Saturday Night Catfight in Hale County

By WVUA 23 News Reporter Tatumn Vaught

Due to recent exposure to COVID-19, Southside Selma opted into a Saturday night kickoff against Hale County despite not practicing the past two weeks from being in quarantine.

The 4-1 Wildcats took over the 1-4 Panthers to win the game 27-16. Their victory was attributed to the 302 rushing and passing yards the Wildcat offense earned, despite earning numerous penalties and a fumble. They averaged 32 carries for 3.7 yards per rush and went 13-for-18 in passing to take over the game.

“We didn’t do a good job at all aspects in the beginning. Then we started playing better football. We started blocking better, tackling better, obviously when you play better you have better results,” said Hale County coach Mark Hastings.

The Panthers overcame many obstacles to play on Saturday night, including forfeiting their game last week due to quarantining from COVID-19 exposure. Their offense put up 350 rushing and passing yards, yet unfortunate self-errors lead to their defeat. Southside Selma committed six turnovers, lost four fumbles, threw two interceptions, and committed seven penalties. Despite a successful offensive performance based upon yardage, the Panthers dug their own grave.

“We made some plays early on and we turned the ball over a lot,” said Southside Selma coach. The biggest adjustment the coach said needed to be made is “don’t turn the ball over.”

Both teams had a slow start, leaving the first quarter scoreless. Southside Selma’s Ke’andre Williams was the first to score in the second quarter, running the ball up the middle. The Panthers followed it up with a two-point conversion attributed to Quarterback Christopher Thomas.

Williams continued his momentum by pushing through the Wildcat’s defense to earn his second touchdown of the night with eight minutes left in the second, putting Southside Selma up 14-0.

Malachi Pasteur switched the momentum for the Wildcats, recovering a fumble and taking it back to the end-zone, giving Hale County their first touchdown of the night. Quarterback Matthew Swartz completed a pass to Jamarion Ryans with 20 seconds left in the half for the Wildcats' second touchdown. The halftime score was 14-12 with Southside Selma leading.

In the third quarter, Swartz handed the ball off to Ty Gardner who ran it into the end-zone for Hale County’s third touchdown of the night. This put the Wildcats up 20-14 going into the fourth quarter.

As Southside Selma attempted to avoid mistakes in order to catch back up, Hale County showed no mercy. Wildcat’s Steve Scott caught a pass from Swartz with two minutes left in the game to secure their lead.

Although the Panthers scored two more points with less than a minute left in the game, it wasn’t enough to pass the Wildcats. The final score of the game was 27-16, making the Wildcats the king of the jungle in this battle.

Southside Selma will travel to Orrville to play the Keith Bears next week, while Hale County will play in their homecoming game against the Sulligent Blue Devils.