There just haven’t been many occasions for the Hixson Wildcats to celebrate in football lately.
The Wildcats suffered through a 2-8 season a year ago and they’d lost their first three this fall, including two where the mercy rule was used in the second half.
Maybe the tide turned a little bit at Anthony S. Martino Field Friday night.
Facing the East Hamilton Hurricanes in a critical Region 3-4A contest, good things finally happened to the team in black as bullish fullback Myles Ratliff scored the winning touchdown on a run from the 3 with 18.6 seconds left to lift the Wildcats to victory by a 21-18 margin.
It was a frantic finish for both teams as the Hurricanes had scored a touchdown late in the third quarter to take the lead for the first time at 18-14, but when all was said and done, the ‘Canes simply couldn’t stop the Hixson ground game with the game on the line.
A 36-yard East Hamilton punt was downed at the 26 with 3:10 to play.
The Wildcats used just 2:52 to move that 74 yards in nine plays with Ratliff getting the final three yards for the winning score.
Ratliff, who finished the game with 111 yards on 18 carries, had runs of 11, four and two yards before quarterback Day Day Word hooked up with Tre Warthon on a big 29-yard pass down the left side.
Ratliff gained four before Word covered a bad snap to lose 11. The elusive QB gained it all back on the next play, , but it was his 21-yard gain on a busted next play that kept Hixson’s drive alive on fourth-and-6.
The gain gave Hixson first-and-goal from the 3, which led to an East Hamilton timeout with 28 seconds to play. Ratliff then bulled his way into the end zone for the game-winning tally.
The Hurricanes had one final shot, but the first pass was incomplete before the game ended on an interception by Austin Slifko.
“This is a really good win for this football team as we’re having to learn how to win all over again,” said winning coach Dan Duff following the game.
“We had a lot of kids who stepped up tonight. We had a different play called on that last fourth down, but our receiver fell down, so Day Day had to improvise and he did. Our offensive line is the strength of this football team, so we felt pretty good with first down at the 3.
“We were up and down the field on offense all night, but it’s just a matter of confidence for these kids. We may be low on numbers, but we’re big on heart. Myles Ratliff is a load and we were confident at the end with the ball in his hands.
“But we’ve made great strides from the first game until now. The running clock in those first two games certainly wasn’t any fun, but we’ve had to find ourselves and we’re about to turn the corner,” he added.
Word was the leading rusher for Hixson as he finished with 128 yards on 21 carries while Ratliff also broke the century mark with his 111 on 18 attempts.
The bruising senior was all smiles when the final horn sounded.
“That may be one of the craziest games I’ve ever played, but all I know is that I had to get in the end zone on that last carry. It was either time to go big or go home. That’s my fourth touchdown this season, but by far the biggest one so far,” he added.
Those offensive linemen are always the unsung heroes for most football teams, but the group including Brett Gardin, Brody Gregory, Zack Mahoney, Keenen Jones and Tyler Weaver were more than valuable for the Wildcats at the most important time.
East Hamilton coach Ted Gatewood hates losing more than anyone on earth, but he was also realistic in his post-game comments.
“That was a tough one to lose, but Hixson has a good football team. We certainly don’t have to like it, but we have to grow from it and I’m hoping we can learn from the mistakes we made,” he suggested after a brief chat with his team.
“The bottom line is they made a great play when they had to and the Ratliff kid is a load. I hate losing as much as anybody, but we’re not out of it by any means as we just have to keep fighting,” he added.
Hixson ended up with 369 total yards to just 228 for East Hamilton. The Wildcats also enjoyed a 21-12 advantage in first downs.
Most of Hixson’s yards came on the ground with 281 total while Word completed six of eight passes for 88 more.
Worthen was the leading receiver with two catches for 36 yards, including the critical 29-yarder in that final drive.
Latrell Sanderfer had two for 19 while Greyson Caldwell had one for 22 and Ratliff one for 11.
Sophomore Jayden Smith was the leading rusher for East Hamilton as he finished with 94 yards on 17 carries. Drako Wise had 54 yards on nine attempts.
Blake Aldredge was the leading receiver as he hauled in the only two passes the Hurricanes completed for 84 yards, including one for 47 yards across the middle late in the third quarter from quarterback Andrew Sturdivant that gave his team its only lead.
The Hurricanes lost a key fumble that led to a Hixson touchdown in early in the second quarter.
Sturdivant was sacked for a 15-yard loss on the second play of the second quarter, but the hit hurt even more when Hixson’s David Bohn recovered.
Word then scampered in from the 5 on the next play for a 14-6 Hixson lead.
Wise scored on a run from the 23 at the 3:24 mark of the second quarter and the difference was 14-12 at intermission.
East Hamilton will be on the road again next Friday to face Soddy Daisy while Hixson will be at home again to challenge East Ridge.
EAST HAMILTON 6 6 6 0 -- 18
HIXSON 7 7 0 7 -- 21
HIX – Day Day Word 11 run (Austin Slifko kick), 7:23 left in first;
EH – Andrew Sturdivant 2 run (kick blocked); 5:25 left in first;
HIX – Word 5 run (Slifko kick), 10:58 left in second;
EH – Drako Wise 23 run (run failed), 7:25 left in second;
EH – Blake Aldredge 47 pass from Sturdivant (run failed), 4:36 left in third;
HIX – Myles Ratliff 3 run (Slifko kick), 0:18.6 left in fourth.
(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)