The Hueytown Golden Gophers defeated the Hillcrest Patriots 38-30 after an hour-long delay due to lightning in the area.

"Maybe we need to have a lightning delay every time," said Hueytown head coach Gregg Patterson.

"We came back and really got after it there after the delay. I just can't say enough how my kids continue to fight, fight, fight."

After the delay, Hueytown came out and put an additional 22 points before the half, leaving the Patriots in the rearview by a score of 30-14. And the Golden Gophers never looked back.

The Hillcrest Patriot defense just could never figure out how to stop the Golden Gophers' junior QB Earl Woods.

"He's so dynamic, he just gives us so many options," said Patterson on his first-year QB.

"We have a pass play called and he can just tuck it and run it for 30. He's so hard to tackle."

Hueytown:

Woods would finish the late evening - in a game that ended after 11:30 p.m. - 10 for 25 with 172 yards and three touchdowns through the air alone. In addition, he had 224 yards and a touchdown on the ground from a total of 35 carries.

Senior WR De'Andre Coleman pulled down four of Woods' passes for 124 yards on the night and was a tone-setter early as he hauled in a 54-yard touchdown, just minutes into the matchup.

Sophomore RB Jakhael Rowser managed to score on the ground and in the air as he helped Woods take a large chunk of the rushing reps. Rowser finished with 86 yards from scrimmage, three receptions, and 17 carries.

Hillcrest:

For the highly-touted junior QB Ethan Crawford, however, his struggles from his last matchup seem to have continued. He ended the one-score game 9-for-21 with just one touchdown from 215 total yards from scrimmage.

Senior RB Jamarion Johnson had two touchdowns on the day, one on the ground and one through the air from Crawford. But the bulk of the receiving work was held down by senior WR Derek Hall who pulled in three receptions for 126 yards and a score late in the third quarter.

The now 3-2 Patriots look to have a reset and reload week as they'll take on Northridge (5-0) on October 1 at Hillcrest. For Earl Woods the Hueytown Golden Gophers (4-1), they'll move on to a home game, next week, against the Athens Golden Eagles (3-2).

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