Elba’s defense makes a stand against Houston County

ELBA — Houston County quarterback Desmond Warren lofted the pass into the end zone and a region championship, a home playoff date and a victory hung in the balance.

Jazerek Peterson got a hand on it, but Elba defender Antwain Griffin had better position and came down with the interception with 22.1 seconds remaining to help the Tigers preserve a hard-fought 21-14 victory.

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Elba (9-0, 7-0) captured the region title and Houston County (7-2, 5-2) will have to travel in the first round of the playoffs.

“Let me tell you, they’re awesome on offense,” Elba coach Scott Rials said of the Lions. “To hold them to 14 points is a great tribute to our guys, especially when we turned the ball over six times. … Desmond’s not a typical player you see often. (Peterson) and those receivers are really good. I tip my hat to those guys. They battled all the way to the end.”

Houston County coach Jarrod Wooten said the game was as good as advertised.

“We told our guys, this is going to be the best team we’ve played all year — and they lived up to the reputation,” Wooten said. “This game could have went either way.”
A very sloppy field made conditions treacherous for both offenses. Elba lost three fumbles in the first half and two more in the second.

But the mud gave dual-threat quarterback Warren problems, too. After several of his runs his hands were so muddy he had trouble gripping the football.

Elba picked him off three times in the second half as Richard Cooks, Robert Forbes and Griffin made interceptions.

Houston County led 14-7 at halftime and recovered a fumble on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter. But Warren moved the Lions inside the Elba 20-yard line on a 20-yard pass to Kenny Barber. But Warren was sacked for a 10-yard loss on fourth-and-14 from the 20.

Elba tied the game after an exchange of punts. The Tigers drove 60 yards in eight plays. Quarterback Gunnar McCollough completed a 27-yard pass to Kendrick Robertson on third-and-12 at midfield to keep the drive alive. Workhorse running back Carlos Matias scored from the 1-yard line three plays later. Cooks’ extra point tied the game 14-all with 51 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Tigers kept the momentum. Forbes stepped in front of a short Warren pass in the right flat two plays later. A facemask penalty gave Elba first down at the Lions’ 15.

On fourth-and-1 from the 6-yard line, Matias took a handoff off left tackle, veered wide around the end and found the end zone for a 21-14 lead with 10:36 left in the game.

The Lions again drove the ball into Elba territory, but Warren was picked off by Cooks on a short pass over the middle.

Elba was forced to punt, but the Tigers kept possession on a costly roughing the punter penalty that allowed them to keep the ball with 6:31 left. The Tigers couldn’t put
it away, however, and fumbled the ball back to the Lions with 4:07 remaining at the Houston County 35-yard line.

Warren hustled his team down the field again, with his arm and his legs. He threw to Barber for 16 yards. Barber rushed for 11 more. Patrick Smith ran for 15 tough yards to the Elba 26. A few plays later, Warren ran for 10 and a first down at the 7-yard line. The Lions called timeout with 36.3 seconds left.

Warren ran at left guard for two yards, and they took their final timeout with 26.6 seconds to play. The pass to Peterson in the end zone was intercepted by Griffin.

“He didn’t want to throw the ball because he was having a hard time gripping it, but we knew if we ran the ball we might not have any time left if we didn’t score,” Wooten said. “It was a calculated risk, and it didn’t work.”

Houston County started the game with an impressive 13-play, 67-yard drive that took nearly five minutes. Warren, on fourth-and-goal from the 10, scrambled free and dove inside the right pylon for the touchdown. The extra point failed, leaving the Lions up 6-0.

Elba’s Matias tied the game with 7:52 left in the second quarter. He capped a five-play, 48-yard drive with a 2-yard run. Cooks’ extra point made it 7-6 Elba.

The Lions capitalized on an Elba fumble, recovered by Barber. One play later, Smith took a draw play off left guard, burst into the secondary and up the left sideline on a
24-yard touchdown run. Warren’s two-point jump pass to Barber made it 14-7 with 4:38 left in the first half.