Bryant Shows Out For Homecoming, Gets First Win On Season

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The Paul Bryant Stampede (1-7) capitalized off of clutch plays from their running back and defense to defeat the Brookwood Panthers (4-3) on homecoming night 23-18, claiming its first win of the season.

Bryant's head coach Eldrick Hill spoke on how it felt getting the first win of the season.

"Feels great man. This program has been up and down, mainly down, prior to us coming and we've turned it around, we've had some good years," said Hill. "COVID kind of hurt us and set us back a little bit, and some other things were going on, but we just keep fighting and keep working. I'm happy for the kids to get that win because they deserve it."

The Stampede started out the homecoming game with a 70-yard touchdown run from senior running back Kevin Brown after back-to-back penalties pushed them out of the good field position they got on the opening kickoff.

After the teams traded possessions and Brookwood received the ball for its second possession of the game, the Panthers started to run the ball on every down. They were successfully able to get to the Stampede's 35-yard line before throwing two straight incompletions on third and fourth down, turning the ball over on downs.

Bryant took advantage of receiving possession back by going downfield before being stopped and forced to kick a field goal, in which freshman kicker Diego Marquez made from 28-yards out to bring the score to 10-0.

No scoring happened in the second quarter but both teams had prime opportunities to put points on the board.

With 10:05 left in the second quarter, Bryant blocked Brookwood's punt and received the ball on the Panthers' 19-yard line. The Stampede were able to get the ball all the way to the 2-yard line, but fumbled it and the Panthers recovered.

Brookwood's best chance happened late in the first half when they brought the ball all the way Bryant's 13-yard line, but then was stopped on fourth down again, resulting in them getting shut out in the first two quarters.

The halftime break helped the Panthers shake off the rust from the first half, as they received the ball to start the second half, and moved the ball from their own 34-yard line downfield until they scored a touchdown, courtesy of an 8-yard run into the endzone by senior running back Cj Cummins. The 2-point conversion was no good though, leaving the score 10-6.

After a couple more traded possessions, Brookwood pulls of a punt that pinned Bryant on their own 10-yard line. Bryant immediately respond to this by handing it off to Brown on the first play, who proceeded to run the ball 90 yards for the touchdown, his second long one of the day. However, the Stampede missed the point after attempt, making the score at 16-6.

Between the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarter, Brookwood was able to drive the ball to the Bryant 18-yard line, but was intercepted by senior defensive back Jakeon Wils before they can make anything happen.

The Stampede turned the momentum the defense gave them into offense, successfully running the ball downfield while wasting the clock before Brown punched it in the endzone with a 15 yard rush, resulting in his third rushing touchdown of the night.

The Panthers, however, were not going down easily. On its next possession, they were able to use a combination of passes and rushes, as well as getting an interception called back because of a roughing the passer penalty, to score a touchdown, which came off of a 7-yard pass from senior quarterback Kobie Humphries to senior wide receiver Otis Sims. The 2-point conversion attempt was no good.

On its next possession, Brookwood again proved that they weren't out of the game by quickly scoring another touchdown, this time with Humphries connecting with senior wide receiver Kavan Wise for it. They were again unsuccessful on the 2-point conversion attempt, resulting in them being 0-3 on them in the game.

To give Bryant and its fans one last scare, Brookwood successfully executed the onside kick, recovering it around midfield with 1:08 remaining. However, the Stampede's defense stood strong one last time, stopping the Panthers in four plays and ending the game with a homecoming win.

"Not only does our kids deserve it, but our fans deserve it. Our administration, our teachers, our student body, anyone that's been affiliated with this program for the last 20 years deserve this win tonight, and I'm glad we were able to get it for them," said Hill.

Bryant will look to get build off the momentum of its first win next week at home against Hillcrest.

Brookwood will look to bounce back after its disappointing loss next week at home against McAdory.