Hillcrest football shut out in second half by Hueytown in 44-16 semifinals loss
HUEYTOWN — With a Super 7 state championship berth on the line, Hillcrest football got a great start.
It recovered a Hueytown opening kickoff fumble and junior Ethan Crawford threw a touchdown passing to Derek Hall followed by a 2-point conversion for a quick 8-0 lead.
But the Patriots were outscored 44-8 from then on, falling 44-16 in the AHSAA Class 6A semifinals to Hueytown (13-1) on Friday night.
Hillcrest (11-3) never trailed until Hueytown quarterback Earl Woods found Vincent Tucker to take a 20-16 lead seconds before halftime. Woods’ favorite target, Coastal Carolina wide receiver commit De’Andre Coleman, finished with nine catches for 111 yards and a touchdown receiving, another touchdown rushing and one passing.
"Magical year," first-year Hillcrest coach Jamie Mitchell said. "You're one game away from the state championship. I don't know that you can ask for much more. But they were the better team tonight."
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Hillcrest was outscored 24-0 in the second half and Crawford intercepted twice. Running lanes on pitches weren't there often for Hillcrest. Crawford and the offense faced long downs and quick pass rushes too often.
The Patriots lost a second-half fumble on an exchange between Crawford and a runner. It was the wrong recipe to keep up with Hueytown's breakneck-speed, no-huddle offense.
"I thought their defense was the difference," Mitchell said. "They did a great job of taking care of what we wanted to do. Hats off to them."
Crawford went 11-of-23 passing for 99 yards and rushed for 137 yards and a 21-yard touchdown. Terrance Callaway had six receptions for 51 yards. Junior Collin Dunn had a Hillcrest-high 11 tackles. Kendrick Davis and Juwan Nickson each had two tackles for loss.
"We missed a lot of opportunities to take over the game, starting off with me," Crawford said. "I'm strong enough to take the blame for anything. The team is with me when I'm wrong, with me when I'm right. I wouldn't trade them for nothing. We just shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times and didn't make up for our mistakes."
Hueytown will face Clay-Chalkville (14-0) in the 6A state championship game Friday at 7 p.m.
Contact Jerell Rushin at 205-600-4015 or jrushin@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JerellRushin_.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Hueytown football defense shuts down Hillcrest to make AHSAA Super 7
