Hillcrest Dominates Tuscaloosa County in 42-Point Win

Hillcrest dominates its rival Tuscaloosa County as the Patriots tied their school record for points scored in a single game, with Hillcrest scoring 63 in its 42-point victory over the Wildcats on Friday.

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This game opened with Tuscaloosa County fumbling the opening kickoff return, which gave Hillcrest possession inside the Wildcats’ five-yard line. One play later, Patriots’ sophomore running back Jacobi Harris scored the first points in this matchup with a four-yard rush into the endzone to make it 7-0 with 11:50 remaining in the first quarter.

In the next drive, Tuscaloosa County was unable to gain any yards and went three and out, resulting in a punt back to Hillcrest's senior wide receiver, Kahden Smith. Smith then returned the punt 60 yards for a touchdown, putting the Patriots ahead by 14 points with less than ten minutes remaining in the first quarter.

County High answered back with a touchdown of their own when the Wildcats’ standout senior running back, CJ Hutchins, caught a wheel route from sophomore quarterback CJ Kimble and took it 80 yards to the endzone to cut into the Patriots’ lead and make it a seven-point game with 9:10 left in the first quarter.

Unfortunately for Tuscaloosa County, Hillcrest responded swiftly, thanks to a 10-yard reception for a touchdown by Smith, which gave him his second touchdown of the first quarter and put the Patriots back in a two-possession lead, which was the closest this game would be for the remainder of it, with Hillcrest scoring another touchdown with two minutes remaining in the first quarter when Harris came up with his second touchdown of the game when he caught a 70-yard bomb from Junior quarterback Jordan Shambley to give the Patriots’ signal caller his first passing TD of the quarter and a three possesion lead with 2:05 left in the first quarter.

Tuscaloosa County mustered two more touchdowns in the second quarter, with one coming from a 50-yard scramble from the Wildcats’ quarterback Corey Kimble and a pick-six from the Wildcats’ senior cornerback Jordan Sewell to give the Cats 21 points going into the half. Still, unfortunately, Hillcrest was able to score three more touchdowns in the second quarter, with two of them coming in the rushing game, with Jacobi Harris picking up his third touchdown of the half on a 60-yard rush. Senior running back Omari Taylor punched in a 3-yard rush for another touchdown, and right before the end of the half, Kahden Smith came down with an unbelievable one-handed snag between two defenders to give the Pats a 60-yard touchdown and a 49-21 lead going into halftime.

Hillcrest started the second half strong, scoring on its opening drive. Harris secured his fourth touchdown of the evening after an impressive reception by Smith, which brought the Patriots inside County High’s 10-yard line. This drive culminated in a nine-yard rushing touchdown by the Patriots' sophomore running back, increasing their lead to 56-21 with 8:30 remaining in the third quarter.

The Patriots scored one more time before the clock hit zero, with sophomore running back Kaden May coming away with a 7-yard rushing touchdown to tie Hillcrest’s school record for most points scored in a game.

Hillcrest will improve to 5-2 for the season and 2-2 in regional play after their upcoming road game against Thompson next Friday, October 10th. Meanwhile, Tuscaloosa County will drop to 0-6, remaining winless in the 2025 season. The Wildcats will have another opportunity to secure a victory next Friday when they face Hoover on the road.

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