Red Bank and Hixson have had their fair share of big football games in recent years, but very few have been any bigger than the one played at Red Bank's Community Stadium on Friday night.
The Lions scored on two of their first three possessions and it looked like Red Bank might roll, but the Wildcats had other ideas.
A short touchdown run of four yards by Marshall Cooper with 9:19 left in the second quarter trimmed Red Bank's lead to 13-7 by intermission before Hixson scored the tying touchdown on a keeper from the 6 by quarterback Preston Wilkey with 3:50 left in the third stanza.
Austin Slifko's point-after kick was the winning point and the sophomore kicker added a 28-yard field goal with just over three minutes to play in the game as the Wildcats hung on for their fourth straight District 6-AA victory without a loss.
Hixson's defense, which has gotten stronger and more confident with each passing week, really stood tall in the second half with the outcome still hanging in the balance.
Perhaps its biggest stand came midway through the third quarter.
A bad snap on a Hixson punt allowed Eddie Giddens to tackle punter Tarik Twitty-Humphrey for a 16-yard loss, giving Red Bank a first-and-goal from the 8. The Lions gained two yards on three plays before being flagged for illegal procedure.
A 26-yard field goal attempt by Christian Velazquez was wide left.
Hixson's offense had new life at that point and used just over 90 seconds to drive 80 yards with Wilkey's run on the fifth play putting the ball in the end zone.
The big play on the drive was a 46-yard sweep by Twitty-Humphrey, which moved the ball from the Hixson 48 to the Red Bank 6.
Red Bank's offense was unable to mount any kind of drive after that. Demarcus Rivers was stopped short on a fourth-and-3 from the Hixson 34 at the six-minute mark of the fourth quarter and the Lions final shot ended with a turnover as Jordan Johnson intercepted a pass about three minutes later.
Wilkey picked up a first down on a keeper on third-and-7 before the Wildcats went into the victory formation to allow the final seconds to tick off.
Needless to say, Hixson coach Dan Duff was smiling from ear to ear when this one finally ended.
"I've been coaching high school football for 31 years, but I've never been any more proud of a team than I am of you right now," he told his team after the final horn sounded.
"We came out flat at the start and I don't know why, but we found a way to win this football game and put ourselves in a position to win the district championship for the second year in a row. We put a lot of pressure on our defense, but they played great football.
"Keeping Red Bank out of the end zone following the bad snap on the punt was a crucial turning point. We still have two big games with Central and Brainerd, but we're going to enjoy this one tonight," he said.
"And I felt like that touchdown we scored in the second quarter was huge because we hadn't played very well in the first half and we were still within a touchdown of the lead. I think that did a lot for our confidence," Duff added.
Red Bank coach Chad Grabowski was direct and to the point in his post-game comments to his team.
"I felt like we had that game won, but we still have two big games with Howard and Tyner and we just have to keep fighting. This district race is not over, but we have to learn how to finish. We all know that anything can happen on Friday nights.
"I felt like our defense played great, but we're going to have to man up on offense. We had several chances to score and didn't get the job done, but what we need to do is to take the anger we feel right now out on Howard and Tyner in the next two weeks," he added.
Rivers scored on a seven-yard run with 8:50 left in the first quarter as Red Bank took a 7-0 lead following a fumble recovery by Jerome Hughley at the Hixson 31.
Destin Henderson extended the lead with a 13-yard run at the 1:55 mark of the first quarter, but the Lions didn't score again.
Hixson, which had been limited to just 93 yards total offense in the first half, found a solution in the running game in the final two quarters as they picked up 167 yards on 30 attempts in the last 24 minutes, including 119 yards on 13 trips from Twitty-Humphrey. He finished with 142 yards on 19 carries.
Wilkey followed with 67 yards on 16 carries, including the ever-important tying touchdown.
"This was a great win for our team, but we finally found a play that clicked in the second half. I'm sure that we can all get better, but this is always a big rivalry game and to win on their field for the second time in the last three years really feels good," he explained.
James Cole finished with 34 yards rushing and he also had a pass reception for 14 yards as Hixson finished with 260 total yards, including 244 on the ground.
Rivers was the leading rusher for Red Bank as he finished with 61 yards on 18 carries. Ben Brown had one catch for 33 yards while Malik Davis had another for 26 that set up Rivers' first touchdown.
Red Bank finished with 166 total yards, including 105 on the ground.
Hixson, now 6-2 overall and 4-0 in 6-AA, will host Central next Friday while Red Bank goes to Howard after falling to 4-4 overall and 3-1 in 6-AA.
HIXSON 0 7 7 3 -- 17
RED BANK 13 0 0 0 -- 13
RB -- Demarcus Rivers 7 run (Christian Velazquez kick), 8:50 left in first;
RB -- Destin Henderson 13 run (kick failed), 1:55 left in first;
HIX -- Marshall Cooper 8 run (Austin Slifko kick), 9:19 left in second;
HIX -- Preston Wilkey 6 run (Slifko kick), 3:50 left in third;
HIX -- Slifko 28 field goal, 3:22 left in fourth.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@comcast.net)