Published: October 30, 2009 11:58 pm      

Palestine denied a playoff spot after loss to Athens

By Jayson Larson

Athens Daily Review



ATHENS — Palestine came into Friday night only needing a win over Athens to secure a playoff spot in District 20-3A.

But 48 minutes can change everything.

The Athens Hornets defeated Palestine 29-14 Friday night at Bruce Field as the Hornets clinch a playoff spot and the Wildcats still have to wait.

The win puts the Hornets (3-6, 3-1) in a three-way tie for first place with Palestine (5-4, 3-1) and Brownsboro (7-1, 3-1). Westwood trails at 2-2.

Athens, however, can finish no worse than 3-2 and owns the tie-breaker

over Westwood and now Palestine.

Palestine however will go into the final non-district game still searching for a playoff spot. The Wildcats can clinch a playoff spot with a win over Westwood next week at Wildcat Stadium. However, if Westwood wins, it will be a three-way tie for second place and come down to a tiebreaker for the remaining two playoff spots.

The game wasn’t settled until the last six minutes, when the Hornets

turned a Wildcat turnover into a touchdown. Wildcat quarterback Olin

Terry dropped back to pass on third-and-17 and was pressured and hit by

Austin Fincher and Desmond Bowie, causing a fumble recovered by Matt

Jordan at the Wildcat 7.

Xavier Harris put the ball in the end zone on the next play to put the

game away when, just moments earlier, the Wildcats were driving with a

chance to tie the game with a touchdown and two-point conversion.

A big reason for the Hornets’ success was keeping Terry from burning

them. Terry had been lighting up district defenses but was held to 15

yards on 12 carries and no rushing touchdowns.

The Hornets led by as much as 22-7 before the Wildcats cut the lead to

eight on E.J. Spurlock’s 15-yard touchdown catch from Terry with 9:20

left in the game. It was their second scoring connection of the game.

Jack Barkley threw a pair of touchdown passes for the Hornets. He hit

Randall Gamble on a 20-yard pass in the second quarter that gave Athens

a 10-7 lead, and after Justin Hofstetter's 14-yard scoring run in the

third quarter, found Kendall Sanders on a 13-yard pass near the end of

the third quarter.

Zabdiel Mota had a 19-yard field goal for Athens.