Unbeaten Huskies travel to Sparkman for region game

By David Knox, Sports Editor

TRUSSVILLE – The Hewitt-Trussville Huskies hit the road for the final time in the regular season as they head to Harvest, Alabama, to take on Sparkman.

It will be the first meeting in football between the Huskies and the Madison County school about two hours north of Trussville.

The Huskies (7-0, 4-0 Class7A, Region 4) have matched their best start since 2001. That season, Jack Wood’s 19^th and final one as Huskies coach, Hewitt went 7-0 before losing to Huffman. The Huskies ended the regular season 9-1 and finished 10-2, losing to Hoover in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs.

The best starts in school history, according to research done through the Alabama High School Football Historical Society website, were 9-0 in both 1986 and 1987. Huffman ended the Huskies’ run both times.

To top that, the third-ranked Huskies will have to run the table in the regular season, and that starts with the Senators.

While Hewitt-Trussville was winning a big region game over No. 5 Bob Jones 59-49, Sparkman was ending a three-game losing streak by topping Huntsville 42-14. The Senators (3-3, 2-2) piled up 595 yards of offense. Quarterback Devin Kimbrough was 19-of-26 passing for 218 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 11 times for 123 yards and two more touchdowns. Hunter Gibson rushed 13 times for 101 yards and two touchdowns.

The Senators had 32 first downs and did not punt.

Now Huntsville isn’t Hewitt. Sparkman’s losses have been to Bob Jones (48-20), James Clemens (40-15) and Hazel Green (27-20).

But a playmaking quarterback is always a concern, and Kimbrough is that. Given the Huskies’ issues with giving up big plays against Bob Jones, especially through the air, the defense will need to step it up.

Sparkman’s wins have all been on the road, strangely enough. Still, the Senators have a shot at sneaking into the playoffs. At 2-2 in the region, they are tied with Gadsden City, whom they’ve yet to play. The winner of that game could very well be the fourth team in the playoffs.

The Huskies offense couldn’t have been sharper last Friday. Grayson Cash, Noah Igbinoghene and Elliott McElwain each topped 100 yards rushing and Connor Adair was 16-of-24 for 221 yards and a touchdown.

They’ll need to be hitting on all cylinders again, as the stretch run after Sparkman includes Huntsville next week and a very tough James Clemens team in the regular-season finale Oct. 21.