No fair catch needed as Moore soars for Pats

MADISON - As a high punt floated toward junior speedster Collins Moore inside his 20-yard line, a fair catch seemed to be in order.

Instead, he caught the ball in traffic around the 19 and headed toward the sideline. Once there, all he needed was a burst of speed and some timely blocking.

Bob Jones got both in the first round of the Class 6A state playoffs.

Moore's 81-yard touchdown return, spurred by Patrick Alford's block on the outside, broke open a tight game as Bob Jones defeated Hewitt-Trussville 35-14 Friday night at Madison City Schools Stadium.

The score put Bob Jones ahead 28-14 with 3:16 left in the third quarter.

"The game was tight,'' Moore said. "We needed something to get us sparked up and excited.''

Moore caught a 38-yard touchdown pass from Zach Freeman - the only pass the Patriots attempted in the second half - that made it 35-14 with 10:11 left in the game. He also added an interception in the end zone to snuff out the last gasp for Hewitt-Trussville (8-3).

It was the punt return that resounded.

"The biggest play of the game,'' Bob Jones coach Kevin Rose said. "It takes a lot of guts to field it there.''

The Huskies got a 16-yard TD run from Noah Wilson on their first possession to break the Patriots' streak of four straight shutouts.

The Patriots tied it at 7-all on Trai Ragland's 4-yard run with 10:18 left in the first half.

Hewitt-Trussville moved back ahead at 14-7 on a 1-yard run by Wilson, but the game's first big turnover came when Bob Jones' Darius Robinson intercepted a reverse pass at his 30 with 1:33 left in the half.

It took the Patriots 30 seconds to make it 14-all. Ragland ran for seven yards, Moore had a 35-yard reception keyed by Reggie Ragland's hard block downfield, and Reggie Ragland caught a 13-yard pass from Freeman for the score.

Jake Larsen intercepted at the Huskies 40 to start the second half for Bob Jones, and Ragland scored from the 2 eight plays later to put the Patriots ahead to stay at 21-14.

"We knew we had to play more physical and at their speed and even above it,'' Patriots linebacker Branden O'Hara said of the second half.

"We just wanted to run downfield and be more physical,'' added Freeman.

Bob Jones (10-1) hosts Decatur (9-2) in the second round.