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Margarita Maddeness
The first night for the Madden tourney, held at Juanita's with 103.7 The BUZZ every Wednesday til August 27.
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Scores and Photos of Friday night high school football - Oct. 9
Hixson football coach Dan Duff didn't mind the extra dose of water showered up on him at game's end.
"It was a long time coming," Duff said following the Wildcats' 16-6 Region 3-4A victory over Central on Friday night.
And he wasn't talking about the four-and-a-half-hour, lightning-delayed game it took to secure the win. In a battle of winless teams, the Wildcats finally managed to exhale when tailback Justin Nicholson turned a fourth-and-13 run into a 29-yard score with two minutes left in the game to secure it.
"I am happy to see the kids are excited. They have waited on this for some time, and they have fought all year. Tonight was no different," Duff added.
Central will have to wait a little longer.
It was a game of inevitability, a contest between two proud programs with a combined 16 losses in a row dating back to last year. Central limped into the game with nine straight setbacks including its 0-6 mark this year, while Hixson lost its final game a year ago to go along with its 0-for-6 start.
Something had to give aside from Mother Nature's wrath, which delayed the game two hours during the first quarter.
The two teams combined for 16 fumbles, losing four apiece, and neither team completed a pass. The Purple Pounders took advantage of the first of the miscues when Devin Swafford rumbled 8 yards for a score following the long delay. It was only the seventh TD of the year for Central, but Hixson made sure it didn't hold up.
Following Austin Slifko's 32-yard field goal, Hixson recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and took just three plays before Nicholson scored from the 4 and it stood at 9-6 until the final minutes of the game.
Neither team could do much on the muddy field, combining to run the ball 103 times for 354 yards. Hixson gained 183 on 48 totes with nine fumbles, and Central had 171 on 40 carries with seven fumbles.
Myles Ratliff led Hixson with 88 yards on 22 runs while Nicholson had 70 on 14 carries. Central was led by Taven Spann with his 77 yards on 17 carries.
Hixson held the Pounders to 0-for-8 on converting third-down plays into firsts and four times stopped them on fourth-down plays. The Pounders also had a big penalty that nullified a TD run by Spann. Central will host East Hamilyon next week in search of victory No. 1, while Hixson will travel to Sequoyah to keep the win streak alive.
Contact James Beach at sports@timesfreepress.com