Houston County gets win over G.W. Long

COLUMBIA — The first half of Houston County’s 39-14 win over G.W. Long was thrilling, especially if you happened to own Lion quarterback Desmond Warren in a Wiregrass fantasy football league.

All the UAB commitment did in the first 30 minutes Friday was complete 12 passes for 231 yards — including touchdown passes of 47 and 58 yards — and rush for another 53 yards. Warren also had another 33-yard touchdown pass called back on a penalty.

But as filled as the first half was with highlights, the second half overflowed with lowlights. The third quarter lasted an hour. Six players were injured.

One was transported by ambulance to a local hospital for precautionary reasons and another was transported privately for examination. There were three turnovers and seven penalties in the half and one player for each team was ejected for fighting.

With the Lions comfortably in the lead in the fourth quarter and injuries and penalties continuing to mount, both coaches agreed to shorten the period.

With 8:25 left in the game, G.W. Long coach Scott Horne asked if the clock could run continuously. Later, with 5:25 remaining, both coaches agreed to place two minutes on the clock. Mercifully, the game ended without further injuries.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a third quarter like that before, and I hope I never see another one,” Houston County head coach Jarrod Wooten said. “We tried to stay focused. Some things happened out of our control. G.W. Long fought hard and never gave up. All credit to them.”

It looked as if Houston County (6-1, 4-1 in Class 2A Region 2) would run away with the game early, scoring the game’s first three touchdowns. A 4-yard run by Patrick Smith started it off, then Warren connected with Jazeric Peterson for a 47-yard touchdown pass. Jamerius Henderson added a 1-yard plunge early in the second period to make it 18-0.

G.W. Long (4-3, 2-3) answered with a 4-yard touchdown run by Zack Walker, who filled in for starting tailback Dewayne Whigham, who suffered a leg injury on the drive and did not return.

Warren made it 24-7 on a perfectly thrown 58-yard bomb to Peterson later in the quarter, but G.W. Long cut the Lion lead to 10 before halftime, taking advantage of a Shane Rutledge interception. Quarterback Garrett Davis found Taylor Moates in the end zone for a 3-yard score to make it 24-14.

Earlier in the drive, Davis found Moates for 24 yards on fourth-and-10. Despite being outgained 336-108 in the first half, Long trailed by only 10.

A Jamarius Henderson interception set up Houston County’s first score of the second half.

This time, Warren used his feet, rushing in for a 6-yard score to make it 31-14.

The rest of the quarter was punctuated with injuries and penalties. Houston County’s final score came with less than six minutes to go when Mark Deal scored on a 1-yard plunge.

“They have a good football team,” Horne said. “They have a lot of weapons. They can run and throw, and we couldn’t find an answer. They executed and we didn’t.“

Overall, Warren completed 15-of-26 passes for 289 yards. He rushed for 102. He also had a 33-yard touchdown pass and a 40-yard punt return for touchdown called back on penalties.