from this game, visit www.bjfranklin.smugmug.com

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