By Justin Fedich | Selma Times-Journal

Linden led 8-0 when the opening second-half kickoff trickled towards the end zone untouched. All 11 Linden players sprinted for the ball while R.B. Hudson’s Nicholas Parnell waited for the right moment to pick it up and run.

“He doesn’t want it,” Linden coaches said from the sidelines. “ Go get it!”

Parnell scooped the ball up just in time, broke multiple tackles and sprinted all the way down the sidelines to the end zone. The return gave the R.B. Hudson Bulldogs (2-0) the spark it needed to upend the Linden Patriots 20-8 in a junior varsity game at Memorial Stadium Tuesday.

The Bulldogs were shut out of the first half and weren’t ready for the intensity Linden would bring.

“They didn’t believe that until they got hit in the face in the first quarter and they realized that Linden can play,” Foster said.

With 29 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Linden took an 8-0 led after the Patriots scored a rushing touchdown from eight yards out and added the 2-point conversion.

Neither team would score for the rest of the half.

It took 18 seconds for R.B. Hudson to mount a comeback in the second half. Parnell took the game into his own hands as he returned the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown to narrow the deficit to 8-6.

“He’s a playmaker,” Foster said. “The game got tight in the third and fourth quarter and we went to Nicholas Parnell.”

There was a bolt of energy on the R.B. Hudson sideline as Parnell burst down the field.

Linden’s following possession ended on a turnover on downs. However, the Bulldogs were unable to take the lead off the ensuing possession. They gave it right back to Linden with 2:21 remaining in the third quarter.

It only took six seconds of game clock before the ball was back in R.B. Hudson’s hands. Linden fumbled the ball back on the following play.

This time, the Bulldogs converted points off the Patriots’ turnover.

However, the R.B. Hudson coaching staff realized that in order to score, quarterback Tyreshon Freeman needed to get the ball in the hands of Parnell in whatever way possible.

With a minute ticking off the clock in the third quarter, Foster pointed out a mismatch on the outside between Parnell and his defender. A few moments later, Parnell was in the end zone after hauling in a 31-yard touchdown pass.

“They made a couple of big plays on us,” Linden head coach Hank Hurley said. “The long passes were really the difference in the game. Then they started showing us up on defense.

Another missed 2-point conversion attempt gave R.B. Hudson a 12-8 lead. The Bulldogs led by more than a field goal, but still weren’t comfortable.

With seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Freeman intercepted a pass and ran it for a touchdown that was called back due to penalty. Still, R.B. Hudson had retained possession and had no doubt where to go with the football.

Parnell caught his second touchdown pass — this time a 23-yard strike from Freeman — with 4:43 left in the fourth quarter. The 2-point conversion attempt was good after Amarian Molette bulldozed his way through defenders. R.B. Hudson held on to its 20-8 lead for the rest of the game.

Molette, a defensive tackle, saw plenty of time in the backfield for R.B. Hudson and finished his night with 59 yards.

“He did a great job running the football,” Foster said. “He’s a hard-nosed football player. He’ll continue to run. You give it to him, he’ll run it.”

While Molette added the final points of the game, Parnell sparked the second-half comeback by playing nearly every position on the field. He played kicker, kick returner, quarterback, middle linebacker, running back and wide receiver.

Hurley acknowledged Parnell’s versatility after the game.

“He’s got something special,” Hurley said. “He’s got all the tools.”

R.B. Hudson plays Ellwood Christian next Tuesday at Memorial Stadium at 6 p.m.