HobbsDailyReport.com
TAYLORSVILLE – Cuthbertson High scored twice in the final four minutes on Friday night en route to a 35-28 upset of fourth-seeded Alexander Central in the first round of the state 3AA football state playoffs.
The Cavs (5-7), a No. 13 seed, advance to play at No. 12 Sun Valley (9-3) in a second-round game next Friday.
No. 13 CUTHBERSTON 35
No. 4 ALEX CENTRAL 28
Sun Valley defeated No. 5 Marvin Ridge 45-35 on the road on Friday night to advance.
Alexander Central, playing at home, broke a 21-all tie with five minutes, 32 seconds to play when running back Devon Weiss scored on a 2-yard run and Christian Romero added a PAT.
But the Cavs came back less than two minutes later, scoring on a 14-yard pass from Davis Walker to Dylan Tierney and adding a PAT by Brendan Sroczynski, to tie it at 28.
With 1:19 to play, Walker threw 65 yards to Trevor Grant for what turned out to be a game-winning score. Sroczynski added a PAT.
The big play capped another high-scoring night for the Cougars, who outgained Cuthbertson 486-394.
Running back Bryson Godfrey led Alexander Central (10-2) with 16 carries for 223 yards and two TDs, and Weiss added 113 yards and one TD on 15 carries.
Cougars quarterback Gunnar Anderson completed eight of 13 passes for 120 yards and one score.
Myles Wallace’s 117 yards on 25 carries led the Cavs, while Walker finished with 295 passing yards by completing 17 of 31 passes — five of those to Jayden Jennings for 81 yards and three to Grant for 115 yards.
Godfrey’s 83-yard run in the first quarter gave Alexander Central an early lead. Two minutes later, Wallace answered with a 7-yard TD run for Cuthbertson.
Anderson’s 5-yard TD pass to Curtis Evans regained the lead for the Cougars before Sroczynski’s 35-yard field goal pulled the Cavs within 14-10 with 10:24 left in the opening half.
About six minutes later, Godfrey scored on a 5-yard run, opening a 21-10 lead for the Cougars by halftimel
The only score of the third quarter was Sroczynski’s 24-yard field goal.
When Wallace scored on a 4-yard run with 8:13 left in the third quarter and Walker threw to Kris Weber for a two-point conversion, it was tied at 21.
Alexander Central — which had three turnovers — ended up having the ball for 27:02 in a game that had only five punts.
Joseph Rizzo led the Cavs defensively with 11 tackles while DeAundre Scott and Carter Kendall each had eight tackles. Steve Montgomery’s nine tackles paced the Cougars, who also got eight by Tevin Clark.
Alexander Central, which has never gotten past the second round in postseason football, fell to 2-6 on its own field in the postseason (since 1978).
The loss left Cougars head coach Butch Carter, after two seasons at Alexander Central and 18 as a prep head football coach, at 121-86.
This year’s team was Carter’s 13th to make the state playoffs.