Dougherty stuns No. 4 Cairo 26-23 on Christian Hernandez’s late field goal

ALBANY — The snap. The hold. The kick.

Then bedlam.

Christian Hernandez split the uprights from 39 yards with four seconds remaining Friday night, sending Hugh Mills Stadium into an uproar and sending Dougherty to the top of the Region 1-AAAA standings.

Down 16-0 at halftime, the Trojans roared back to beat No. 4-ranked Cairo 26-23, turning a penalty-filled first half into a victory that senior receiver David Burgess wanted everyone to notice.

“This is big,” Burgess said. “This is a message. Everybody said we were going to lose 29-0. Go look at that scoreboard.”

There it was: Dougherty 26, Cairo 23.

The Trojans improved to 6-1 overall and 5-0 in the region with three regular-season games remaining. Getting there required two touchdown catches from Burgess, a 94-yard go-ahead drive and one final kick from a senior who refused to let Cairo rattle him.

The Syrupmakers called timeout twice before Hernandez’s attempt. He took practice swings during the interruptions, trusting the teammates lined up in front of him.

“I trusted my teammates to block for me. I knew what I could do and I knew they were going to block for me, so it really didn’t get on my nerves,” Hernandez said.

His kick finished a comeback that seemed a long way off at halftime.

Cairo had struck twice from long distance. Senior running back Jaylen Teall burst through the middle for a 65-yard touchdown, and quarterback Bryce Puckett found West Virginia commit Bryian Duncan wide open behind the secondary for a 70-yard scoring pass.

When Duncan wasn’t catching passes, he was booming punts that buried Dougherty deep in its own territory.

The Trojans compounded those problems with penalties. A long Micah Joyner run across midfield late in the half disappeared behind a flag. Cairo sacked the Dougherty quarterback on the next two plays, the second for a safety and a 16-0 advantage.

Then the opening kickoff of the second half hit the ground, and the game turned.

Dougherty recovered Cairo’s fumble at the Syrupmakers’ 22-yard line. Two plays later, Joyner scrambled away from pressure and spotted Burgess at the goal line for the Trojans’ first touchdown. A two-point conversion pass to Alonzo Hammond sliced the deficit in half.

Dougherty’s defense forced a punt, and the offense came right back.

Starting at their own 35, the Trojans crossed midfield on Joyner’s completion to Jherel Gibson. Even another holding penalty couldn’t stop them. Morris Hill took a screen pass to the Cairo 17, and a completion to Melvin Williams carried Dougherty to the 2.

Two plays later, senior Trevon Williams barreled into the end zone. Hammond supplied another two-point conversion.

Sixteen unanswered points. A tie game. And a home crowd with reason to believe.

Cairo threatened to seize control again when a roughing-the-kicker penalty erased a missed 46-yard field goal attempt and extended its next possession. But as Duncan pushed toward the end zone, he lost the ball.

Dougherty recovered at its own 6.

Ninety-four yards stood between the Trojans and their first lead.

They covered every one.

Hill worked the running game. Joyner moved the ball through the air. Dougherty advanced methodically into scoring position, then put the finish in Burgess’ hands.

With two defenders contesting Joyner’s throw into the end zone, the Florida A&M commit fought for the ball and came down with his second touchdown catch. Hernandez added the extra point, putting Dougherty ahead 23-16.

Cairo still had an answer.

Xiquavian Teal ripped off key runs, and Jaylen Teall capped the possession with a short touchdown run from the wildcat formation. The extra point tied it at 23 with 5:02 left.

Dougherty took over at its own 27 with enough time to win it — and an offense that had spent the second half proving it could move.

Runs by Hill and Joyner kept the Trojans advancing. A big completion to Detavious Poole helped bring them within Hernandez’s range. An incomplete pass near the end zone stopped the clock and set the stage.

Out came Hernandez.

Then came the timeouts.

Finally, the kick — and the celebration.

Dougherty heads to Bainbridge next Friday carrying the region lead and a victory that backed up every word of Burgess’ message.