By Donald Campbell

The Alexander City Outlook

The Benjamin Russell Wildcats proved they could overcome adversity and rebound from a tough 19-0 loss against Stanhope Elmore and the loss of assistant coach Curtis Glaize when a couple of strong second half plays propelled the Wildcats to a 25-20 comeback victory over the Selma Saints on Friday night.

Despite the win, BRHS coach Kevin Smith felt his team still has hurdles to overcome and a long way to go to be successful.

“We just tried to take every day and try to build another staircase. Tonight, I don’t think we built any kind of staircase, especially offensively,” Smith said. “They came in here tonight and gave us everything we wanted. I feel like we’ve got a long way to go.”

Selma coach Christopher Raymond said, “I knew it was gonna be a dogfight up here tonight. We shot ourselves in the foot in the second half. We made a lot of mistakes, and you can’t beat a good team like Benjamin Russell doing that.”

Early on, the game was a defensive dogfight, with the Wildcats (3-1, 1-1 Class 6A Region 3) going three and out on their first possession, while Selma’s first drive had several issues keeping the Saints from gaining any traction either. Selma was called for running on a fair catch and was then backed up further after a false start penalty. On third and 9 from the Selma 4, quarterback Tyreshion Freeman was picked off by Gavin Edwards, giving Benjamin Russell the ball at the Saints’ 30-yard line.

The Wildcats took advantage of the turnover, moving the ball down to the Selma 4-yard line before stalling and kicking the first of three first half field goals to take a 3-0 lead. However, Selma (1-2, 0-2 Class 6A Region 3) answered right back, torching Benjamin Russell for a 93-yard passing touchdown on third and 24.

Benjamin Russell had the chance to turn another Saints miscue into points after a Saints fumble during a punt return gave the ball back to the Wildcats at the Selma 35. The drive immediately stalled, however, and the Wildcats had to punt again.

After another strong defensive stand, aided by two delay of game penalties and an intentional grounding on the Saints, Benjamin Russell tied the game at 6-6 early in the second frame with another field goal. The Wildcat defense then stood strong and forced the Saints to punt, but the subsequent Benjamin Russell offensive drive ended at the Selma 37 when the Saints defense picked off Landon Cotney. Selma then drove 95 yards to take the lead back once again and, with a successful 2-point conversion, held a 14-6 advantage.

The Wildcats seized some momentum back as the half wound down, driving to the Saints’ 17, yet had to settle for a field goal, cutting the deficit to five points before halftime.

After the break, Benjamin Russell came out showing an intensity that had been fairly lacking during the first half. The Wildcat defense held on during the Saints first drive of the third quarter, forcing an incomplete pass on fourth and 11 to gain the ball back. However, the Wildcat offense had the exact same issue on their next drive, coming up 1 yard short on a fourth and 4 run at the Selma 28.

Benjamin Russell’s defense forced a three and out, and a good return set the Wildcats up at the Saints’ 35-yard line. One play was all it took for Benjamin Russell to find the end zone for the first time all night when Cotney found Za Stowes wide open for the touchdown. With a successful extra point to give the Wildcats a 16-14 lead, Benjamin Russell appeared to be back in the driver’s seat.

The scene was immediately repeated as Selma went three and out, and on the first Wildcat play from the Saints’ 49, Cotney again found Stowes open for a touchdown and a 23-14 lead.

Following a block in the back call on Selma during the ensuing kickoff, the Wildcats gained a little insurance when a low snap rolled out of the back of the end zone for a safety and a 25-14 Benjamin Russell lead.

Another promising Wildcat drive ended with less than a minute left in the third quarter when Cotney called his own number but fumbled the ball away. The Benjamin Russell defense again flexed its muscle, forcing Selma to punt and, after the Wildcats were forced into a three and out, recovered a Saints fumble on the first play of the Selma drive.

Selma finally found its groove again halfway through the final quarter, grinding out a nearly 4-minute drive that resulted in a touchdown. The two-point conversion was stopped inches shy of the goal line, setting the final score of 25-20.

However, the final four minutes of the game were not without their moments of suspense, when Benjamin Russell was forced to punt, but with a penalty called against Selma, the Wildcats got the ball right back, 28 yards from the goal line. However, Benjamin Russell came up short once again on a fourth-down rush, handing the ball back to the Saints with just 40 seconds to go.

Edwards came up big for the Wildcat defense once again when, on a fourth and 2, he picked off Freeman for the second time, giving the Wildcats the ball back with a mere 13 ticks left on the clock.

“As a team, we could have played a whole lot better tonight,” Raymond said. “We’ve just gotta go back to the drawing board and get better. We’re in a tough region; we’re not gonna beat the Benjamin Russells, the Opelikas and the Wetumpkas playing the way we played tonight. We just gotta execute. We gotta execute a whole lot better than we did tonight.”

As the Wildcats prepare for next week’s game against Demopolis, Smith said the offense will have to find ways to get clicking to help give the defense a break.

“The defense was dead tired and they hung on,” he said. “Eventually, we’ve got to come out there and give them some help. We’re going to start Sunday and watch film and we’re gonna break down and let them see exactly what was causing the mistakes and the misfires. It’s up to us to go in and try to correct those things going Monday through next Thursday.”