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“DEFENSE! DEFENSE! DEFENSE!”

That’s what Flomaton’s home crowd chanted late in tonight’s game, and that’s what proved to be the difference as the Hurricanes earned a hard-fought 21-13 region victory over Hillcrest-Evergreen.

“Defensively, (defensive coordinator) coach Scott Robinson had a great game plan,” FHS head football coach Doug Vickery said. “We really did some good things. They did some up tempo in the second half, and tried to hurt us. We were really resilient.”

Both teams battled throughout the contest. FHS kept the ball on the ground, and the Jaguars utilized a passing attack. The Hurricanes led 7-0 at halftime, and 14-7 going into the fourth quarter, where the defense held on late.

With the victory, FHS improves to 2-1 overall, and 1-0 in Class 3A, Region 1.

“That was another hard fought region game,” Vickery said. “Last year, we were in those tight ones. Obviously, we pulled it out this year. It was a tough one. We’re happy and proud.”

A lot took place in the fourth quarter.

After an early turnover by Flomaton, the Hurricanes bounced back on their next defensive series.

Flomaton defensive lineman Miles Adams deflected a pass, and then Harper Harrison caught the deflection for a turnover in their favor with 11:18 on the scoreboard.

From there, running back Jax Fillmore took the ball 59 yards to the house with 11:06 to go, and with the point after attempt, FHS led 21-7.

The Jaguars answered on their next offensive series by keeping the ball on the ground. A few run plays later, they found pay dirt, but the point after attempt wasn’t good.

Flomaton’s defense stepped up big with less than 5 minutes left in the game. Hillcrest-Evergreen’s quarter back was sacked, and then Flomaton’s Blake Macks caught an interception less than 2 minutes later.

The Jaguars didn’t go away quietly, burning two of its remaining timeouts after short spurts on the field.

With 1:35 left, the Jaguars fumbled and Adams made the recovery, however.

Flomaton would give it right back to the visiting team with more than 24 seconds left.

HEHS drove to about midfield, and with more than 1 second left, tried a hail mary, but the play landed into the waiting arms of Flomaton’s Brodie Phillips to seal the deal.

“They played really well, especially with those athletes they (the Jaguars) have,” Vickery said about his secondary. “Blake Macks played well, and Akayle Dixon played well as well. Lance Presley played well. I’m really proud of those guys. It was a total effort.”

Vickery added that the team punted the ball well, toon.

“River Ramer does a good job on that,” he said. “He killed some balls tonight.”

Dixon scored the first touchdown of the night late in the second quarter on a 16-yard dash.

On the night, Fillmore rushed 220 yards and scored two touchdowns.

Ryder Spence led FHS with 10 tackles, one sack and one tackle for a loss; and Harrison had nine tackles and one interception.

The Hurricanes travel to play Cottage Hill on Sept. 15.