Wildcats win first-place matchup in 6-AA

photo Hixson's James Cole (9) looks for an opening.

Preston Wilkey had a clear field in front of him, but with time running out and the first down secured, Hixson's senior quarterback opted for a slide near the Red Bank 30-yard line.

The senior gave up the glory of a possible touchdown run, sliding down at the hashmark nearest his sideline with less than a minute remaining to secure a come-from-behind, 17-13 victory over the host Lions.

"I didn't want to risk a fumble or going out of bounds," he said. "I knew when we started the play that there was about 50 seconds left and all we needed was the first down and for me to stay in bounds."

The win pushed Hixson to 6-2 overall and 4-0 in District 6-AA, which translates into breathing room for a likely host role in the playoffs beginning the first Friday in November. The Wildcats will face up-and-coming Central next week and close out the regular season against a regrouped Brainerd.

Red Bank (4-4, 3-1) dropped into second place.

It wasn't the kind of game either coach would have envisioned -- numerous mistakes, both mental and physical, including a combined 19 penalties for 136 yards.

"You have to give (the Lions) credit because they can play. That's a good football team," Hixson coach Dan Duff said. "We just weren't hitting on all cylinders in the first half. Special teams killed us and we challenged all the kids at halftime. But I'm proud of our kids because they found a way to win."

No moment was bigger than a defensive stand in the second half after a poor exchange on a punt. Red Bank had the ball first-and-goal and failed to score.

"That was huge. It gave us so much momentum," Wilkey said.

The Wildcats allowed Red Bank to recover an onside kick to open the second half, but the defense held. Then came the bad snap deep in their own territory, and the defense came up big again.

"I was thinking the wheels were about to come off," Duff admitted. "You have to give a lot of credit to our defense. They came up well. Offensively, we found some ways to move the ball. The offensive line is our strength and I'm proud of those guys, because this is a great win for our school and our community."

Tarik Twitty-Humphrey also has to be proud of the Wildcats' offensive line, although he did on occasion make them look really, really good. The running back finished with 146 yards.

Red Bank jumped out to a 13-0 first-quarter advantage, DeMarcus Rivers' 7-yard run capitalizing on a fumble recovery by Jerome Hughley and Destain Henderson running in from 12 yards out.

Marshall Cooper got Hixson within a touchdown on an 8-yard run with 9:19 still to play in the first half.

The Wildcats took the lead on Wilkey's 6-yard run with 3:50 to play in the third period. Austin Slifko gave them some breathing room with 3:33 left with a 27-yard field goal.

Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at twitter.com/wardgossett.

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