Football Friday Night: Big first quarter sends Handley to region win over Heflin
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Handley fullback Nate Pike (9) celebrates his first quarter touchdown with running back JaMarcus Daniel.
As Handley continues its quest to identify its go-to playmakers in this early part of the season, the options seem to become more plentiful with each passing week.
Handley saw four different players score its five touchdowns as the Tigers rode a 28-0 first quarter to a 35-14 victory over Cleburne County Friday in Roanoke.
JaMarcus Daniel ran for 152 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries and made it clear early on that Handley was going to have the upper hand whenever they had the ball.
Handley also got a rushing touchdown from fullback Nate Pike and receiving touchdowns from freshman Elijah Stegall and junior Taevion Houston.
Quarterback Cordan Patterson completed 4-of-6 passes for 107 yards and two touchdowns on a night when everything Handley’s first-team offense touched turned to gold.
The first-team defense and emerging playmaker linebacker Chris Sutton also showed their dominance in a first quarter that told you all you need to know about the game.
Each team had four first-quarter possessions. Handley scored on all four while Cleburne County managed just one first down and went 3-and-out on three of its four.
Daniel had touchdown runs of 7 and 3 yards sandwiched around a 37-yard scoring pass from Patterson to Stegall to put Handley up 21-0. Pike came up one yard short of the end zone on his first carry of the game, a 25-yard rumble. He punched it in from one yard out on the very next play with under a minute left in the quarter to give Handley a 28-0 advantage.
Head coach Larry Strain began working in his second string to start the second quarter, but the starters came back for one more scoring drive in the third.
That’s when Patterson atoned for his one hiccup – an underthrown interception on a seam route that proved to be the only turnover of the game for either team. After the Handley defense again came up with a stop after the turnover, Patterson connected with Houston on a 31-yard strike to put Handley up 35-0 with 7:48 to go in the third quarter. That was plenty of cushion to allow the starters to rest the remainder of the night.
Cleburne County got on the board with a couple of late touchdowns. The first was a 1-yard touchdown run, and the second was a 17-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Cade Shubert, who was held to 3-of-15 passing for 65 yards.
The win gives Handley a 2-1 record on the young season and puts them at 1-0 in region play, tied atop the standings with fellow Friday region winners, Booker T. Washington, St. James and Tallassee.
Handley travels to St. James next week.
Other scores
Clay Central 48, Valley 0
Ranburne 19, LaFayette 14
Victory Christian 28, Woodland 12
