West Blocton Beats Brookwood 28-7

Students and parents all lined up outside of Weston Blocton’s stadium as the return of football came closer by the minute. Even masks couldn’t hide the smiles on the faces of family, friends, and fans. Before the game I was able to catch up with West Blocton’s Head Coach. Coach Hiott  described his expectations for the night by saying  “Well with Brookwood, it’s always a knock down drag out.”

These words would ring true as the first quarter established two teams that embraced an old-school style of football with stingy defenses and effective run games.

West Blocton would draw first blood with a 32-yard score with 6:13 to go in the first quarter. Both teams would fight through first game jitters and rust and the score remained 7-0 going into the 2^nd quarter.

More big hits, and defensive stops were on the docket as both teams forced multiple turnovers and 3-and-outs in the second quarter.

Brookwood then switched it up by going to a up tempo offense that landed them in opponent territory at around the 7-minute mark. However, Blocton's defense made a crucial goal line stop. That stop would lead to a methodical drive and score with only 30 seconds being left in the half, leaving the score at 14-0 in Blocton’s favor.

The third quarter brought another adjustment from Brookwood as they used their back up running back’s fresh legs to drive them down the field with a mixture of pitches, sweeps, and outside runs. They would then again find themselves in the red zone but struck out on two incompletions.

The score remained 14-0 with the door being slightly open for Brookwood to walk through it, but Blocton would work the triple option down the field while chewing clock. This would set up the only pass that was thrown by Blocton which resulted in a 24-yard completion on a crucial third down which set up a score, moving the lead 20-0.

A big return would have Brookwood in excellent field position as they started at the opponent’s 30-yard line. As the offense stagnated, they were forced into a fourth and long. Blocton easily defended and forced another turnover on downs.

A 70-yard run would cap off senior night for West Blocton sealing the deal with eight minutes left to go in the fourth quarter. Brookwood would score on the next drive though, preventing a shut-out and pushing the score 28-7.

Brookwood will look to get their first win of the season next week versus Gulf Shores. West Blocton is headed to Holtville in search of another victory.