Hillcrest Grabs First Win Of Jamie Mitchell Era, 35-10 Over TCHS

NORTHPORT, AL — In a crosstown rivalry featuring two first-year head coaches, Jamie Mitchell's Hillcrest Patriots put up more than 600 yards of total offense to blow out Adam Winegarden and the Tuscaloosa County High Wildcats Friday night 35-10 in Northport.

The win marks the eighth consecutive victory for the Patriots over the Wildcats.

The game was Winegarden's first home contest as head coach for the Wildcats and was also the first played on a new turf surf at Wildcat Stadium. After exploding for 59 points on the road in the season opener against Paul W. Bryant High last week, the Wildcats struggled to move the football and found few answers to a fast and talented Hillcrest offense.

Conversely, the Patriots lost in heart-breaking fashion 37-34 on the road to Homewood in Week 1 and would look to play inspired football against the rival 7A Wildcats.

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The Wildcats used a ground-and-pound drive on the opening series to get on the board first with a field goal, but the Patriots would dominate both sides of the ball for most of the first half, led by athletic quarterback Ethan Crawford — a highly-touted junior who showed his ability Friday night to make things happen with his arm and his legs.

Through the air, Crawford would toss for 238 yards and two scores, while also rushing for two touchdowns.

The Pats' first points of the night game on a convincing 41-yard touchdown run by Crawford in the last couple minutes of the first quarter. He would then follow that up with a 48-yard touchdown strike to Derek Hall in the opening minutes of the second quarter.

The Wildcats struggled to put much together on offense in the first half, with the Patriots grabbing more momentum on a 35-yard touchdown run up the middle by running back Jay Brown.

County High would answer, though, with junior quarterback Brax Garrison connecting with sophomore running back Kevin Riley on a 67-yard touchdown pass after the junior signal-caller appeared to be shaken up after a hard hit on the previous series. This would help the Wildcats hold their heads high going into the half 21-10.

The first big play of the second half came in the opening minutes when Hillcrest linebacker Jaden Hood recovered a fumble deep in Wildcats territory.

Crawford would then make the most of the turnover, connecting with Hall for a second score by way of a 14-yard touchdown on a post route. He wouldn't be finished, though, scoring again in the opening minute of the fourth quarter on a 2-yard quarterback sneak.

Patriot linebacker Collin Dunn would then shut the door on the Wildcats, outmuscling a Wildcat receiver for an interception with a little more than 7 minutes to go in the game.

In total, the Patriots finished the game with 606 yards of total offense compared to the Wildcats'

Tuscaloosa County (1-1) will be at home next week against Thompson, while Hillcrest (1-1) will be on the road at Brookwood (1-1).

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