Signal Mountain's Rip Hutcherson leaps to grab Hixson's Michael Kendricks
photo by M.A. Locke
Hixson head football coach Josh Owensby knew it was a special night for his Wildcat team as they celebrated a late 41-yard field goal off the foot of Issac Smith to notch an 18-15 win over visiting Signal Mountain in a Thursday night opener to kick off the 2022 prep football season.
It was the Wildcats’ first ever win over the Eagles who not only had won all five previous matchups with Hixson but had done so convincingly, including the last three years by a combined tune of 105-0.
It was the first season-opening win for the Wildcats in 11 years since a 3-0 start in 2011 that began with a win at Walker Valley.
And it was Hixson’s first season-opening win on the Wildcats’ home turf in 22 seasons, going all the way back to a 2001 win against Ooltewah under their own lights.
But Owensby didn’t really have a perspective on the historic night until he was told the last fact which included the impressive tenure of former Wildcat head coach Jason Fitzgerald, who had back-to-back nine-win seasons but never won a season opener at home.
“Anything that I could do that Fitzgerald didn’t do is pretty impressive,” laughed Owensby, who played for Fitzgerald before he left Hixson to turn Meigs County into its current day powerhouse.
Of all the impressive things the Wildcats did on this night, though, the one thing which stood above the rest was the way Hixson, which has had one winning season and just 15 total wins in the seven seasons since Fitzgerald, refused to quit.
“The hurdle we took tonight just mentally is pretty special.
I wanted this so much for the kids. As coaches we see what they do in practice and in our locker room, but to get it done under the lights for other people to see it is just really a proud moment. Who would have believed Hixson missed an extra point to win the game and then kicked a 41-yard field goal to win it?
“Our offense showed up for about two minutes of the game tonight, but when we finally caught a break, we took advantage of it. We were down in the game and punted with four minutes left, but they just kept playing and this wouldn’t have happened if they didn’t,” said Owensby among well-wishers.
Hixson found itself down 15-7 when it punted it back, and the Eagles probably needed a lone first down to salt it away, but the Wildcat defense rose to the occasion, with Nysaiah Fredrick stopping Garrett Wilson on a third-and-two run short of the sticks. Signal Mountain thought about going for it but elected to punt, but the snap sailed high over the punter’s head and rolled into the end zone for a safety with 2:55 left to make it 15-9.
The Eagles, in an attempt to keep it away from speedy Michael Kendricks who had already burned them once on a 66-yard kickoff return, free kicked it to Jejuan Gillespie who promptly returned it 38 yards to the Eagles’ 25. Signal Mountain’s Kyler Coterel was injured on the kick and remained motionless on the field causing a 40-minute delay as the teams waited for an ambulance. Coterel had feeling in all his extremities but had pain in his neck as he was taken to the hospital.
After the long delay, Hixson needed just two plays before sophomore quarterback Chase Barnard hit Ron Suttles on a 25-yard TD to knot it at 15-all with 2:00 left in the game. Smith’s extra point was blocked by Luke Alexander, though, and the game appeared headed to overtime after Signal Mountain went 3-and-out and punted with just 1:29 left.
Kendricks ripped off three runs for 22 yards and Barnard kept for another 10 to get it to the Eagles’ 39, taking a final timeout with 18 ticks remaining. Banard’s pass near the end zone was almost caught, but a pass interference call on Signal Mountain moved the ball to the 24 and with six seconds left, Smith trotted out to the field for the game-winning 41-yarder.
“I had to have my team on my back there. I love kicking from that hashmark and I felt good about it. This is just a big start for us and I’m so happy for all the guys on the team,” said Smith, who slipped just inside the left goal post with plenty of distance.
“As soon as we got the penalty, there was never any doubt. He has done it every day in practice, and he has the leg from 50 yards out,” Owensby added.
The Wildcats started the game with a strong run game as Kendricks, a returning 1,000-yard rusher for the offense, looked like a threat to go all the way every time he touched it. He finished with 110 yards on 22 carries. It was the defense, though, that got Hixson on the board first as Ethan Cushwa intercepted a halfback pass and returned it 25 yards for a score in the first period.
The Eagles then turned to sterling sophomore quarterback Cash Keene, who found success with Blake Wolfard all night long. Keene finished 16-of-22 for 239 yards and Wolfard caught nine of them for 159 yards, including a 19-yard TD. Signal Mountain followed that score with a conversion run by Wilson after Hixson jumped offsides and moved the ball closer to the end zone for an 8-7 lead.
The Eagles sensed Hixson was getting tired in the second half with players like Brandon Burke and Frederick playing every snap of the game on offense and defense, and found some success running after being held to just 15 rushing yards in the first half. Wilson burst off tackle for a 59-yard score with just 20 second left in the third to extend the lead to 15-7 and set up the late rally by the Wildcats.
“It’s been awhile since Hixson started 1-0, so tonight was big. It should give us a lot of confidence down the road. Signal Mountain has owned the last three years, so getting that one off our back is sweet. We never got down and we stuck together. There was never any panic on the sideline. We just didn’t want to let our coaches down,” said Kendricks.
The defense was the story of the night for Hixson, forcing five turnovers, including four fumbles. Kendricks forced a fumble on a big hit and Grant Finch recovered it. Tyus Henry also recovered a fumble and Frederick, who was a beast all night long, forced one and recovered one. Adam Billingsley recovered the final one. Frederick had four tackles for loss and a sack.
Signal Mountain got a big defensive effort from Rip Hutcherson, who had six tackles for loss and had a sack which forced a fumble that he recovered.
Hixson will travel to Notre Dame next Friday while Signal Mountain will look to rebound at Soddy Daisy next week.
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN 0 8 7 0 – 15
HIXSON 7 0 0 11 – 18
HX – Ethan Cushwa 25 interception return (Issac Smith Kick) (2:24, 1st)
SM – Blake Wolfard 19 pass from Cash Keene (Garrett Wilson run) (1:00, 2nd)
SM – Garrett Wilson 59 run (Pete Sesterhenn Kick) (0:20, 3rd)
HX – Safety on ball snapped through end zone (2:55, 4th)
HX – Ron Suttles 25 pass from Chase Barnard (kick blocked) (2:00, 4th)
HX – Issac Smith 41 field goal (0:06, 4th)
SM STATS HX
12 1st Downs 11
31-108 Rush 43-138
239 Pass 67
323 Total 205
16-24-1 Passes 5-11-0
5-60 Penalties 8-57
3-35.0 Punts 5-28.2
4-3 Fumbles 1-1
Individual Stats
Rushing: Garrett Wilson 21-81, Chance Townson 6-28, Pete Sesterhenn 1-4, Rip Hutcherson 2-0, Cash Keene 1-(-5) (SM): Michael Kendricks 22-110, Brandon Burke 12-46, Chase Barnard 9-(-1) (HX).
Passing: Cash Keene 16-23-0 239 yards, Garrett Wilson 0-1-1 0 yards (SM); Chase Barnard 5-11-0 67 yards (HX).
Receiving: Blake Wolfard 9-159, Chris Kennedy 4-45, Garrett Wilson 3-35 (SM); Brandon Burke 3-44, Ron Suttles 1-25 (HX).
Records: Signal Mountain (0-1); Hixson (1-0).
(Contact James Beach via email at 1134james@gmail.com or Twitter @beachnut1134)
Signal Mountain's Blake Holly and Eli Elsea try to block out Hixson's Nysaiah Fredrick.
photo by M.A. Locke