EHS loses another heartbreaker

For the second consecutive week, the Enterprise football program lost in heartbreaking fashion.

Smiths Station scored a touchdown in double overtime to earn a 34-28 win against the Wildcats.

“Things are just not going our way right now,” Enterprise football coach Kevin Collins said. “I don’t have answers for it. I was proud to be their coach tonight. They competed hard and they played well. We didn’t play perfect. We didn’t tackle well. We made some mistakes penalty-wise. But I thought they came out and competed. We did a lot of good things tonight, it just didn’t go our way.”

Smiths Station fullback Larry Hightower ran 2 yards on second down of Smiths Station’s second overtime possession to give the Panthers the win. Enterprise had thrown an interception on its possession.

Smiths Station got on the board first with a 6-yard run by Zayquan Roulhac early in the second quarter and took a 7-0 lead.

Enterprise answered with a 40-yard run by Rhett Harrelson. John Evans’ extra point tied the game at 7-7.

Smiths Station came back with an 87-yard touchdown run by Jomarco McCants. The Panthers got a bad snap on the extra-point attempt, though, and led 13-7.

The Panthers had another chance to score just before halftime, but Enterprise senior Zach McCray blocked a field goal.

The Wildcats came out hot in the second half. Enterprise needed just three plays to drive 70 yards. Two Willie Curry runs covered the first 36 yards. Harrelson threw to Clark Quisenberry for the final 34 and a touchdown. Evans’ extra point put the Wildcats up 14-13.

Each team moved the ball throughout the second half, but neither could get into the end zone until late in the final period.

McCants ran 23 yards for a score to cap a 12-play, 73-yard drive that took almost seven minutes off the clock. The Panthers converted a two-point attempt to take a 21-14 lead.

Enterprise quickly answered. Manny Jones’ 30-yard kickoff return set Enterprise up with good field position. The Wildcats took advantage and went 55 yards in eight plays. Curry’s 3-yard score with one minute left capped the drive, and Evans’ extra point sent the game into overtime.

“The second half was back and forth,” Smiths Station coach Mark Rose said. “They’re an outstanding offensive football team. We knew we’d have to keep scoring. We had a great drive in the fourth quarter. Our offense really dominated the line of scrimmage. To their credit, they marched straight back down the field.”

McCants scored on Smiths Station’s first play in the extra period and the Panthers went up 28-21.

Harrelson answered with a 10-yard pass to Ajee Warren on Enterprise’s first play of overtime.

The loss to Smiths Station marked the second consecutive season Enterprise has lost to the Panthers on the final play of the game. Smiths Station won with a long touchdown pass on the final play of regulation last year.

“The biggest thing is we’re pretty close to equal talent,” Rose said. “We’re very similar type teams, not as much speed as some of the other teams in our region. Both communities have pride. Coach Collins and his team deserve all the credit in the world because they fought the whole time. It just came down to one more play at the end.”

The three previous meetings between the schools came down to the end, too. Smiths Station won in 2007 in double overtime. The Wildcats won with a last-minute touchdown in 2008. Enterprise won again in 2009 and deflected a last-second Smiths Station heave into the end zone that would have won the game.

“These are two teams that are very similar, year in and year out,” Collins said. “They’ve got hard-nosed kids. They compete well. Smiths Station has had things go right for them the last couple of years. Before that we had things go right for us for a couple of years. These are two teams that are very similar, and when you get those teams together, these games happen.”

The loss also marks the second consecutive week Enterprise has lost late in the game. The Wildcats lost to Jeff Davis last Friday when the Volunteers scored with two seconds remaining.

Enterprise dropped to 2-4 with the loss and 1-3 in Class 6A, Region 3 play. The Wildcats have lost four consecutive games after starting the season 2-0.

Enterprise returns to action next Friday at home against Opelika. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Despite the way the Wildcats have lost their last two games, Collins knows the team will be ready.

“Part of being a competitor is being able to pick yourself back up and get ready for the next one,” Collins said. “That’s what I expect them to do.”