Terrell County rallies to upend Mitchell County

CAMILLA —Terrell County had their backs against the wall but never stopped fighting on Friday night against Mitchell County.

The Greenwave came back from a 15-point deficit to beat the Eagles 24-22 at Centennial Stadium. With the win, Terrell moves to 4-4 overall and 3-0 in in Region 1-A play.

The Greenwave was down 22-18 with 2:29 left when it got the ball at the 43-yard line. After a couple of plays, Terrell was knocking on the door and retook the lead on a 1-yard touchdown run.

Mitchell had a chance to tie but the Eagles could not convert on fourth down. Terrell got the ball back and ran out the clock to end the game.

“It is obviously disappointing … Terrell County played a great game,” Mitchell coach Larry Cornelius said. “To be honest, I don’t think we met their intensity. Offensively, we stalled out in the second half. We still could have made some plays in the second half to come back and we didn’t do it.”

Both teams looked sluggish to start. The best scoring chance in the first quarter came when Mitchell recovered a Terrell fumble. The Eagles drove into the end zone, but the drive ended when they lost a fumble at the Terrell County 15-yard line.

After a punt by Mitchell pinned Terrell at the 3-yard line, the Eagles forced a three and out. Mitchell opened the scoring when a high snap on the punt resulted in a safety for the Eagles.

A nice kickoff return by Kobe Butler gave Mitchell the ball at the Terrell 25-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Butler ran it in left and then cut right to find a wide open lane to the end zone. A missed extra point made the score 8-0.

The Eagles special teams came up big again when they blocked a punt and got the ball at the Terrell 22. Mitchell made the score 15-0 when Butler ran it up the middle for a 6-yard touchdown.

The oddities continued when Terrell County quarterback DeTravion Bishop threw a ball intended for teammate Kentravious Daniels. The ball was tipped by Daniels and caught by Terrell’s Quentin Walton, who took it in for a 31-yard touchdown and made the score 15-6. Terrell went for two but failed to convert. Mitchell had the ball to end the first half but decided to enter halftime with a 15-6 lead.

Terrell received the ball to start the second half and proceeded to drive down the field. The Greenwave scored its second touchdown of the game when Bishop scored from 11 yards on a keeper. The score was 15-12 after Terrell could not score on a 2-point conversion.

“They are a great bunch of guys and they believe in what we do,” Terrell coach William Huff said. “They believe in each other and that held us together. A lot of bad things happened but the kids kept their composure.”

The Greenwave had a chance to score late in the third quarter but had a touchdown called back because of holding. They went for it on fourth down at the seven-yard line but could not get a first down and turned the ball over to Mitchell.

After going up 15-0 in the second quarter, the Eagles offense struggled for the rest of the game.

Terrell went up 18-15 when Joseph Minter scored a 42-yard touchdown run. The lead was temporary as Butler returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to put Mitchell back up 22-18.

Mitchell County (3-5, 2-2) plays host to Calhoun County next week, while Terrell County hosts Randolph-Clay.