Phil Campbell comes back to beat Danville

In the span of two plays with 39 seconds on the clock, Phil Campbell went from trailing the Danville Hawks 28-24 to winning 40-28 to close out region play.

With Danville leading 28-24, the Hawks stopped Phil Campbell late in the fourth quarter in their own territory, forcing a punt and potentially getting excellent field position.

What happened on the punt changed the course of the game.

With five minutes to go in the game, Gage Baker boomed a punt high into the night sky. The ball hit a Danville returner, making it a live ball, and it was recovered by Phil Campbell’s Noah Raper at the Hawks’ 41-yard line.

The Bobcats pounded the ball on the ground and ate up much of the remaining clock driving the ball to the Danville 2-yard line with 39 seconds to go in the game.

On third down and goal from the 2-yard line, Phil Campbell ran a sweep to the right – a similar play the Bobcats used to beat East Lawrence the week before – and running back John Randle Herring dove for the endzone with outstretched hands and scored.

Bryant Hyde coveted the two-point play on the other side of the field to give Phil Campbell a 32-28 lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, Baker once again boomed a kick, sending the ball soaring over the heads of the Danville returners and coming to rest at the 1-yard line, where it was downed.

On the very next play, the Hawks tried a long pass to their own sideline. It was picked off by Andrew Green and returned for another Phil Campbell touchdown.

Green’s two-point conversion run gave the Bobcats a 40-28 lead and the win.

Herring carried the ball 22 times for Phil Campbell for 113 yards.

Boone Swinney and Cole Pace led the Bobcat defense with seven tackles each.

Phil Campbell will close out the regular season hosting Hackleburg Thursday night before hosting J.B. Pennington in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs next week.