Christian Hoard stood on the playing field at R. Harold Harrison Stadium after it was all over and had a look in his eyes that anyone who follows high school football knows about.
Hoard took off his helmet, covered with “Pride” stickers signifying standout individual and team plays, and let out a long, deep breathe. His team’s historic journey in 2009 had just ended after a 24-3 loss to Griffin in the state quarterfinals and it was understandably tough to accept.
“I know we had a great season,” Hoard said. “To win 12 games is great. However, I can’t enjoy that right now. All I can think about is this one. This loss hurts rights now. One day things will be better, but right now it just hurts.”
Trailing just 7-3 at halftime, AHS (12-1) was unable to put any additional points on the scoreboard in the second half. Griffin, who improves to 13-0, took control of the game on a 33-yard interception return for a touchdown during the Wildcats’ first offensive series of the second half.
“You always hate to lose,” AHS coach Shane Davis said. “However, we played a good team. I thought our defense played well. We held them to 17 points offensively when they had been averaging 39. We didn’t play our best game overall and I knew we would have to play close to perfect to have a chance to beat them.”
It was the first time the Wildcats had advanced to the quarterfinals but they gave No. 1-ranked Griffin a battle, especially in the first half.
The Bears took a 7-0 lead on a 32-yard pass from Marcus Waller to Buck Hancock with 44 seconds left in the first quarter. It appeared AHS had the play covered but Hancock suddenly appeared and made the catch and trotted into the endzone.
It appeared the Wildcats would not be able to score in the first half after a fake field goal attempt failed in the final minute of the second quarter. However, Griffin would fumble the football back to AHS on the following play.
The Wildcats then put three points on the board on a 40-yard kick from Guy Hunt with just six seconds left on the clock. It was another successful effort from the kicker who made many big plays for AHS in 2009 in his first season on the team.
Still very much in the contest at halftime, the Wildcats got a defensive stop to start the second half. However, Xzavier Dickson’s interception return for a score would change the tide completely giving the Bears a 14-3 lead.
Griffin would then quickly move 80 yards on its next possession after forcing an AHS punt. With a 21-3 lead, the Bears simply relied on their defense to control the remainder of the contest.
The final points came on a 26-yard field goal with 11:15 left in the fourth quarter.
The 2009 season was historic in many ways for the Wildcats.
The team won the first region football championship in school history, hosted playoff games for the first time and reached the quarterfinals for the first time.
Still, Davis knows it will take some time for the players, especially the seniors to realize all that has been accomplished.
“I tried to tell them back when we clinched the region title that it was something they should be proud of then,” the fifth-year AHS coach said. “It’s human nature I guess to always want a little more.”
