By GRIFFIN PRITCHARD
Tribune Managing Editor
TROY — State records were smashed and the Memorial Stadium scoreboard was almost on tilt following the highest scoring state championship game in state history here Friday night.
Top-ranked Edgewood (14-0) used a pick-six by Taylor Hawthorne and a last-gasp interception by Heath Young to secure the 61-52 win and a record-setting fourth consecutive Alabama Independent School Association Class AA championship.
The win was a record-setter for the Wildcats, who notched their AISA best 45th victory in a row.
But the win didn’t come easy. Edgewood captured its first lead of the ballgame 6 seconds left in the third quarter after being down as many as 16 points.
“Champions find a way,” said Young. “We’re down 10 points at halftime. We’re getting banged up. We just battled through it. Early in the game when they were marching on us some our guys were getting frustrated. We just kept saying find a way. Champions always find a way.”
Down 38-28 at intermission, the Wildcats climbed back in the game with a 19-point third quarter.
Josh Crawford (14 carries for 104 yards and 3-of-5 for 39 yards passing) tossed his first touchdown of the night to Hawthorne for the 19-yard score.
“This was huge; there was so much on the line,” Crawford said. “There are no words. We knew we could run the ball and throw it with what they did on defense. We just had to execute.”
Clarke answered with a 66-yard Jarrette Pope (21 carries for 237 yards) gallop into the end zone to put the Gators on top, 44-34.
That’s when the game changed.
Edgewood turned a Clarke Prep turnover into a touchdown.
David Cayton picked up a Hayden Walker fumble at the 15 and ran unchallenged down the field for the touchdown, cutting the margin to 44-40.
“We had a 10-point lead and we blew (it),” said Gators’ coach Billy Hamilton. “We knew that if we got ahead of them we had to stay ahead of them. We don’t play catch-up. We just came out and lost our focus in third quarter.”
Alex Dettmar skipped an onside kick across the turf and into the hands of Daniel Green giving the Wildcats a chance to pull ahead.
Green was on the receiving end of a 10-yard touchdown pass from Hawthorne (13-of-26 for 226 and three scores) to put Edgewood on top 47-44 for the first time all night.
“It was a physical game and we didn’t expect it to be this high-scoring,” said Hawthorne. “We just managed to outscore them. It was a heck of a game.”
Crawford put Edgewood up 10 with a 17-yard touchdown run at the 9:05 mark in the fourth period.
The Gators bullied their way back into the game capping a five-play, 29-yard drive with a 1-yard Pope run. He walked into the end zone for the two-point conversion, but Edgewood still led, 54-52.
Hawthorne’s pick-six with 1:25 on the clock sealed the Wildcats 61-52 victory.
“I was not expecting that, but it was the icing on the cake,” said Hawthorne. “It was a great moment.”
Edgewood coach Bobby Carr said this team has reset the bar when it comes to Wildcat football.
“They are champions and don’t know any other way,” he said. “This bar was set 45 wins ago by a great group of seniors and these kids have continued to carry that legacy on through a number of injuries. One man falls, another rises to take their place and carries on. That’s Edgewood football.”
