History in the making

By Staff
Tharptown hosts Phil Campbell in first-ever meeting; Benford's 7-yard TD pass lifts Bobcats to 8-0 victory
Kim West
THARPTOWN – Give round one to Phil Campbell as the Class 2A Bobcats defeated 1A Tharptown 8-0 in the first-ever matchup between the two schools in Friday night's jamboree at Tharptown Stadium.
The five-game jamboree also featured 1A Phillips and 2A Hatton, and each game lasted two quarters with no kicking allowed.
Neither team could score on its first four possessions but the Bobcats broke through late in the second quarter as Daniel Bryant rushed three times for 27 yards and three first downs during a nine-play, 40-yard drive.
With 2:42 remaining in the game, rising sophomore quarterback and team captain Jordan Benford found Dillan Hamby in the right side of the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown. Benford connected again with Hamby for the two-point conversion to give Phil Campbell the 8-0 victory.
Phil Campbell, which featured a new veer attack and first-year head coach Michael Parker, outgained Tharptown 113 yards to 58 as Bryant had 93 rushing yards on only 11 carries.
Daniel Scott led Tharptown witih 50 yards on six carries, including a 30-yard run to open the Wildcats' final drive in the second quarter.
Defensively, Tharptown's Jarrod Seay forced a fumble, while Bryant had a 7-yard sack for Phil Campbell.
Wide receiver Brandon Cothrum took most of the snaps for Tharptown since starting quarterback Tyler Cagle left the game midway through the first quarter with an injury to his left knee and did not return.
Hatton 12
Tharptown 0
Hatton used a balanced offense to defeat Tharptown 12-0 in the third game of the jamboree.
With 11:24 left in the second quarter, Tevin Terrell raced down the left sideline and bounced off to the right to score a 45-yard touchdown and give Hatton a 6-0 lead. The Hornets scored again with no time left in the game on a 10-yard reception by Chase Martin.
The Hornets were 5-of-10 passing for 38 yards and rushed 11 times for 134 yards to outgain the Wildcats 172-81.
Daniel Scott, who also had an interception, led Tharptown with 53 yards on 16 carries, while Trevor Hallmark added three carries for seven yards and Brandon Cothrum found Joseph Parker for a 21-yard reception on the Wildcats' last drive.
Phillips 9
Phil Campbell 8
Phillips edged Phil Campbell 9-8 as the Black Bears managed to net more yardage than the Bobcats in a sudden death overtime that awarded the win to the team that could gain the most yards in one play.
Phil Campbell scored its only touchdown on its opening drive as Jordan Benford capped a 10-play, 55 yard drive with a 17-yard quarterback keeper with 7:30 left in the first quarter. Benford faked a handoff to Daniel Bryant, who finished with 109 yards on only 14 carries, and then gave it to Adam Mitchell, who rushed in for the two-point conversion to put the Bobcats ahead 8-0.
Phillips responded on its last drive as Adam McCarley zipped a pass to Josh Kelly for a 34-yard touchdown with 4:08 remaining. McCarley rushed in for the two-point conversion to tie the game 8-8.
After the Bobcats' final drive stalled at Phillips' 22-yard line, Phil Campbell then lost four yards on its play in overtime. The Bobcats stuffed a run attempt by McCarley but Phillips still won since the Bobcats had negative yardage.
Phil Campbell finished with 164 yards of total offense, while Phillips had 108.